Exploring Lost Ski Slopes in Underhill
November 15, 2025
Listen to the Podcast
An old ski map changed everything for Jamie Ide. The Jericho resident came across a 1941 ski map at a fundraising auction. It showed lost ski slopes in Underhill on the western side of Mount Mansfield.
The map revealed trails he had never heard of, even though he had been hiking the mountain for more than 20 years.
Finding Lost Ski Slopes in Underhill—and Much More
Over the past 18 months, Jamie has spent his days hiking and snowshoeing around Underhill State Park, searching for old ski trails, rope-tow sites, and forgotten structures.
“It felt like Indiana Jones or something,” he says.
What he’s found are relics from the 1930s and early 1940s, back when the Underhill Winter Sports Club operated a ski area on the western side of Mount Mansfield.
“I was basically a boy with a treasure map,” he says. “And at that point, I was hooked, and I had to try to find everything I could.”
-Lost ski slopes in Underhill included a ski jump shown in this 1941 photo. On the right is the same spot in 2025. Courtesy of Jamie Ide.
A Ski Jump, Toboggan Shed and Telephone
One of his early finds came on a deep-snow day near the Stevens Trail.
“I got to a spot that looked very much like a ski trail to me, but I didn’t see anything,” he says. “And then on the way down, I just saw the peak of that little building poking up through the snow.”
That building was a small, first-aid shed that once housed a rescue toboggan. Over the next year and a half, Jamie located several more. Three are still recognizable, even after all these years, he says.
He also located remains of rope tows that had brought skiers up to about 3,000 feet. Other significant discoveries included the concrete footings of the 40-meter ski jump and a telephone that had been part of a race communication system. The phone is now at the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum in Stowe.
-Remnants of a first-aid toboggan shed on Mount Mansfield. Courtesy of Jamie Ide.
He plans to keep exploring the mountain. And more than anything, Jamie says he loves the thrill of discovery.
“It’s kind of like having a secret that no one else knows,” he says. “It’s really uncovered a history of the mountain that I had no idea existed, despite hiking it for more than 20 years.”
-The Mountain Road in Underhill, which leads to Underhill State Park on the western side of Mount Mansfield.
Happy Vermont Podcast: Exploring Lost Ski Slopes in Underhill
In this Happy Vermont podcast episode, Jamie Ide talks about exploring the history and lost ski slopes of Mount Mansfield in Underhill, including the Underhill Winter Sports Club and the Underhill Ski Bowl. Listen to the episode.
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