Always has been an odd name.
Pretty much learned to ski there and Mt Tom up the road, which is close to Woodstock and across from Billings Farm. I think it was a dual ticket. I’m pretty sure we sometimes did both the same day.
Mt Tom, defunct for a long time, was the beginner area and much easier. There’s a small nursery school there now where the “lodge” was I think. If you could call it a lodge. Very small. Behind that was the bunny hill, to the right was the main poma. Can’t remember if the bunny slope was rope tow or poma.
The Face at Suicide was never groomed before winch cats were invented. It’s too steep. Consequently, it was a steep mogul run. Despite having little vert, 600? It was good prep for skiing most places. It really takes steep to prepare for steep. No way really to get used to it.
Going to Stowe, I don’t remember an “omg we’re going to die” thought on the front four. They were just much longer.
Except for Goat or Starr, can’t remember which, but they were another level. I do remember sliding down in a fall on one of those and only being stopped by a mogul.
Suicide had two pomas, one went up the main hill where the chair is now. The chair is slow, the poma was better. But the top is a black diamond. It was common to see people walking down when they fell off.
Probably why I have a love of pomas, though Europe with all those rope reel pomas is changing that. A ten plus minute ride up steep on those isn’t great. But the ones with the metal poles, like the top of Snowmass, those are the good ones.
It was a great place to ski as a kid. We used to make dozens of runs in a day, just on our own or following a French instructor who spoke little English down the Face. Many runs were just to tuck the whole of Easy Mile, a green trail.
The grooming of the face changes things a lot. Been like that for decades, and it makes it essentially a different place.
They do hold supposedly the longest running ski race in North America, the Fisk Trophy, a slalom race. I’m sure
@S.H. has been many times as well as
@Muleski when it still was bamboo through the modern gates.
This one from 5 years ago was won by Robby Kelley. Write up is by Tucker Marshall, son of Barbara, the former psia examiner, famous for her huge puffy down coats and skiing last lift with her groups. Brothers Jesse and Cody, sister Chelsea. All were on the US Ski Team at one time.
The name-
—————————
This led him to hill No. 6 on the topological map, [prepared for them], only a short distance from Gilbert’s hill. Bertram built a ski tow on the south-facing side known as the Gully with the help of the Fisk family, who bought the land and let Bertram use it rent-free. Bunny’s Ski Tows opened for the 1935-36 season.
Even though the Gully is now part of Suicide Six, not until 1937 could Bertram procure the rest of hill No. 6. He was able to purchase the top of the hill and the land on the northeast side — the steep side. Legend has it that Bertram, when looking at the steep northeast face of hill No. 6, said that “it would be suicide to ski straight down that face.”
Later, in thinking up a name for his new, expanded area, he recalled his comment and remembered the power of alliteration from his high school English class: hence Suicide Six.
——————
There’s more interesting parts of the story-
A couple of years ago, the company that ran the Park City ski area was a little late with a payment on the leased land that made up the majority
www.vtcng.com
They might just call it Woodstock as it’s the only ski area left there. Even though it’s in South Pomfret.
