|
Soldotna
Ski Hill 1955
to 1978 |
| Name of Ski
Area: |
Soldotna
Ski Hill |
| Location: |
Soldotna,
south of the Kenai River, between the Sterling Highway and Ski
Hill Road. |
| Type of Area: |
Ski
Hill and Jump |
| Dates of
Operation: |
1955
to 1978 |
| Who Built It?: |
Jim Browning, Ralph Soberg, Bill Caroland, Rusty Lankashire, Stan
McLane, Dave Spencer, Peninsula Sportsman Association (a
non-profit corporation). |
| Base/Vertical Drop: |
Base:
~100' / Vertical: ~150'
|
| Lifts: |
The original lift was powered by a dump truck with the back end
jacked up and one wheel used to power the rope tow (see picture
below). Later the
rope tow run by an electric engine that was acquired from the
Homer Electric Association (HEA). |
| Facilities: |
Small
warming hut, lights for night skiing. |
| Miscellaneous: |
The ski area operated weekends
and sometimes mid-week evenings. It usually operated 4
months of the year. In 1959 3000 skier days were logged.
ANILCA (Alaska National
Interests Land Conservation Act) issues were the reason for
closure of this ski area.
The Kenai National Wildlife
Refuge (KNWR) headquarters are near this lost ski site and cross
country ski trails are maintained by KNWR in this area.
According to former UAA ski team member Gloria Thiele, in the
early 1970's races were once held on these trails. Races
in the Soldotna area are now held on the Skyview High School ski
trails. |
| Sources of
Information: |
Stan
McLane; Paige Spencer; Jim Hall; Gloria Thiele; Tim Kelley; Jim
Browning; Pamela Ables; Gary Titus; Bill Caroland |
| Photos: |
Does
anyone have pictures of skiing at the Soldotna Ski Hill (or current pictures of the vicinity) that they
would like to
contribute to ALSAP ?
|
|
|
~
PHOTOS ~
|
Early 1960's Photos
Courtesy of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
[Photo
credits: Kenai National Wildlife Refuge / Wade] |
 |
 |
|
View of ski
hill, December 1961 |
Rope tow, 25
March 1962 |
 |
|
Zoomed in
view of December 1961 photo that shows earthen mound and
structure at the top of the ski area |
|
1955 Jim
Browning Photos
[Photo
credits: Jim Browning] |
 |
 |
|
Jim Browning
jumping |
The original
tow engine, a surplus dump truck - jacked up and one wheel used
to drive the rope tow |
|
[Jim Browning - 31 March 2008 email]
I am going to attach a couple of
pictures and update some of the following info based on what I
know. My name is Jim Browning and was in the Army at the Kenai
Base from 1953 to 1955 and was involved in getting the ski hill
started.
I met
Ralph Soberg, Foreman of Alaska Road Commission and talked to
him about skiing, he was a former ski jumper. He let one of his
bulldozers get lost on a hill near Soldotna one day to clear the
trees and that was the beginning of the ski hill. He also
overhauled a surplus dump truck and donated it to the ski hill
along with a generator and lights.
Bill
Caroland arranged to get some surplus rope from the Army Ski
Hill in Anchorage and have it trucked to Kenai.
Bill
Caroland and I (Jim Browning) talked up the ski hill at the
Kenai Army Base and got some guys interested in it.
Rusty
Lankashire, a homesteader, talked it up and got some community
folks interested in it and The Kenai Sportman's Association was
born.
When
the ski lift was first operating all we had to do was bring
along 5 gallons of gas and we were in business. |
~
SITE PHOTOS ~
~
MAPS and AERIAL VIEWS ~ |
|
This large
scale topo shows where the Soldotna Ski Hill was located relative to
Kenai, Soldotna and Kasilof. (click
on this map to expand it) |
|
|
A
zoomed in topo map view shows the location of the Soldotna Ski Hill
between the Sterling Highway and Ski Hill Road in Soldotna.
(click
on this map to expand it) |
|
|
A
zoomed in 1997 aerial view shows the approximate location of the
Soldotna Ski Hill.
(click
on this view to expand it) |
|
| Research
Correspondence |
[Jim Browning - 31 March 2008 email]
I
am going to attach a couple of pictures and update some of the
following info based on what I know. My name is Jim Browning and was
in the Army at the Kenai Base from 1953 to 1955 and was involved in
getting the ski hill started.
I met
Ralph Soberg, Foreman of Alaska Road Commission and talked to him
about skiing, he was a former ski jumper. He let one of his
bulldozers get lost on a hill near Soldotna one day to clear the
trees and that was the beginning of the ski hill. He also
overhauled a surplus dump truck and donated it to the ski hill along
with a generator and lights.
Bill
Caroland arranged to get some surplus rope from the Army Ski Hill in
Anchorage and have it trucked to Kenai.
Bill
Caroland and I (Jim Browning) talked up the ski hill at the Kenai
Army Base and got some guys interested in it.
Rusty
Lankashire, a homesteader, talked it up and got some community folks
interested in it and The Kenai Sportman's Association was born.
When the
ski lift was first operating all we had to do was bring along 5
gallons of gas and we were in business.
|
[Bill Caroland - 15 April 2008 email]
I don't know whether Jim told you
which side of the hill the rope tow was on or not. Looking up the
hill it was on the left when we were there. He is right about
there. Jim is correct about the location of the ski jump. When I
was out there we did not have a warm up hut. Jim and I were there
when the ski hill was started and I remembered helping compact the
snow for the first trip down.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Do
you have further information, stories or pictures that you would like to
contribute about this
ski area? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
