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Show Tiny Adirondack Village Leads In Winter Sport Development Garnets Glitter Along Ski Trails At North Creek WNU Features. NORTH CREEK, N. Y. Determined to improve the opportunities nature gave it when it placed a 3,000 foot mountain right in its back yard, this tiny Adirondack village, vil-lage, long known as a pioneer in New York state winter sport i development, has entered an-1 an-1 other bid for fame this sea-; sea-; son. It has installed what the ! village fathers describe as the first electrically operated Constam T-bar lift in the eastern east-ern United States. The lift pulls skiers up the entire 3.0(10 foot slope of Gore mountain a labor saving device that adds Immeasurably Im-measurably to enjoyment of the sport and vast popularity to North Creek as a ski center. The new electric lift is an ex- " w A sip' ... i ww mlBBBfc-aiKSBfcw RRBk. . .. PBhk PIONKER SKI CENTER ... By snow trains and buses, winter sport enthusiasts flock to North Creek, one of New York state's most popular popu-lar skiing sites. A wide variety of slopes and trails, ranging from easy novice slopes to expert runs, lure crowds of skiers. cellent example of community spirit in operation. Skiing is a community er.ierprise in the little town of 703 inhabitants, whose pattern of life Is tied up with it. When It was decided to put in the new Alpine lift, the money as on previous occasions was raised by the townsfolk. Form First Patrol. Back of this venture was the recollection rec-ollection of North Creek's record as a winter sports specialist. It was at this little Adirondack town that the first ski patrol In the United States was organized. On Gore mountain's moun-tain's slopes the first down-mountain ski trail in New York state was laid out and this small skiing center j was the destination of the first snow train in the state on March 2, 1934. j That train, as the villagers recall, came from Schenectady and was planned to handle a crowd of 500 but 700 took the trip. North Creek also pioneered the famous "Ride Up Slide Down" slogan, when buses were provided to carry skiers from the bottom of the trails up the winding mountain road, which leads to the noted garnet mines and to the beginning of five well-known well-known trails. It was this highway that made North Creek the original "down hill" ski center in the East, for it is from the top of the highway that the Gore mountain network of downhill trails radiates. The combined investment in lift, slopes, hut and other facilities provided pro-vided by the village entrepreneurs aggregates more than $70,000. Community Endeavor. Heading the community development develop-ment program is the town physician, Dr. James A. Glenn, who is president presi-dent of Gore Mountain Ski club. The manager of the local woodworking mill. Spencer Johnston, is vice president. pres-ident. Dr. H. I. Braley, the local dentist, is executive member of the club in charge of racing. The lawyer, law-yer, Philip C. Brassel; the justice of the peace, Kenneth Bennett; and the lumber dealer, William C. Schilds. are directors of the Ski Lift corporation, of which the undertaker, Kenneth W. Swain, Is presidept. At the top of North Creek's "Ride Up Slide Down" Gore mountain are the leading garnet mines in the country. Garnets shine like red diamonds dia-monds in the sunlight and the winter sports fan gets an added thrill out of digging small pieces of the colorful color-ful stuff from the snow. From a promontory the skier can look down into the mines and across to the sheer rock walls hung with various hued Icicles sparkling in the sun. Close by ate th high peaks of the Adlrondacks, forming a startling panoramic view of mountain grandeur gran-deur in winter dress. At his feet are the headwaters of the Hudson river. Maze of Trails. A city block from the garnet mines is a 1,400-foot tow leading to trails rated for the novice, intermediate interme-diate and expert. Cloud and Garnet trails, which range the higher slopes on Gore's summit, arc expert trails which intermediate skiers can use In the spring's corn snow. North Creek villagers assert that nowhere else can one ski on such a Jeweled trail with changing vistas of high mountain peaks. Skiers have been flocking to North Creek for years for the simple reason rea-son that snow lies deep on the slopes and especially on Gore mountain, which rises from the village to an elevation of 3,595 feet. Everything the winter sports fan desires is at North Creek. Children Get Lessons. Firm believers in controlled skiing ski-ing and upholding Otto Schnieb's famous statement that "skiing is a j way of life," instruction is offered to children from 5 to 18, who gather j on the slopes every Friday afternoon to take lessons. Annually there Is a children's ski race when the Top- i ping trophy is in competition. Special awards are made to winners hut North Creek enterprise enter-prise believes skiing should be encouraged and as a result all contestants win a prize for participation. par-ticipation. The Barton trophy race, sanctioned sanc-tioned by USEASA, Is held annually on the Garnet trail, a mile long and with a drop of approximately 1,000 feet. Eighty-six members make up North Creek's ski patrol, which is j affiliated with the national ski patrol j system, and the ages range from the high school years on up. |