A Mountain of Memories: The snow kings

Kris Stewart.

Kris Stewart. PHOTO COURTESY CROTCHED MOUNTAIN SKI AREA

A Sno-Cat prepares the slopes.

A Sno-Cat prepares the slopes. —PHOTO COURTESY CROTCHED MOUNTAIN SKI AREA

The new Hedco snowmaking machine.

The new Hedco snowmaking machine. PHOTO COURTESY CROTCHED MOUNTAIN SKI AREA

Tim Gannett on the right side of the new Hedco snow making machine.

Tim Gannett on the right side of the new Hedco snow making machine. PHOTO COURTESY CROTCHED MOUNTAIN SKI AREA

The Stryker pulls the rollers. The attachment in front is the T-Bar deflector, which would push the T-Bar away when the Stryker was grading the track down the T-Bar line.

The Stryker pulls the rollers. The attachment in front is the T-Bar deflector, which would push the T-Bar away when the Stryker was grading the track down the T-Bar line. PHOTO COURTESY KRIS STEWART

Published: 12-26-2024 1:01 PM

Sixth of a series of excerpts from Gerry Miller’s book “Crotched Mountain Ski Area in Francestown, New Hampshire,” a history/biography about the original Crotched Mountain Ski Area in Francestown, developed by William C. (Bill) MacAdam and syndicate. Miller grew up in Francestown. Much of the material for the book was from the Monadnock Ledger or Peterborough Transcript.

A lot of work goes into readying a mountain for skiers. Kris Stewart shared a few memories.

I was ten or eleven when my father would take me up to the mountain to watch the bulldozers working on the construction of the ski area. I got to know what went into every part of what they constructed. Later on, I was working maintenance with Sonny and every chance I got I would bug him to let me drive the Sno-Cats. Eventually he let me and I was grooming the slopes from then on along with Nate Sanderson and Bill McNeil.

Initially we just had the Tucker Sno-Cat and a carpet drag. That is the only implement that we bought. Sonny and Stony designed and made all of the other grooming attachments, each with their own special uses.

The Tucker pulled the carpet drag and the rollers which were made out of spools and a galvanized cover.

With a better Sno-Cat we were able to upgrade to pulling a tri-roller, thereby reducing the number of times we had to go up and down the slopes to groom. Again, the rollers were made out of spools and a galvanized cover.

Making snow

There were times when I didn’t get much sleep between grooming and snowmaking. A couple of times I actually fell asleep while grooming. Bill McNeil was following me one night and thought that maybe I was asleep at the controls, but wasn’t positive because the Cat went where it was supposed to go. On its own.

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

Red’s in Jaffrey reopens after fire Tuesday morning
Jimmie Walker performing at The Park Theatre in Jaffrey
Earl Schofield shows his art of wax at Peterborough Town Library
Morphs & Milestones in Francestown grew out of parents’ desire to help their daughter
BUSINESS: Peterborough Diner keeps the old while embracing the new
Viewpoint: L. Phillips Runyon III – The words of one president

The initial snowmaking system was compressed air and water that was piped up the mountain in two separate pipelines with nozzles placed intermittently. We’d hook up hoses and run them out onto the slope and attach them to the Larchmont Blizzard Jet. It wasn’t a perfect system. Without enough pressure, the pipes froze and we had to thaw with an arc welder. And too much pressure sent the snow gun whipping around uncontrollably. It affected the quality of the snow. We blew snow in one location into a huge whale, and then bust it up and spread it over the slope with a dozer and Sno-Cats.

Tim Gannett and Land/Vest expanded the snowmaking system up the mountain. One time we made a huge whale, so large that some guys carved a cave into it and set up a keg. All day, people went inside the whale for a cold one.

The one person who eventually got to be real good at making snow was Donny Hardwick. He would be out there adjusting and readjusting, trying to get the perfect ice crystals depending on the conditions. One time he made snow on the whole length of the bowling alley that was the perfect carpet of snow. You couldn’t tell the difference from naturally fallen snow and it required no grooming.

Tim Gannett phased out the Larchmonts and replaced them with Hedco snowmakers. Each Hedco had a big fan that mixed air with the mist that came out of the nozzles placed around the rim. They made more snow faster, but they came with a different set of difficulties. There was always something.

There were certainly times of excitement grooming the slopes, especially during heavy snowfall and icy conditions.

One night Scott’s run was particularly icy and the Cat ended up spiraling 360s all the way down the slope. Exciting for sure.

I really enjoyed the experience working with everyone at Crotched Mountain Ski Area, farming snow. We had a good time. A lot of fun. There were a lot of mixed feelings the day we tore down the Lodge. I needed a souvenir, so I took one of the urinals and installed it in my house.