The Ski Lift Move You Never Heard About
June 21, 2019, Whitefish, Montana. The Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation announced today that the first Rope Tow drive terminal, originally installed on Big Mountain by the Hellroaring Ski Club in 1940, was moved to the Ski Heritage Center ski museum on Wisconsin Avenue. The tow was utilized by the club members until 1947 when it was removed to the “boneyard” when the Big Mountain Ski resort opened. The drive mechanism for the old tow consisted of a 4-cylinder Lycoming engine along with a chassis and transmission from a 1920s Gardner automobile. “Being essentially a car-with-no-wheels, it wasn’t an easy thing to move.” Commented FVSEF director Tim Hinderman. “The solution was provided when Hill Brothers Auto Body and Towing arrived with their tow truck. The chassis came mounted on log skids, and they were able to winch it up onto the deck of the tow truck.”
After some clean-up and restoration work, the rope tow drive terminal will be the first outdoor exhibit at the Ski Museum. Along with a plaque explaining when and where it operated as the first ski lift on Big Mountain, it will be a great addition to the story of the skiing pioneers.
The Ski Heritage Center is open from noon to 5:00 PM, Thursdays – Saturdays through Labor Day. It is operated by the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation in the historic Saddle Club cabin adjacent to the Stumptown Ice Den in Mountain Trails Park. The museum features a photographic exhibit portraying the history of skiing in the Flathead Valley, a Hall of Fame honoring the ski pioneers and local skiing legends, a life-size cutaway reproduction of the interior of the Hellroaring ski cabin circa 1935, and a Video library featuring rare footage of skiing in the Valley and around Montana in the 1930s, 40's and '50s. Work is currently underway to add a 10th Mountain Division “Ski Troops” exhibit featuring the Flathead Valley men who served in this winter warfare unit in WWII, and to record firsthand accounts of surviving early-day skiers and employees of the Big Mountain Resort.
As a nonprofit organization relying solely on volunteers, we are always seeking new members interested in being a part of documenting and disseminating this important chapter in the history of our region. We are also seeking old chairs from the chair lifts of the past, including Original Chair One, Chair 3, and Chair 4.
