Atlantic Forests (NELSAP) MA 12/24/09

[polski]

After researching NELSAP, SnowJournal threads, the extremely informative "Dan's Lost Ski Area Explorations" site, other online local resources and topographic maps and then making a scouting visit yesterday to confirm at least one accessible and skiable (not to mention untracked!) line, today I brought the boys to what's left of NELSAP hill Atlantic Forests (a/k/a Locke's Ski Tows a/k/a Amesbury Tow).

Not only was it my first time skiing this hill but my first time making alpine turns anywhere within sight of the Atlantic Ocean. A fine, fine outing.

Only have time now to post a quick initial report.

First, via SnowJournal, click through to photos of Atlantic Forests after it had closed but before the base buildings were demolished for condo construction. Numerous artifacts of the ski area remain today, including a counterweight at the summit for a fixed-grip Poma, lights for night skiing and snowmaking pipes and valves.

View from the summit. Poma base pad visible at far right (on mostly bare ground); Atlantic Ocean in distance (with Seabrook nuclear power plant near horizon to far left)

Another view from the summit, this time to skier's left, toward a pretty good skiable line. Not really clear in this photo but Mt. Agamenticus (itself a NELSAP area) was visible in the distance

And a view from near the bottom of the main skiable part of that run, after we schralped it ... decent pitch and a bit of a double fall line

There's quite a bit of accessible conservation land surrounding the condos near the summit. Much of the old slopes are too grown in now to ski but -- with more than the maybe 4" of snowpack left from last weekend's storm (which was turning to cream cheese today), I believe there are at least one or two other skiable lines here.

More later, or tomorrow or Saturday ...

 

[pepperdawg]

Well played sir....

 

[Johnskiismore]

Nice!

 

[snoseek]

I skied there a couple times as a kid and liked it much better than Bradford. It is steeper I'm pretty sure.

 

[riverc0il]

Amazing how many lost ski areas have had condos and townhouses and colonials built on their locations. That first picture makes it look like you are skiing into someone's back yard! Nicely done, sir!

 

[polski]

Steve, I know you know of what you speak -- I've read your research into (the now inaccessible) Thunderhead and Groveland and your TR from Sea View (which is one of the next hills I plan to hit, once we get some base again). This stuff fascinates me and it's now my mission to try to ski as many lost ski areas as possible, starting with those closest to me -- as you know, northern Essex County, with its abundance of glacial drumlins, has quite a concentration of NELSAP sites.

Amazing how many lost ski areas have had condos and townhouses and colonials built on their locations. That first picture makes it look like you are skiing into someone's back yard!

When I have a chance I'll post a video from yesterday where it looks like my kids might just be flying off kickers onto the townhouses' roofs ... (btw, that's my older son in the first pic but it's getting to where I'd be happy to be confused for him!)

This is one example of where I think the housing development actually might help keep the area somewhat skiable, even if the housing is built across much of what used to be one of the ski area's main slopes. Apparently as part of a cluster zoning variance, the builder granted a trail easement that ensures a connection between the local park/conservation land at the (mostly grown in) summit and woods down to the base of the hill. There appear to be at least a couple trails wide and clear enough to ski when there's enough snow, from additional scouting I did yesterday - I'm pretty sure top-to-bottom even will be possible.

Actually, some of the publicly accessible land crosses onto a separate lost ski area that apparently used to operate for a time adjacent to Atlantic Forests/its predecessors, a place called Gould's Tow, according to a SnowJournal thread I found. I can't say I've skied that one yet though ;-)

Snoseek, yes, I'm pretty sure this has at least as much vert and pitch as Bradford - and a higher elev., with Powwow Hill's summit at ~350' above sea level.

 

[riverc0il]

I would think having a nice sledding hill across from the new homes would give it some measure of importance for the new landowners. Must be nice to be able to take your kids up the back yard hill for some sledding (or of course skiing!).

 

[polski]

I searched the Boston Globe archives, which go back to 1979 online, and found references to Atlantic Forests as late as November 1992, in what appeared to be a pre-season roundup of New England ski areas. This tells me it operated at least as late as the 1991-92 season. NELSAP says only that ski areas operated on this site "Before 1949-Early 1990's."

Atlantic Forests did indeed claim more vert than Bradford. Topo maps back this up, though the actual vert might be a little shy of that claimed for both places ...

• The 1992 Globe article said Atlantic Forests had 300' vert (and 3 lifts/3 trails, 80% covered by snowmaking) compared to 250' at Bradford.
• However, a 1988 Globe article gives Atlantic Forests' vitals as 330' vert (with 3 lifts and 5 trails with 100% snowmaking - perhaps this included the old Gould's area at that point?). Assuming topo maps are correct, 300+ feet of vert is not possible.
• Historical topo maps online at UNH (awesome resource!) give the summit elevation of Powwow Hill (Atlantic Forests et al) as 331' and of Dead Hill (Ski Bradford) as 272'. But it also appears the base at Atlantic Forests was at around 70' ASL, yielding vert of no more than ~260', whereas Bradford's base is at about 50' ASL for vert of no more than 220'. In both cases skiable terrain actually starts a small number of vert feet below the summit elev.

This is starting to get into SnowJournal kind of detail (and I plan to do a writeup there soon) but a Globe article in March 1987, on a snowy winter that was profitable for ski areas, included this: "Two new small ski areas near Boston - Atlantic Forest (sic - should be Forests, plural) in Amesbury and Prospect Hill in Waltham -- even made an appearance." A December 1984 article mentioned Amesbury Ski Tows, the predecessor area at the Atlantic Forests site, as one of the Boston-area slopes with night skiing.

 

[polski]

Some more photos.

Looking down to the end of the top part of what I'd call the summit run. Note trail marker near the bottom at right. And again, note double fall line.

Same as above but to the right. Again, note trail marker. The trail follows the perimeter of the flat snowy area, which is a yard for townhouses, before contouring downhill a bit.

From the bottom of this run. Trail marker at left.

From the same spot, looking at the descending trail (which certainly is wide enough to ski)

Snowmaking hydrant (near bottom of pic) in what's left of one part of the slope

From same location, looking back up the trail we'd just descended. Note snowmaking pipe on right edge of trail.

Another trail marker. Very nice pitch in this area and soft grass as a base, though cover was a bit too thin for me to try to make turns here

Same location, looking down

Closeup of previous shot, showing two snowmaking hydrants

Downhill of the previous location and looking up. Not sure how much farther down skiing would be possible from this spot, mainly because of brush.

Back up top, another view - in this one you can see the Poma base pad to the left and a pole with a light toward the right

Finally, as we were exiting I spotted the Poma counterweight, which you can make out in the woods on the other side of the fence in this shot

 

[polski]

sorry for the late bump but I said I'd post this vid, of my kids seemingly trying to jump into the townhouses ...

 

[snowmonster]

Nice! Thanks for sharing. Hope to join you on one of these adventures someday. Seems like Dec. 24 was a NELSAP day. I did my own NELSAPing around here that day: Newton Commonwealth GC and Prospect Hill in Waltham. The former was great and good for multiple runs. The latter was good on the skin up and too bony on the way down.

 

[bigbog]

Land is being gobbled up as fast as possible. Good post Polski.

 

[polski]

I want the big mountains up north to get dumped on this weekend but also am hoping for substantial accumulation closer in. The other day I scouted out and cleared some seriously nice-looking lines on another local hill, including some that are genuinely (and for around here, uncharacteristically) steep. Figure the best of these will need at least a foot of cover though. Planning to vanquish more would-be snow snakes tomorrow morning.

The funny thing, is through some volunteer work a few years ago I played a small role in preventing a huge housing development from being built on that hill (which remains public land at this point). Wasn't interested in bc skiing at the time and had no idea until my scouting mission the other day just how much of a potential treasure this place is.

 

[polski]

Nice! Thanks for sharing. Hope to join you on one of these adventures someday. Seems like Dec. 24 was a NELSAP day. I did my own NELSAPing around here that day: Newton Commonwealth GC and Prospect Hill in Waltham. The former was great and good for multiple runs. The latter was good on the skin up and too bony on the way down.

What kind of length and pitch on these?

If we get good snow this weekend I'm thinking of trying to hit a local NELSAP circuit, at least three skiable hills and maybe a fourth I know of. If I'm not in the north country, that is ...

Land is being gobbled up as fast as possible.

Yup. Yesterday I drove past the old Thunderhead area in Haverhill and skiing is not possible anymore with the housing developed there. riverc0il wrote this up for SnowJournal/NELSAP as the housing was first being built some years back.