Basic HTML Version
42
Escarpment Magaz ine Winter
2012
FEATURE
|
ghosts of ski resorts past
One beautiful November day, Bud and I set out to find evidence of the elusive Bay Ski Village
ski hills. We headed above the Escarpment then turned down a narrow gravel road that
ended at a couple of private drives. The area had changed since Bud had last been there so
after explaining our quest to a resident couple, they pointed us in the direction of the rope
tow. I followed a trail up the steep slope and along the top of a beautiful tree covered ridge
where after some distance I spotted a small post with a strange looking apparatus attached.
There it was, the support post for the lift tower… the last remaining evidence of what must have
been a thrilling ski run at Louis Georgas’ ski resort near Chatsworth.
Old Smokey was another ‘ghost’ ski resort that I decided to visit last winter. In its day, Old
Smokey always seemed to be the ‘little sister’ to the much bigger Talisman next door. As Bud
Hoffman, explained, “If Old Smokey had been situated between Talisman and Beaver Valley
the wall of the Escarpment would have given them a better vertical drop to work with, so the
owners of Old Smokey did the next best thing… they bulldozed a huge mound in front of the
Escarpment and erected their T-bar up the man-made hill. An Eastern European Ski Club
owned the little resort. It sported two t-bars and a kiddy rope tow. The lodge was an old barn
that was converted into three levels. The main level housed a bustling lunchroom where an
accordion band played lively um-pa tunes that overpowered the crowd noise.”
When my young family skied there in the early 1980s, I took my youngest son, Kalle, up the
smaller t-bar by holding him between my legs. At some point as we cruised down the wide
open run, I heard Kalle softly say, “Dad, my ski came off.” Looking down I saw that not only
had his ski come off but so had his boot and ski-sock. As I gingerly pulled to a stop, the ski,
boot and sock went flying down the run ahead of us and luckily all piled into the deep snow
at the bottom of the run. Those were fun times but Old Smokey never saw skiers after the mid-
eighties. Finally the lost little resort was sold to Talisman owner, Jake Hammer, who planned
to use the land for an expansion of his golf course.
When I returned to Old Smokey last winter, the sun was out and the snow was deep. I could
see there were hundreds of snowshoe tracks traversing up into the brush that were once ski
runs. Following one of the trails I found the old barn still standing but naturally all the windows
had been smashed long ago by ne’er-do-wells with nothing better to do. The lifts are still there,
but are covered with vines, giving them a most eerie appearance and the runs are mostly
overgrown with trees and brush. On the man made hill, the towers and cable are still intact
on the big t-bar. In fact, it looked that day like it could start turning again, squealing for oil
and for skiers to grab the bar for a creaky ride up. The imagined scene was unsettling and I
was not sorry to be leaving.
Old Smokey Barn/Ski Lodge - dest i tute today
Photos
|
Tom Hakala
Old Smokey T-bar
Today Old Smokey’s lifts are still there as if waiting for skiers to climb on board.
Remains of the original Kimberly Ski Club rope tow near Eugenia.