New England Lost Ski Areas Project

Brodie Mountain, an example of a lost ski area

New England Lost Ski Areas Project (NELSAP) is an organization that concerns the history of downhill skiing areas, mostly in the northeast United States. Started as a website in 1998, it has also organized hikes, research projects, and lectures in recent years.

Mission

While the core mission of NELSAP is to 'celebrate the history of lost ski areas in New England,' the organization also works to document lost ski areas other regions, such as New York and even Afghanistan.

Another mission which has emerged over time is the effort to document and promote lesser known open ski areas. A recent project has begun to "Adopt a Ski Area," in which contributors visit a lesser known hill and write a trip report documenting their experience and the overall feel of the ski area.

History

NELSAP was started in October 1998 by Jeremy Davis. The site has grown over the years to list 588 closed New England ski areas and 71 outside the region (as of February 2007).

The project's data is collected from a variety of sources, including old brochures, ski area guides, personal stories, and recent visits. NELSAP has an alliance with the New England Ski Museum.

The site has grown to have national recognition and has been subject of newspaper articles and television reports.

Davis' first book, Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains, was published in July 2008 by The History Press. A second book, Lost Ski Areas of Southern Vermont, was published in 2010 by The History Press.

External links

• New England Lost Ski Areas Project - Official site
  • NELSAP site regarding "Lost Ski Areas of the White Mountains" book

News reports

• Old Ski Slopes - A 2004 National Public Radio story on NELSAP
• Memory Lanes - A 2005 Boston Globe article about NELSAP
• Vermont’s Forgotten Trails and Frozen Lifts of Winters Past - A 2008 New York Times article about NELSAP
• [1] - 2009 Boston Globe article about NELSAP