• Not so Urban Exploration: Abandoned Ski Area
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Before we start, I'll give a little backstory. Mt Watatic was a small/medium sized ski area about 10 miles from my house. It opened in 1965, but then closed in 1984 due to terrible management and a larger ski area expanding to the south. This place is special to me, My parents ran the rental and XC ski shops, and my Aunt and Uncle met there. I've visited the place quite a bit but brought a camera for the first time yesterday. For reference, here's a map from an attempt to Reopen the place in 1989. [IMG]http://www.nelsap.org/ma/watatic8889tm.jpg[/IMG] (Rest of the post will be in quotes because I'm to lazy to re-size all the pictures) [quote] [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1256.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1255.jpg[/IMG] Looking down the access road into the ski area, the Pavement is starting to fade away [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1257.jpg[/IMG] The state bought the land in 2001 to stop a development (I'll get to that later) and made it into a park [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1260.jpg[/IMG] A general overview of the mountain, the areas of thin, grey trees are the (left to right) Big Dipper, Cascades, and Wapack trails. They have grown in quite a bit. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1262.jpg[/IMG] This was the main, and only paved parking lot. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1263.jpg[/IMG] If you take a left at the end of the parking lot through the trees, it takes you to the maintenance garage. This place creeps me out a bit. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1264.jpg[/IMG] A quick look into the interior. Nothing much of interest in there except for the metal door you can see on the floor. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1268.jpg[/IMG] I'm not sure if this is new or old. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1266.jpg[/IMG] Out behind the shed there used to be one of the machines, but it's gone now. However, there is this. It's one of the carriers for the T-bar Lift to the summit. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1270.jpg[/IMG] Signs of copper scavengers. Back to the parking lot, if you head right at the end, you head up to the ski area. On the map above, you would be entering from the bottom right. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1271.jpg[/IMG] Along the little road to the lodge area there is this shack which is where I think the wiring from the telephone poles goes underground. Either that or it's a pumphouse for the snowmaking. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1272.jpg[/IMG] Anti-freeze and ???? [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1274.jpg[/IMG] The bottom terminal for the Double Chair that served the "Snowfields" slope.In 1992 it was moved to New Hampshire. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1275.jpg[/IMG] The remains of the base lodge. In 1997 or 1996 it was torched by vandals. The smaller square in the back was my parent's rental shop. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1277.jpg[/IMG] Wooden cover for the bottom terminal of the Summit lift. In 1989 a second double chair was partially installed to the summit. Most of it was removed in 2001. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1278.jpg[/IMG] Motherfucking ant hills. They are the biting kind too. I tried to check out some metal in the background but had to go when I noticed about 10 of the little fuckers on my shoes. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1281.jpg[/IMG] Near the top of the snowfields slope I found this old car bumper. Whoever drove up there must have been insane. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1283.jpg[/IMG] Snake [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1285.jpg[/IMG] The last remaining T-bar tower. This is near the top of "T-Bar" on the map. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1286.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1287.jpg[/IMG] The summit terminal of "T-Bar" [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1288.jpg[/IMG] Here, someone took one of the snowmaking pipes and set up a rail. People still ski and snowboard here! [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1290.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1291.jpg[/IMG] In 2000 a telephone company attempted to build a radio tower on the summit. People realized this would fuck up the place and it was stopped. However, it was too late to stop them from blasting this road to the summit. It crosses all the trails 3/4ths of the way up and makes skiing a little difficult with low snow. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1289.jpg[/IMG] Light for night skiing. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1292.jpg[/IMG] Looking downwards from the top of the "Cascade" slope. [IMG]http://skiingstuff.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/img_1293.jpg[/IMG] The view from the summit. On a clear day you can see all the way to Boston. [/quote] That's all for now. In the future I would like to return on a wetter day when the ants aren't out so I can check out that side. I should be getting my license in less then a month, so it could be soon.
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