New England Ski Museum: Tuckerman’s Ravine Lecture

Last week, our GSAs enjoyed an informative and engaging presentation by Jeff Leich, Executive Director of the New England Ski Museum.  This presentation covered a history of skiing in Tuckerman’s Ravine.  We were able to see pictures of skiers from many years ago, races that had occurred at Tuckerman’s Ravine, and beautiful pictures of the mountain area.  If you missed the presentation but are interested in learning more about the area, check out the museum’s list of programs that they offer.  The museum also offers a store, available online, with a variety of options.  There are DVDs available focused on the history of skiing.

If you’re interested in visiting the museum in person, there are 2 locations: Franconia Notch Museum at Cannon Mountain and Eastern Slope Branch in North Conway.

Our GSAs enjoyed this presentation so much that they shared their thoughts and personal experiences with Tuckerman’s Ravine and skiing.  Read below for some GSA perspectives:

GSA LP: “I have been fascinated with Tuckerman Ravine for a long time as I have a son who climbs it in summer and winter and will ski down it whenever there is snow…I had no idea that there were actual ski trails and ski races that have gone on for years in the ravine. It certainly gave me a different description as well as an understanding of Tuckerman.”

GSA SG: “In this presentation the devil was in the details. For instance, learning that Tuckerman’s Ravine was named for a college professor of botany who studied plants and lichens in the 1830’s-1840’s, and that the first documented ski runs on Tuckerman’s Ravine went all the way back to 1913, and that the early ski races were timed with short-wave radios, for instance, was fascinating!”

GSA MM: “My husband and our son hiked the Tuckerman Ravine trail and skied Tuckerman’s in May 1996 and it is a fond and accomplished memory they will never forget.  Seeing some of the pictures yesterday brought my husband down memory lane.  We have visited both ski museums, as a matter of fact, we bought the book mentioned (in the presentation) “Mount Washington in Winter” by Winston Pate many years ago at the North Conway Ski Museum.” 

GSA DM: “I am not a downhill skier but I am envious of the courage of those who are, even in modern equipment. The stories of those early skiers is worth sharing and I will be sure to send friends, family, and tourists to your two museums. As a volunteer at the State House I meet a lot of tourists who are interested in history and from you I learned NH certainly has a lot of skiing history.”

GSA RW: “The photos you presented were just stunning.  I especially enjoyed the clothing some of the earlier skiers wore such as dress shirts and ties or the woman in a full length fur coat.  I look forward to being able to visit the museum in person in the near future.  And I will certainly be recommending to friends and visitors to NH that it would be worth dropping in to see how much history of the sport there is here in NH.”