Not A Flying Saucer.
Close, though. It certainly looks like it might be from…um…elsewhere. And that’s a giveaway to what was going on in that particular era. Is it an amusement park ride? Prop from a space movie? No, but at what stylish resort did this car-ish “gondola” appear? How about when? Does anyone know the history? We thank Jamie Storrs of Vail Resorts for opening his archive of historical photos for us.
Last Week
We have few answers as to the details of the video of vintage home movies curated by correspondent Don Burch. Clearly, some 50s and 60s footage. Don reports the first segment is from the Ostego Ski Club skiing at Hidden Valley, PA. The second is labelled 1961, and no data for the last segment. Fun, though, to see that world again.
Here it is in case you missed it last week.
Mount Snow for sure, in the Walter Schoenknecht days
Mount Snow 1970
You could catch one of these cars right out of the lobby of the Snow Lake Lodge right up to the mountain.
This was indeed a lift at Mt. Snow that took guests staying at Snow Lake Lodge right to the base of Mt. Snow’s gondolas, a distance of about 1/2 mile. It went right over Fountain Mountain that they built each year by shooting a geyser of water into the cold air. Each cabin held 4 people, and you loaded your skis into the each end of it. It was indeed a unique way (at the time) to get to the base area. I remember using this each year in the early 70’s on our annual trips to Mt. Snow. I can’t remember the special name they had for this.
That is the “Air Car” at Mt. Snow Vt. It shuttled skiers between the Hotel and base lodge. Its first season of operation was the 1964-65 ski season and it was there until the mid 70’s
It’s like having the Jetson’s right here in southern Vermont.
Funny. I do a search today for “historic Mount Snow space ship gondola from hotel to ski lifts” and come across this 23 days after it was published.
The existence of the Hotel gondola wheelhouse is still evident to this day
but is walled off. I was 16 the first time my friends and I pulled into Mt Snow and drove under it on the way to the base lodge in the 73/74 season.