Belknap Mountain Recreation Area
Mount Rowe Single Chairlift
The above photo was taken by Dick Smith in the late 1950’s. The postcard reads: “Ride the 3200-ft Chair Tramway to the top of Mt. Rowe at the Million Dollar Belknap Mountain Recreation Area and view beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee and the majestic White Mountains.”
Built in 1937, this single chairlift was one of the first chairlifts in ther country (the fourth). The first chairlifts in the world had been built only a year earlier at Sun Valley, Idaho, copied from the banana lifts used in Central America to load United Fruit cargo vessels. The Rowe Mountain chairlift was the first chairlift in New England, preceding by three years the second New England chairlift, which was built at Stowe, Vermont in 1940. The original chairlift at Gunstock (the ski area changed its name in 1959 from Belknap to Gunstock), the Rowe Mountain chairlift was 3200 feet long and rose 714 feet. It ran at 400′ per minute, so a ride to the top took about 8 minutes. Officially its capacity was said to be 200 persons per hour. Under construction in 1937, the chairlift was completed on January 15, 1938. This followed less than a year after the area had officially opened on February 28, 1937, with the Eastern Ski Championships, a ski jumping event. The area already had some trails, built by the Winnipesaukee Ski Club, formed in 1918, but no lifts.
In the 1940’s and 1950’s, it was a very popular summertime activity to take this unique new ride to the top of Mt. Rowe. The foot rest was added to the chair probably around 1956. Originally, summertime passengers just let their legs dangle over the edge of the chair. It is possible the foot rests may have been added earlier, in 1951, when the Tramway was rebuilt at a cost of $50,000, with new chairs and “rubber mounted shives that give you that smooth comfortable ride to the mountain top”.
By the 1960’s, summertime rides were on the decline, as wintertime skiing had blossomed all over New England, and chairlifts had become commonplace. However, it is still possible to take a summertime chairlift ride at Gunstock.
The webmaster remembers riding this chairlift to the top of Mt Rowe in the late 1960’s. There were a couple of great, challenging ski trails from the top of the lift, the best being the “Fletcher Hale” trail. (Fletcher Hale, a Laconia resident, was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-ninth and to the three succeeding US Congresses and served from March 4, 1925, until his death on October 22, 1931. His grave lies in the Union Cemetery on Union Avenue in Laconia.)
Unfortunately, in 1980, Gunstock removed this chair and abandoned the trails. During the 1990’s, the former Try-Me trail was graded into an access road, and an enormous cell phone tower was built on the summit. Now, the only remaining single chairlift in the USA is at the Mad River Ski Area in Waitsfield, Vermont, which erected its single chair in 1948. (New Hampshire can also boast of two more skiing lift “firsts”. The first enclosed-cabin tramway in North America was built at Cannon Mountain in Franconia in 1938; and the first gondola in the USA opened in 1958 at Wildcat in Jackson.)
On the backside from the top of the single chairlift was an obscure, little-known connecting trail to what eventually became the now-defunct Mount Rowe ski area. Adjacent to Mount Rowe, on the access road from Gunstock, are four Olympic-style ski jumps of various sizes. The largest jump has often been the site of the Hill Climb competition (scroll down to see photo below) during Motorcycle Week. These jumps are still in use today by the Gunstock Nordic Association.
A late 1940’s postcard “Chairlift on Belknap Mountain, White Mountains, N.H.”. The postcard caption incorrectly places the Mount Rowe chairlift on Belknap Mountain.
A photo from the 1957 Weirs Beach Chamber of Commerce brochure
A photo from an early 1960’s Greater Laconia-Weirs Beach Chamber of Commerce brochure.
Although the chairlift is tinted blue in this postcard, its original color was green, and it was later painted red.
A color linen postcard shows a crowd waiting to ride the Tramway. The original B&W photo appeared in the 1939 Lakes Region Association’s “Where To” guidebook.
“Skiers Starting up Rowe Mountain Tramway, Belknap Mountains Recreation Area, Gilford, N.H.” Postmarked 1944. Skiing was blooming in popularity and waiting in a lift line, the bane of skiers ever afterwards, was often required in order to reach the top.
A 1940 postcard by Harold Piper, a famous photographer of the time, especially noted for his aerial photography. Color version first, followed by b&w version.
The view on a beautiful fall day, taken from a single chair, on the way back down to the base of the mountain. The main lodge is visible at the center of the photo. To the left of the lodge is Gunstock Pond. Rising to the left of the pond is Cobble Mountain.
The same view taken 10-20 years earlier
A gentleman is arriving and a lady is leaving the Summit Station of the Tramway while an attendant in suit and tie watches carefully.
Detail from a souvenir mirror, late 1950’s
Similar graphic as previous, but from a souvenir button
A colorized postcard by Piper,”Traveling Skyward for a Downhill Slide – Chair Tramway, Belknap Mts. Recreation Area, Gilford, N.H.” On the back it said “A happy skier on her way to the summit of Rowe Mountain where she will make her descent via Tryme or Stonebar Trails or the Fletcher Hale Slalom.” Postmarked in 1941.
In this reprint of the previous card, the skier’s pants and scarf are now tinted blue, but her hair is still fluorescent yellow!
A winter skier rides the single chairlift, 1941.
Photo from a 1939 brochure,”Your Winter Vacation in the Lakes Region of NH”
“Chair Tramway, Belknap Recreation Area, Gilford, N.H.”
“Chair Tow, Summer and Winter” – from the 1955 Weirs Beach Area Chamber of Commerce brochure.
“Base Station, Chair Tramway”
A postcard postmarked in 1941. It says Chair Tow, Belknap Rec. Area, Gilford, NH, on the bottom left, and Quimby Drug, Lakeport, NH, on the bottom right.
An ad from the 1938 Where To in the Lakes Region guidebook. The brand-new ski area at this point was called the Belknap Mountains Park, not the Belknap Recreation Area, as it soon came to be known.
A photo from the 1947 Lakes Region Association’s Where To guidebook. A sign cautions skiers, “Do Not Swing Chairs!”
A winter skier rides the single chair, circa 1955; and the area entrance sign. Note the carving depicting the single chair in the circle at the top of the sign; it matches the rider seen on the souvenir mirror and button above.
A winter skier rides the single chairlift, mid1940’s.
A photo from the 1957 official program for Motorcycle Week shows that even bikers enjoyed taking a ride on the single chairlift.
Ad from the 1956 Weirs Beach Chamber of Commerce booklet advertises the “Chair-Tow” and other attractions.
Ad from the 1956 edition of the Lakes Region Association’s “Where To” tourist guidebook advertises the “New Ski Lift” and other attractions.
Late 1950s summer brochure
A 1950s, “Fun” map of the Belknap Area shows the Chair Tramway and the trails from Rowe Mountain. The trails from the top of the main, Gunstock mountain were very few at this point.
The other side of the fun map showed the summertime activities.
Views From the Top of Mt. Rowe
The firetower in the inset was located on the top of Mount Belknap, not on the top of Rowe Mountain.
The Main Lodge
The lodge, built in 1941 from stone quarried from Cobble Mountain, has changed very little over the years, and it has pretty much the same appearance today.
Trail Maps
The webmaster has annotated a mid-1950s aerial postcard. On the back side of the postcard, the legend read as follows: “Recreational area near Laconia, NH. Showing chair lift on Rowe Mt. (3200 ft) in center and ski trails with 4 ski jumps 10- 20- 40- 65 meter; with 5 meter ski jump at right. Lake Winnipesaukee is background.”
A 1961 trail map closely matches the trail cuts seen in the postcard above. The top half of Gunstock had still not been developed. Although the name of the area had changed in 1959 the brochure still lists the old name of the Belknap Recreation area.
Gunstock trail map, in 1964, after the first double chair lift to the top of Gunstock had been built. A second double chairlift was added later to run alongside the first. The Rowe Mountain lift and trail complex were still a big part of the overall ski area. In 1986 a major reconstruction project changed the feel of the mountain, quite detrimentally in the opinon of the webmaster. Newer, less challenging trails and shorter lifts were added, while some challenging trails and longer lifts were removed. Notably, the two main double chairlifts to the top of the mountain were both removed and the middle part of the Ramrod trail which had ran underneath the main chairlifts was closed permanently. Much later, a new express quad chairlift to the top of the mountain was added to the left side of the Smith slope.
Gunstock trail map, circa late 1960s, with a cool gopher logo.This is the Gunstock the webmaster skied a lot. The map is exactly as remembered. Favorite trail: Trigger to Phelps.
A 1971 Gunstock trail map.
The Ski Jumps
A summertime view of the 60 meter ski jump, by Harold Piper. The caption on the card noted that “there is an observation room in the top of the jump tower from which one can enjoy a panoramic view of the surrounding country.”
The 60 meter ski jump. An interesting postcard, as only the top portion has been tinted. Another great Harold Piper photo.
A color linen postcard showing the summertime view from the launching point of the 60 meter jump. There was an even better scenic view from the observatory at the top of the jump tower. The observatory was about 170′ higher than the launching point.
The back of this postcard reads: “Take-off “lip” at Flagpoles, outrun at foot of hill enclosed by “standing” terraces, accommodating over 5,000 persons, comfort station at right and parking area which has a capacity of 2000 autos with quick and easy “in and out” of any one car. A good auto road is provided to within a few feet of the point from which this picture was taken.”
The vertical height of the 60 meter jump was 316 feet from the bottom of the landing hill to the floor of the starting tower. In the early 1970’s, the jump was expanded to 70 meters to conform with international Olympic standards. The jump was last used in 2004. On October 29, 2009 the NH Preservation Alliance selected the jump as one of the state’s “Seven to Save” most threatened historic properties.
Competitive ski jumping returned to NH in 2021 at the Nansen Ski Jump, in Milan, NH, just north of Berlin. The jumping events are organized by the Nansen Ski Club. There are 3 jumps. The huge, 80-meter “Big Nansen” was built in 1937, closed in 1988, and is currently the focus of restoration efforts. The club built two new jumps in 2021 – “Little Nansen”, its main, 39-meter jump; and “Li’l Nansen”, its 10-meter, training jump.
Today’s competitive jumps are set up with parallel lines of ceramic tracks that provide a smoother surface for the inrun than a snow-covered hill. The inrun is the part of the jump run from the start to the take-off point.
Configuration of 60 meter jump. Drawing from webmaster’s notes; original drawing part of the “Got Skis?” exhibition at the Laconia Public Library, Feb 26-Apr 30, 2009.
An aerial of the ski jumps taken by Harold Piper in the 1940’s. The jumps can be seen clearly in order from left to right…10 meter, 20 meter, and 60 meter. The Fletcher Hale Trail is seen in the upper right, funneling into the spectator area of the 60 meter jump.
A Harold Piper postcard titled “Ski Jump and Slalom Course, Belknap Mountain Recreation Area, Gilford, NH”, shows the 60 meter jump, the Fletcher Hale Trail, and the ridgeline.
A similar card by Piper, “Ski Jump and Slalom Course on Rowe Mountain”, shows how the Fletcher Hale trail widened out near the bottom.
The wintertime jumping events were very well attended. Numerous spectators lined both sides of the jump from the takeoff point to the landing area. Parking lots were full. The first photo below is of the 1941 winter carnival.
Summer Ski Jumping
This is nuts! This August 14, 1949 competition was won by Euguene Levasseur with a jump of 118 feet. Using rakes, pitchforks and shovels, course volunteers had laid down a landing base of shaved/crushed ice that was 18 feet wide and 8 inches deep, and that was surrounded by numerous bales of hay. Held again on July 23, 1950, the summer ski jump competition charged admission of 10¢ and attracted a crowd of several thousands. Smartly, the summer ski jump was held on the intermediate, 40 meter jump, not the 60 meter monster. For the July 14, 1952 competition, the Laconia Citizen boasted that “The coolest news in town these days concerns the annual summer ski meet…The mere thought of seventy tons of crushed ice glistening on the mountain side would be worth the price of admission…”. The 1952 competition was sponsored by both the Laconia and Weirs Beach Chambers of Commerce, as well as the Winnipesaukee and Weirs Ski Clubs.
The Hill Climb
The Laconia Motorcycle Week Hill Climb ran from 1946 until 1962 on the 60 meter hill. After a 30-year absence, the event returned to the big hill when it ran from 1993 to 2011. In 2017, it returned once again. It has continued to the present day on the big hill, except for one year when it was held on the Phelps Slope.
A Laconia hillclimber in the 1940s has made it up to the 350′ mark.
One of the very earliest Motorcycle Week Hill Climb competitions at the 60 meter jump.
The Laconia Hill Climb competition in September, 1952
A Hill Climb is featured on the front cover of the June 1937 Harley-Davidson Enthusisast magazine. The photo gives a great sense of the excitement and competition at this type of event. This is not the Laconia hill climb.
Alpine Ridge
To the far right of the Mt. Rowe single chairlift, the Mount Rowe ski area was built in 1965. In 1977, the area installed a summer slide, and renamed itself Alpine Ridge. Skiing stopped in 1986, and the summer ride stopped permanently in 1988. In late 1998, the 106 acres were sold to Gunstock. In 2018, the Gunstock area re-introduced summer sliding on Mount Rowe with its Mountain Coaster, which follows the old Try Me trail from the top of Mount Rowe. In December, 2021, Gunstock revealed its future expansion plans, in which the former Alpine Ridge area would once again be covered with ski trails and a lift.
A young boy enthusiastically descends the Alpine Ridge summer slide.
Alpine Ridge brochure cover
Alpine Ridge postcard
Alpine Ridge also featured a waterslide.
The Snow Train
Listed in the 1937-1938 Boston and Maine railroad brochure were trips that one could take for the weekend on the Snow Train from Boston’s North Station to Laconia’s Belknap Mountain. There were also organized trips to Plymouth, Waterville Valley and Franconia Notch, as well as New Hampshire’s Eastern Slope region (Mt. Whittier, Conway, North Conway, Intervale). Trips to Vermont included weekends at White River Jct.(Woodstock) and the Mt. Mansfield Region in Waterbury (Stowe). Prices ranged from $3.00 to $9.00 round trip.
The Snow Train had begun on January 11, 1931, when the B&M had run the first snow train to Warner, NH. To see the entire 1939 Snow Train booklet, click here.
The 1937-1938 Snow Train booklet.
The 1936-1937 Snow Train booklet.
A photo of the Snow Train from the 1940 NH Troubadour Yearbook.
The 1939 Snow Train booklet.
Northland Skis
Besides Gunstock, another local pioneer of the ski industry was the Northland Ski Manufacturing Company of Laconia. Founded by Christian Lund in the St. Paul, Minnesota area in 1911, the company grew quickly. In the 1920’s Northland skis gained a widespread reputation for unsurpassed quality, making Northland the largest manufacturer of skis in the world. By the 1930’s, Northland had also become the nation’s largest producer of toboggans, snowshoes and hockey sticks. The company was so successful it required additional manufacturing capacity, so it opened an eastern factory in Laconia in 1938. The 40,000 sq ft building on Fair Street at one time had 100 employees. The 1930’s catalog whose cover is shown below included for sale not only amateur and professional skis, but also poles, bindings, car carriers, goggles, waxes, snowshoes, hockey sticks, pucks, and toboggans, as well as a 4 page “How to Ski” section. Growing competition in the skiing industry in the 1940’s and 1950’s ended Northland’s domination of the ski manufacturing market. In particular, the company seemed to have lost its footing in the transition from wooden skis to modern fiberglass models. By the end of the 1960’s, the Northland ski brand was history. Today, there are nearly 20 ski manufacturers.
A Northland ski poster designed in 1935 by the vintage ski poster artist Pierre Kramer.
Northland also sold waterskis, as seen in the following 1960s sales brochure. Once again, its products were all made of wood, and the company was left behind in the transition to modern fiberglass waterskis.
A mid-1960s “It’s Easy to Water Ski” instruction booklet by Northland promoted the sport of waterskiing.
Penny Pitou
Penny Pitou and Egon Zimmerman, who ran the ski shool at Gunstock in the 1960’s – the time and place where the webmaster learned how to ski. Pitou is certainly the most famous skier from Laconia; she won silver medals in downhill and giant slalom at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. Zimmerman, who also raced in the 1960 Olympics, was married to Pitou for a time. (Zimmerman should not be confused with a different skier with the same name who won the gold in the downhill at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and who owns the Hotel Kristberg in Lech, Austria.) Pitou’s and Zimmerman’s equipment – leather laced ski boots and long narrow wooden skis – seems so primitive by today’s standards.
Pitou and Zimmerman both went on to successful careers in the business world. In 1974, Pitou founded a travel agency in Laconia which now has a second location in North Conway. Zimmerman started a ski shop in Nashua which today has four New Hampshire locations and one in Massachusetts.
Fritzie Baer
Fritzie Baer, who was the general manager for Belknap throughout the 1950’s (from May of 1950 to July of 1959), shown here riding the Tucker Sno-cat up the Tiger Trail around 1951. Baer was replaced by a five-member commission appointed by the county legislative delegation. A Citizen article, commenting on his replacement, noted that “whatever is said of Fritzie, he is a born promoter…there have been fantastic gains in revenue in the ten years he has been in charge…if in the days to come he is not re-hired, Belknap County may not see his like again.” Photo provided courtesy of Bob Arnold, Baer’s grandson.
Camping
A cook-out in the summertime. Camping is a very popular summertime activity at the area.
The pond behind the lodge.
Camping at Gunstock in the 1960s.
“To the Beach” postcard
Top of Gunstock
Postcards of the top of the Gunstock double chair, 1960s
More Info & Images
History of Gunstock on the Gunstock website.
Gunstock Mountain Historic Preservation Society
The History of Gunstock – Skiing in the Belknap Mountains – by Carol Lee Anderson
Here is a view of the Belknap mountain range of which Rowe Mountain is part, and here is an alternate view of the mountain range. Here is a view of the Belknap range taken from the summit of Mt. Rowe. These mountain range views are by DCR, master photographer of the mountains of the Lakes Region area.
A Belknap Recreation Area decal
A Belknap Recreation Area pennant
Belknap Recreation Area banner. The “N” of the word Belknap portrays the Mount Rowe single chairlift.
The Phelps slope in the 1940s.
