Saturday, July 23, 2016

Wildcat Mountain Aerial Tramway, August 1958

Today's somewhat random photos were taken at Wildcat Mountain, which (as you can see) is located at "Pinkham's Notch" in New Hampshire. Who was Pinkham, and why did he have a notch??  Was it a happy notch?

That yellow thingamabob is one of the gondolas that would carry visitors to the summit of the 4000-foot peak of Wildcat Mountain. It was used by skiers in the winter, and sightseers in the summer. I wonder if it was built by Von Roll? 

The gondola opened on January 25th, 1958 (only months before this photo was taken); 23 towers were erected to carry the gondolas, which were kept somewhat close to the terrain to avoid high winds. Based on this photo, it doesn't look like you could fit more than two people in that pod, unless one was a small child.


Here's a second view... that's quite a climb!


Here's a postcard view... these original gondolas were decommissioned in 1999 (they were actioned off); there are now several  kinds of lifts that take visitors and skiers up and down. One of the lifts uses boxy 4-person gondolas during the summer season.


I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Wildcat Mountain!

10 comments:

TokyoMagic! said...

I'm assuming the gondola in that first pic was just a photo op since it is sitting on a wooden stand? And I was going to ask where the heck the riders put their skis, but I can see in the postcard that they just let half of them stick out of the window in the door!

K. Martinez said...

Yes, the last pic answered my question about the skies too. Looks like the Wildcat gondolas have been modernized for a higher capacity since these photos were taken.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/julesfoto/10569921675/sizes/l/

Nice set today. Thanks, Major.

Melissa said...

Holy Hello Kitty, those gondolas are adorable! They look like somebody took a VW bus and smooshed it in like an accordion!

If I still had the photo editing software; large screen! and ergomomic keyboard, mouse, and workstation I had at wlthe office, I'd be spending my lunch hour photoshopping everybody from Linda to the Marx Brothers in there!

Unknown said...

It was funny that I had a skiing dream last night and then these photos posted. How did you know dat?

One thing that dates that second photo is that there is no protective padding surrounding the lift towers. You were simply expected to NOT ski into that steel.

Anonymous said...

Years ago in Sweden I used a lift which was like a chariot body attached to an aerial cable. You simply walking into it, closed the side door and stood in the elements, putting your skies in an attached side bucket. Now that was roughing it! KS

Major Pepperidge said...

TokyoMagic!, those gondolas are so ridiculously small that it seems as if they didn’t consider that people and their skis had to fit in them!

K. Martinez, yes, I mentioned the larger gondolas in my writeup! I guess people just look at the pictures….!

Melissa, your description is perfect. I like the idea of the Marx Brothers (and 20 other people) crammed into one of these pods.

Patrick Devlin, not only was there no padding, but the metal beams at the lower parts of the towers were honed to a razor sharp edge!

KS, that sounds pretty scary, though I may be imagining it incorrectly. I only went skiing once, and it was not the most fun thing in the world - it probably would have helped if I’d gone with a better group of people.

K. Martinez said...

I don't just look at the pictures! I happened to miss the last paragraph this time around. My goof!

Major Pepperidge said...

K. Martinez, I'm just pulling your leg!

Dean Finder said...

It's like the got a bunch of Isettas at auction and decided to turn them into a ski lift.

Unknown said...

The gondola was built by Carlevario/Savio. Not a Von Roll.