Cranmore Mountain Resort
Encyclopedia
Cranmore Mountain Resort is located in North Conway
, New Hampshire
. Currently, it is one of New Hampshire's most successful ski resorts.
It was founded in 1937 by a group of businessmen, led by Harvey Dow Gibson
a native son of North Conway and president of the Manufacturers Trust Company, who wanted to establish North Conway as the ski capital of the world. Picking land on Lookout Mountain, they began the construction of a small ski resort there.
Cranmore probably would have faded into obscurity if it weren't for Hitler
and the German
annexation of Austria
, where Hannes Schneider
had created his ski school. Schneider was an outspoken critic of the Nazis
, and they stripped him of his title in 1938. Gibson arranged for Schneider's release to the United States
.
(As legend has it, Schneider saw Mount Washington
and said "Ah! The mountain!".)
, the Skimobile opened in December 1938, only two years after the first chairlift
in the world was installed. After visiting the chairlift installed at Belknap Mountain
in Gilford, New Hampshire
, Morton realized he disliked his feet dangling in the air as he rode. Drawing his inspiration from the San Francisco cable cars
he had heard about, Morton decided to develop a ski lift that ran on tracks. Morton's son, Parker, had recently graduated from the Wentworth Institute
in Boston, and his engineering training was critical for the lift's design. Morton and his son tinkered with a number of designs for their new lift. Originally, Morton planned the lift to allow skiers to ride the lift while wearing their skis, but he feared lines would grow too long. Morton's daughter began helping the development by sitting in different positions at the dining room table while carrying her skis. Finally, the design was completed, and the trestle was laid. The cars were built in Massachusetts
and shipped to Conway for painting by the Mortons.
Following a hectic summer of trial and error in the Mortons' shop, 150 cars painted red, white and blue carried skiers halfway up Cranmore Mountain that first winter.
The Skimobile was a revolution. The 1,800-foot lift offered skiers unparalleled speed. On New Year's Day, 1939, it carried 1,065 passengers at a rate of approximately 255 skiers per hour.
Although the Skimobile arrived at Cranmore the winter before the Schneider family, the new lift was critical in implementing Schneider's first suggestion, which was to expand to the summit of the mountain. In 1939, a second trestle was added using timber felled from the New England Hurricane of 1938
. The top to bottom Skimobile transported over 200 people to the summit of Cranmore Mountain on its first day.
The unique lift quickly became an attraction unto itself, and the resort began running the lift during the summer. The scenic rides continued until the Skimobile was finally laid to rest in 1988. The high-speed quad that replaced the Skimobile, the Skimobile Express, bears its name in reverence to Morton's invention.
The ski area features trails and a hut (the Meister Hut) named after Schneider and Gibson.
Cranmore is also home to the Arctic Blast Tubing Park which offers lift serviced snow tubing during the winter operating season. In 2008 and going back 5 years, Cranmore has had more snow tubing visitors than any other operation in the state of New Hampshire as reported by Ski New Hampshire, an industry trade association.
Cranmore was sold by Booth Creek to CMR Properties in June 2010.
Cranmore is located approximately 120 miles north of Boston and is accessible off of New Hampshire Route 16
in North Conway.
9 Lifts:
1 High Speed Quad
1 Quad:
1 Triple:
2 Doubles:
2 Tubing Surface Lifts:
2 Magic Carpets:
1 Handle Tow:
North Conway, New Hampshire
North Conway is a census-designated place in eastern Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,349 at the 2010 census. A year-round resort area, North Conway is the largest village within the town of Conway, which is bounded on the east by the Maine state line. The White...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. Currently, it is one of New Hampshire's most successful ski resorts.
It was founded in 1937 by a group of businessmen, led by Harvey Dow Gibson
Harvey Dow Gibson
-Family and Early Life :Harvey Dow Gibson was born on March 12, 1882 at North Conway, New Hampshire, the son of James Lewis Gibson and Addie Dow. His father was telegraph operator for the Portland & Ogdensburg Railroad...
a native son of North Conway and president of the Manufacturers Trust Company, who wanted to establish North Conway as the ski capital of the world. Picking land on Lookout Mountain, they began the construction of a small ski resort there.
Cranmore probably would have faded into obscurity if it weren't for Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
annexation of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, where Hannes Schneider
Hannes Schneider
Johann "Hannes" Schneider was an Austrian Ski instructor of the first half of the twentieth century.He was born in the town of Stuben am Arlberg in Austria as a son of a cheese maker. In 1907 he became a ski guide at the Hotel Post in St. Anton, Austria where he began work on what became known as...
had created his ski school. Schneider was an outspoken critic of the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, and they stripped him of his title in 1938. Gibson arranged for Schneider's release to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Schneider arrives in North Conway
Schneider and his entire family left the train and walked under an archway of ski poles, held by 150 schoolchildren enrolled in the Eastern Slope Ski Club Junior Program. After lunch, Schneider made his first turns at his new home. "Well, Herbert," Schneider said to his son, "It's not St. Anton, but we're going to love it here." From that moment on, Schneider and Gibson worked to build Cranmore into a premier ski resort destination.(As legend has it, Schneider saw Mount Washington
Mount Washington (New Hampshire)
Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at , famous for dangerously erratic weather. For 76 years, a weather observatory on the summit held the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, , on the afternoon of April 12, 1934...
and said "Ah! The mountain!".)
The Skimobile
Invented by George Morton of nearby BartlettBartlett, New Hampshire
Bartlett is a town in Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,788 at the 2010 census. Bartlett includes the villages of Glen, Lower Bartlett and Intervale. It is set in the White Mountains, surrounded by the White Mountain National Forest...
, the Skimobile opened in December 1938, only two years after the first chairlift
Chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...
in the world was installed. After visiting the chairlift installed at Belknap Mountain
Gunstock Mountain Resort
Gunstock Mountain Resort is a sports complex located on Gunstock Mountain in Gilford, New Hampshire, and is owned by Belknap County. Activities include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow tubing, ski jumping, snowshoeing, hiking, swimming, and skateboarding.-History:The original Gunstock...
in Gilford, New Hampshire
Gilford, New Hampshire
Gilford is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,126 at the 2010 census. Situated on Lake Winnipesaukee, Gilford is home to Governors Island, Ellacoya State Beach, Belknap Mountain State Forest, Gunstock Mountain Ski Resort, and Meadowbrook U.S...
, Morton realized he disliked his feet dangling in the air as he rode. Drawing his inspiration from the San Francisco cable cars
Cable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
he had heard about, Morton decided to develop a ski lift that ran on tracks. Morton's son, Parker, had recently graduated from the Wentworth Institute
Wentworth Institute of Technology
The Wentworth Institute of Technology is an independent, co-educational, technical design and engineering college located in Boston, Massachusetts...
in Boston, and his engineering training was critical for the lift's design. Morton and his son tinkered with a number of designs for their new lift. Originally, Morton planned the lift to allow skiers to ride the lift while wearing their skis, but he feared lines would grow too long. Morton's daughter began helping the development by sitting in different positions at the dining room table while carrying her skis. Finally, the design was completed, and the trestle was laid. The cars were built in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and shipped to Conway for painting by the Mortons.
Following a hectic summer of trial and error in the Mortons' shop, 150 cars painted red, white and blue carried skiers halfway up Cranmore Mountain that first winter.
The Skimobile was a revolution. The 1,800-foot lift offered skiers unparalleled speed. On New Year's Day, 1939, it carried 1,065 passengers at a rate of approximately 255 skiers per hour.
Although the Skimobile arrived at Cranmore the winter before the Schneider family, the new lift was critical in implementing Schneider's first suggestion, which was to expand to the summit of the mountain. In 1939, a second trestle was added using timber felled from the New England Hurricane of 1938
New England Hurricane of 1938
The New England Hurricane of 1938 was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869...
. The top to bottom Skimobile transported over 200 people to the summit of Cranmore Mountain on its first day.
The unique lift quickly became an attraction unto itself, and the resort began running the lift during the summer. The scenic rides continued until the Skimobile was finally laid to rest in 1988. The high-speed quad that replaced the Skimobile, the Skimobile Express, bears its name in reverence to Morton's invention.
Cranmore today
These days Cranmore Mountain has around 40 acres (16 ha) of skiable terrain with a vertical of 1,200 ft (370 m). There are 43 trails: 36% novice, 44% intermediate, and 20% expert. There are three terrain parks and 7 glades.The ski area features trails and a hut (the Meister Hut) named after Schneider and Gibson.
Cranmore is also home to the Arctic Blast Tubing Park which offers lift serviced snow tubing during the winter operating season. In 2008 and going back 5 years, Cranmore has had more snow tubing visitors than any other operation in the state of New Hampshire as reported by Ski New Hampshire, an industry trade association.
Cranmore was sold by Booth Creek to CMR Properties in June 2010.
Cranmore is located approximately 120 miles north of Boston and is accessible off of New Hampshire Route 16
New Hampshire Route 16
New Hampshire Route 16 is a long north–south highway in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Much of its length is close to the border with Maine. NH 16 is the main route from the Seacoast region north to the Lakes Region and the White Mountains. The section from Portsmouth to Milton is a...
in North Conway.
9 Lifts:
1 High Speed Quad
1 Quad:
1 Triple:
2 Doubles:
2 Tubing Surface Lifts:
2 Magic Carpets:
1 Handle Tow:
External links
- Cranmore Mountain Resort - official site
- Cranmore - NewEnglandSkiHistory.com - history and photos
- YouTube videos of the Skimobile in the 1960s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD5OGCRFHd4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zctLAfxJ2yk