22
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WINTER
2017
ShielaMetras remembers...
Whenwewereyoung, in the1950s,weoften skiedonFridaynightsat
thebarnhill. Jozowould start up the rope towandwewould ski for a fewhours. Onenight, when there
wasa fullmoon, hedecided to takeus through theAppleBowl orchard (yes, therewasanorchard) from
thebarnhill to theAppleBowl to ski.He started the2 stage rope tow for usandwe spent amagical night
skiingbymoonlight. Itwas veryexcitingashehada few runswithus, andhewasanamazing skier.
Earlier, we sometimes skiedon the north side on Friday nightswhen theCollingwoodSki Clubpeople
wouldpark their carsat thebottomof theGrannyHill and shine their lightsup thehill sowecould see.
Asa kid, Iwasn't strongenough tohold the rope tow linedownand itwouldpickmeup right offmy feet.
My strategywas towait untila reallybigpersoncamealong to ridebehindme. ItwasoftenBill Stevenson
orHarryWilson (foundersofCranberryResort)and theywouldalwayshold the ropedown so I couldget
to the top inonepiece. Theyweremy favouritepeople.
In thespring,youcouldskialong the topof thehill, from thenorthside,over to theO-hillwhere the towwas
onlyoperated in the spring. At theendof theday, itwasa long trekbackalong thebottom,but sometimes
Jozowouldbring the sleighoverand if you timed it right, youcould rideback to thebarn.
In the very late spring, agroupof diehards—DonMacleod, GeorgeWeider, theGeorgas brothers—to
namea few,wouldgather on theV-Hill (nowonCraigleithSki clubproperty) andwewouldclimbup the
60odd feet of snow left in thecleft of thehill and then ski down. Wedid thisover andover untilwewere
exhaustedor it got dark.And thatmarked theendof the season.
*
1951 - The rope tow onO-Hill
Photo source: JoanneBaker
The vertical drop
(at Blue Mountain)
is three miles wide."
`JozoWeider
{
75 years of blue
