Where Is The New England Ski Museum?
The New England Ski Museum is located in the heart of the White Mountain National Forest, appropriately nestled in a snow-covered mountain.
The free museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to the history of skiing and resides in the same park as the (now gone) iconic Old Man of the Mountain.
Step inside the museum and you’ll experience the permanent exhibit “From the First Tracks to the Fall Line: Eight thousand years of skiing,’’ which is a chronology of the development of skiing from its prehistoric roots through the 1990s. You’ll learn New England ski history, which, of course, includes the achievements of the state’s pride on skis, Olympian Bode Miller from Easton, N.H, one of the most successful alpine skiers in American history. Miller’s five Olympic medals are on display.
This year’s annual exhibit is “Green Mountain, White gold: Origins of Vermont Skiing,’’ which will be on display throughout the 2015 ski season. Did you know that The Woodstock Inn in Vermont, which opened in 1892, launched the country’s first rope tow in 1934, meaning skiers no longer had to climb up to glide down?
Collections inside the museum run the gamut from news clippings to films to photographs to clothing and skis. For example, you can check out the pins and patches of 1936 Olympian Albert Lincoln Washburn, who was a member of the ski team at Dartmouth College, materials from the 1967 World Cup races at Cannon Mountain, and 18 storage boxes filled with material on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) races and early computerized race timing.
You’ll also find the typescripts of film maker Hans Thorner, who made films such as “1948 Winter Olympics,’’ was one of the first certified ski instructors in the United States, and founded Magic Mountain in Vermont. Thorner, who died in 2003, was known for his ingenuity, recruiting ski instructors from his native Switzerland and using sheep to mow Magic’s slopes in the off season.
Where is this museum?
Check back with us tomorrow for the answer. And get travel inspiration every Tuesday on Twitter using the hashtag #TravelTuesday.
Answer: Franconia Notch State Park in Franconia, NH
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com