By Diane Pflugrad Foley
(c) Connecticut Explored Inc. Fall 2009
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The 10-year-old New England Lost Ski Area Project, or NELSAP (www.nelsap.org), lists 60 spots in Connecticut where people could, at one time or another, schuss down the slopes. “NELSAP has increased interest in ski history, particularly among younger people,” says Jeff Leich, executive director of the 30-year-old Ski Museum (www.skimuseum.org) in Franconia Notch, New Hampshire. Today just four ski areas operate here: Mohawk Mountain in Cornwall, Mount Southington in Plantsville, Ski Sundown in New Hartford, and Woodbury Ski Area in Woodbury. The oldest, Mohawk Mountain, opened in 1947; its creator, Skiing Hall of Fame member Walt Schoenknecht, is said to have invented snowmaking in 1948. NELSAP’s list included the colorfully named Ohoho in Woodstock and Mad Hatter in Danbury. It also names a hill familiar to those who attended the University of Connecticut in the late 1960s and early ‘70s: Horsebarn Hill at UConn featured two rope tows and lights for night skiing.
Diane Pflugrad Foley is assistant publish and image editor of Connecticut Explored
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