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Reminder Assistant Editor LONGMEADOW Author Cal Conniff wants others to remember the Berkshires the way he does, as snow frosted slopes where the modern ski industry was pioneered. In his new book, "Skiing in Massachusetts," Conniff and co-author E. John B. Allen take readers on a chilly journey back in time with a pictorial history of the state's ski beginnings. "This was the birthplace of the ski business in many, many ways," Conniff said. "Back in the 1930s, the first rope tow installed in the state became just the second one in the country. Also, Bousquet was really the first major ski area, I think, in the country." Years of research for the project was compiled by this Longmeadow resident and published last month as part of the Images of Sports series from Arcadia Publishing. Conniff, a skier since age five, has lived the history that is now captured in his collection of vintage black and white photos. His entire life has been spent with a finger on the pulse of the ski industry as the former manager of the Mt. Tom Ski Area and retired president of both the National Ski Areas Association and the New England Ski Museum. He even earned a place in the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1990. Long before Aspen was a destination and decades prior to the Alps being just a plane ticket away, the Berkshires were a skier's dream-come-true and the center of this emerging sport, Conniff explained. "I skied just about everywhere you can ski in North America," Conniff said. "(The Berkshires) are not big mountains but they're large enough for people to have fun on." Legendary "snow trains" shuttled thousands out of New York City every weekend and into Pittsfield to ski beginning in the 1930s. Later, Mount Greylock would become a major racing trail for the best skier's all over the country." Even Longmeadow was home to one of the smaller ski trails that were beginning to dot the entire state, Conniff said. A small hill located behind the dormitories of BayPath College was one such area, outfitted with a small rope tow. Floodlights were even nailed onto trees there for night skiing. "That trail is covered with trees today, Mother Nature has taken back over," Conniff said. "Eventually these small ski areas all went out of business as the big ones got bigger." Conniff now notes 15 operating ski areas in the state, all with the cutting-edge technology of modern equipment such as lifts and sophisticated snowmaking systems. "Everything was rough and tough and crude back then," Conniff said about the first rope tows. "People were just starting up in the business with nothing to look back on for ideas." At age 76, Conniff still hits the slopes a couple times during the week with a group of fellow retirees who share his passion. "I don't care if it's 90 degrees and the Fourth of July, when we get together, we talk about skiing," Conniff said of the group. On Dec. 22, 1 - 4 p.m., Conniff will be signing copies of "Skiing in Massachusetts" at the Longmeadow Flower Shop. |
