By GEORGE FJELD
RIPTON–On Friday, June 30th, a hopeful crowd of over 200 gathered as Middlebury Snowbowl raffled off 44 chairs from the decommissioned Sheehan chairlift. Before any chairs were raffled, Snowbowl and Rikert general manager Mike Hussey presented chair #1 to Jack Sheehan, son of legendary Middlebury College ski coach Bobo Sheehan, for whom the chairlift was named. Sheehan reciprocated by buying the chair for the person whose ticket would be the 20th drawn. By raffling off the opportunity to buy a chair for a $20 entry fee, the event was accessible to many faithful Snowbowl enthusiasts. The cost of a chair, for those lucky enough to win the chance to buy one, was $250.
Howard Kelton, general manager from 1978 to 1995, supervised the installation of the Sheehan chairs, along with snowmaking, in the summer of 1983. He described it as a huge improvement at the time. Now, over the past few winters, he said “I said a little prayer every time I got on the lift that it would not break down, leaving me dangling in the air in the middle of winter.” Kelton, who can be seen skiing many mornings in the winter, loves the Snowbowl atmosphere. “It’s about skiing. It’s a place where you can let your kids go out on their own.” He remembered one year, before snowmaking was a regular occurrence, when they opened in mid-February and closed in early March! “Now it’s time for a new phase,” Kelton quipped.
THE CROWD ENJOYS the outdoor space at the Starr Shelter at Middlebury Snowbowl before the raffle.
Hussey is excited about this new phase at the Snowbowl. Although he is sad to retire the 40-year-old Sheehan chair, replacing the fixed-grip double chair with a new detachable quad is a major upgrade and will make it easier for beginners and children to ride the lift. The “Bowl” is also installing lights for night skiing next winter. The lights will allow skiing Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights all winter. They have cut a new beginner ski trail off the magic carpet lift that features an 8% grade, perfect for “never-ever new skiers,” according to Hussey.
There’s plenty of evidence of the new construction with excavators and rebar staged in the parking lot. The lift towers from the Sheehan chair have come down and the stanchions for the new lights are up. With the Act 250 permit in hand, it’s full speed ahead on installing the new chairlift to have it ready for the 2023-2024 ski season.
