Snow Hill Ski Area

Snow Hill was a small, family ski area with 7 trails, a 200 foot drop, and 3 lifts. It operated weekends only.

NELSAP has heard from Deane Smith, whose grandparents ran and owned this ski area. Here's his description:

"My Grandparents operated it from 1961 until around 1980. It had a 200' vertical drop with 2 slopes and 5 trails. One of the trails was an exciting 1500' glade. The area was serviced by a 900' T-bar and 2 rope tows. The summit had an incredible view of Mt Monadnock and vicinity.

A view of the base area. Photo by Brian O'Malley.

Now, the slopes are almost completely overgrown and the summit is planned for development. It's located right on Rt2. If you're headed Eastbound on Rt2, it's on the right hand side of the Athol/Phillipston Exit (before Ward Hill Road). You can still make out the East and West slopes."

Deane has also provided NELSAP with a brochure and further information, here it is!

Snow Hill is a friendly, family ski area where all the family can enjoy the fulfilling sport of skiing. It is located on Rte. 2 which makes it easy to reach anytime.

The first rope tow began hauling skiers to the 1300' summit in January 1961. Snow Hill now has a smooth operating T-bar and two rope tows to handle over 2000 skiers/hour with short lift lines and more time for skiing. From the summit to the base lodge there is a choice of two open slopes, four trails, or the 2200' glade through the woods. Our 200' vertical drop is equal in pitch to a larger area's 1000' vertical. Thiokol snow grooming equipment maintains the snow in good condition, and the northern exposure helps prevent daytime melting. The attractive base lodge has a snack bar and lounging area, ski ship, rentals, and restrooms. SNOW HILL Ski School offers ski instruction in the GLM or the American Technique.

SNOW HILL is close to home and inexpensive. A more casual place - small in size but big on fun and good skiing. Travel less and ski more! Skiing under the lights has a special, exhilarating quality and SNOW HILL gives you the chance to break away for a few hours' fun at inexpensive lift ticket prices.

Consider the distance and travel time to an area and come to SNOW HILL. Each area has its own personality. We think you'll like SNOW HILL.

According to Laurie P, the patrol toboggan and some of the first aid equipment went to Pine Ridge Ski Area in Barre, MA.

Here's the satellite view of Snow Hill in Phillipston. The slopes have been labeled as to what they are.

Bubblecuffer on Snowjournal.com sent us some great historic images of the area:


The cover of a brochure, date unknown. Click on image for larger version.	Back of the brochure, telling the story of Snow Hill. Click on image for larger version.

Bubblecuffer with instructor Steve Hastings riding the T-bar, February, 1977.

One of the slopes, note rope tow on the right. Note the thin cover.

By the Year

Year	Lifts	Trails	Other Info	Source
1961	Rope tow	Not known	Year opens, 200' drop	Deane Smith's Brochure
1969	New 1038' Alpine Lift T-bar, 184' vertical drop, 900 skiers/hour, 550'/min. Probaly still had rope tow	Not known	New T-bar lift	Skilifts.org
1973	T-bar, 2 rope tows, 1900/hr capacity	7 trails	North exposure, Operates weekends, Tue-Thu nights, ski shop, rentals, snack bars, 60 car parking lot, no snowmaking. Ski School: American and GLM technique, 5 non-certified instructors. $4.50 adult, $3.50 junior weekends, and $2.00 for all at night.	Ski Guide to the Northeast

According to Doug Smith, this is the original ticket booth at the bottom of the East Slope. It served as the ticket booth until the T-bar was installed. At that point, it was used to house the electrical panels for the lift, thus the telephone pole beside it. Lift tickets were then sold at the ski shop in the lodge.