Wendy's/Frontenac/Lynx Creek

Introduction

Thanks to an interview with owner George Greer, we now know the complete story of Frontenac and Wendy's slope. George owned and operated Frontenac ski area from the 1960's until 1991, and still owns the land today. Both areas have closely related, albeit slightly complicated histories.

In the mid to late 1930's, Plymouth, NH was a major stop for the snow trains. Skiers would ride these trains from metropolitan areas in the south and would enjoy ski areas in NH. Both Plymouth and North Conway were major snow train destinations.

Three areas were developed in Plymouth before World War II - Wendy's Slope, Frontenac, and Huckins Hill. Huckins Hill was located east of town, while Wendy's and Frontenac were developed on Stage Coach Hill, just south of town. Wendy's was the area on the eastern side of the hill.

To help illustrate where the two areas were in relation to each other, here's a late 1930s map. Number 3 is the original Frontenac, and Number 4 is Wendy's. Map from New England Ski Museum.

Here's a sign for the snow conditions for these areas. This was taken from the Treetop Restaurant in Plymouth, NH. It is likely from the 1940's.

Wndy's was founded around 1937 by Wendelyn (a man) Hiltie, from Switzerland. The area was home to the ski school of the Plymouth area. Wendy's operated until World War II, when Wendelyn went to South America to teach skiing down there. The area was immediately bought by the operators of Frontenac, which renamed the entire area Frontenac.

Throughout the 1940's/1950's, this newly combined area (trails were interconnected near the summit) operated tow interconnected areas - The East Slope and the North Slope. The East Slope was the original Wendy's, while the North Slope was the original Frontenac. The original East rope tow was lengthened to 1000' around 1948.

In 1960, the town of Plymouth zoned the North Slope residential, and that area closed. Thus, the original Frontenac closed. However, the East side kept the Frontenac name.

In 1962, George Greer and his wife Nancy took over the area from the former owners, which had originally included three women whose husbands had died. They closed to the area to the public, but instead operated it as a very successful ski camp. Attendees would learn how to ski and race, all on their own private area.

In 1969, a 920' Mueller JR T-bar was installed. This was one of the steepest, if not the steepest T-bars ever built in New England (I can attest to that!). This allowed skiers to make more rapid runs without wearing their arms out on the rope tow.

Throughout the rest of the 1970's and 1980's, the area operated as a ski camp and remained quite popular. Several readers below remember skiing at the camp. Unfortunately, the area closed in 1991, as many of the skiers that used to attend now went to larger areas.

The area remained dormant until 1994, when a Mr. Burgess from Dunstable, MA leased the area out. He opened a coffee shop in the base lodge, and operated the T-bar and rope tow. He also renamed the area Lynx Creek. It was in that year that I (Jeremy) checked it out.

I was very lucky enough to be in that area that year. I had just skied Cannon and backcountry over to Mittersill during the day, following the only good sized snowstorm of the year. Lynx Creek had finally opened that week. My friend Dave Kirk and I checked it out. It certainly was an interesting place to ski!

First, the lift tickets were sold in the lodge, which looked more like a college dorm than anything else. The tickets were unbelievably cheap: just 5 bucks! We bought our tickets and headed out to try the slopes. I boarded the T-bar. I was totally unprepared for the ride.

See, that T-bar was the steepest one in all of New England! It rivaled any other T- bar from any area. The trip to the top only took about a minute but man o man was it steep! It was not a lift to fall off of.

A view of the slopes/trails in 1998. Notice the wide slope which is visible from Rte 93, and the narrow trails. The original Frontenac area is completely grown in and is located to the upper right, beyond this photo.

We skied the main slope, and then decided to try one of the lighted trails. About halfway down the trail the lighting just ended: now it was pitch dark on a completely unfamiliar trail! It would have been too much of a pain in the neck to hike back up, so we had to continue down. Luckily we didn't hit any trees.

The next T-bar ride Dave accidentally triggered the safety net at the top. This broke the lift for about 10 minutes, and of course I was on the steepest part. I could not get off...it was way too steep. If I tried I would have slipped and started to roll backwards. Finally the lift got going again.

I only managed to get in 5 runs, we were pretty beat from Cannon earlier. Unfortunately, the new operators had not invested the effort into the area that the Greers had, so the area was not as much fun to ski as it would have during the Ski Camp Days. The area closed in 1995 and is currently for sale. Any takers?

You can still see the area clearly from Rte 93 as you approach Plymouth from the south. The T-bar is still standing and the slopes are generally clear, but are growing in.

I hope to get some pictures of the area during this summer. Thanks George for all the great info!

Year	Lifts	Trails	Other Info	Source
c1937	Tow	unknown	Area is founded by Wendelyn Hiltie (a Swiss), who used the area as a ski school	Interview with George Greer
1939	800' tow	400' wide slope, 30 degrees, 200 foot drop, needs 8" of snow to ski, 1/2 mile long. Skiing for all levels	New clubhouse	Skier's Guide to New England
1942	Tow	400' wide, 1/2 mile long, suitable for all classes, new downhill runs and slalom slope	None	Complete Skier's Guide
Mid 1940's	Same	Same	Area is bought by Frontenac, becomes named Frontenac, Wendelyn goes to South America to teach skiing	Interview with George Greer
1946-1947	1500' North Slope Tow, 650' South (East) Slope Tow	North Slope (original Frontenac) - 6 Nov-Exp trails, 1/4 mile to 1 1/4 mile long. South Slope (Wendy's) - 650' tow, novice to expert open slopes, 1/2 mile long.	Lunches at chalets at both slopes	NH Ski Map
1947-1948	650' East Slope Tow and 700' North Slope Tow	East Slope - 1/2 mile open slopes, slalom course. Durrance Dip (0.3 mile long) recut North Slope - 3 novice to intermediate trails, slalom glade, other slopes and trails	Area operates weekends and holidays	NH Winter Map
1948-1949	1000' East and North Slope Tows	Same as below	Same	NH Winter Map
1951, 1953	1100' North Slope Tow, 1000' East Slope Tow	65 acres, East Slope 1/2 mile long, slalom course, Durrance Devil Dip trail, 0.3 mile beginner slope, snack bar in warming hut. North slope - slalom glade, 3 novice to intermediate trails, beginner's slope, other slopes and runs, snack bar and warming hut.	Ski schools at both areas	Ski NH Winter Guide
c1960	East Slope Tow	East Slope trails and slopes	North Slopes closes for good	Interview with George Greer
1962	East Slope Tow	Same	Area becomes a private ski camp	Same
1969	920' Mueller JR T-bar, 1200' tow	16 trails and slopes	George buys T-bar	Same as above
1970's/1980's	T-bar and beginner rope tow	Same	Area is quite popular for ski campers	Same as above
1991	Same	Same	Area closes	Same
1994/1995	Same	Same	Area reopens briefly as Lynx Creek, tickets affordable at 5-7 dollars, coffee shop opens in lodge	Same, and personal visit by Jeremy

Jack McDonnell remembers this area: I was very impressed to find out that Frontenac was on your web site. From roughly 1982-1990 (add or subtract a couple of years; my memory is not that good) I went to Frontenac each year as a student in the Frontenac Ski Camp. At the time, the area was owned by George and Nancy Greer, who had been living at the area for many years. In fact, my mother and aunt attended Frontenac Ski Camp when they first opened, through the time that they installed the T-bar. George used to say that the area was one of the few remaining ski areas that was exclusively used for a ski school. The lodge really was like a dorm--it could have about a hundred kids staying there at once!

I was somewhat surprised to hear that the area had closed. I had assumed the place would keep on running forever--the owners had a daughter who also lived at the ski area. She seemed interested in keeping it running if and when her parents decided to give it up.

Jamie King: I want to thank you for a great site because I was wondering what had become of camp frontenac. When I was in elementary school (late eighties), lots of kids from my town used to go there for ski camp. It was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Greer, but that's why the lodge looked like a dorm, because that's pretty much what it was! I was wondering if you know what has become of it now, I loved the lodge and have so many memories there (many of which included falling off of that dreadful t-bar and shredding my mittens on the rope tow).

Chrisitan DaBica remembers the area in the 1990's:
I went to college at Plymouth State. We used to hike Frontenac when it was closed/for sale. When they re-opened it we went there a few times and had a great time at night. Even though it was low tide (you could kick up leaves under the snow in some places) it was great.