I can also confirm what Doug Rooney states below. Growing up in Newport during the 60's and 70's, it seems that "Chamberlin Birch" was always the name that the ski area carried during that era. Bill Alexander
From Brian Smith of Derby: There was also a ski area called Bonnyview in Newport in the early 60s exactly where Bogner of America sits at present.
NELSAP heard from John Ferrara, who remembers skiing here:
"I grew up in the town of Westfield (which, for trivia's sake, is where the summit of Jay Peak actually is located), and went to high school in Newport, VT. While on the ski team there, we practiced at Chamberlin Birch during the week since Jay Peak was too far to get to in the afternoon. I distinctly remember using the hill my freshman year (83-84) and junior year (85-86), so it was operating to some extent beyond the '70s. I also remember joining some friends night skiing there my senior year (86-87). We just built jumps and tried to do tricks. At the time there was just a single rope toe that went a few hundred yards up the hill. From what I remember, there was only 2 or 3 ways down and really only 1 "main" slope. We could usually set up a 10 to 15 second course on which to practice. A season's pass was available and was $20 or $25. There was a small warm up hut that operated on weekends, and I think they even had a small amount of rentals and a little snack bar with sandwiches and drinks.
I hadn't been back to Chambo until a year or two ago and I had a hard time determining whether the field I looked at was the old area because it looked so different. When I looked at your pictures, however, that's the same view I looked at a couple of years ago, so I think you found the right spot."
We also heard from William Gokey:
"I was teaching and coaching skiing at North Country Union High School from 1978 to 1983. We used to practice at Chamberlin Birch. We did ski there in the early 1980's. It was one of the places my son learned to ski. I don't think it open the last year or two I live there due to lack of natural snow."
...and John Hanley:
"I grew up in Newport, VT and skied at Chamberlin Birch from the late 60s thru the 70s. I believe the pictures that you have on your web site are indeed Chamberlin Birch. There is now a VT state prison on or next to the area.
During the period that I skied there, the area actually got a lot of use from kids in the Newport area. Most kids who skied regularly, skied at Jay Peak on Saturdays from Jan.-March, as 10 weeks of lessons on Saturday mornings, plus free skiing in the afternoon, cost $25 per season. Meanwhile, most of these same kids would then ski at Chamberlin Birch on Sunday, when there were races according to age categories. For kids in Newport, this was the logical thing to do, as Chamberlin was inexpensive (50 cents a day, I believe) and it was right there ¯ as opposed to Jay, which can take up to an hour in the winter to get to from Newport. Also, CB was open on certain weeknights (Thursday, and maybe Wednesday).
Rentals at that time were fairly extensive at CB. The area was run by Newport's Recreation Dept. and I'd don't recall if they charged for rentals or not. If they did, it was very inexpensive. So, on top of the kids who skied at Jay, a lot of other kids from Newport, who might not otherwise have been able to afford Jay, also got to ski.
By the late 1970s, when I was finishing high school, use of CB has dropped dramatically. I recall going there on many Saturdays and Sunday in 1978 and 1979 when I was one of a handful of skiers.
One of the most interesting aspects of CB was its atmosphere. At the time I skied there, particularly in the late 60s, CN railroad still operated a rather large rail yard about right across the road. So, despite the fact that you were in this bucolic setting, the sound of clanking trains could sometime overwhelm the setting.
Yes, there was also a ski jump in Newport as referenced on your web site. It was about a half mile from CB and was largely unused after World War II, I am told. I think Newport High School used it in the in 60s to train and by the 70s, North Country Union High School's ski team tried to patch it back together to train on. It was not a traditional ski jump, just a hill with an elevated jump platform and a landing area."
A 1939 listing:
1939
(Ski Trails in The East and How to Find Them)
The terrain surrounding Newport is varied, with altitudes running to 1500 feet. Four ski trails, much open terrain, a lighted hill with varying slopes, a 750 foot tow and a 130 foot jump are available. The trails are accessible by bus or car over well-plowed roads. There are rest rooms equipped with first aid supplies.
Doug Rooney contributes:
"I am writing in regards to information I have about the Chamberlin Birch Ski Area in Newport, Vermont.
I have very fond memories of the Chamberlin Birch Ski area ... in fact, I was foolish enough to think it was actually still open and kids were still learning how to ski on this hill as I did. The memory is still very fresh
in my mind and I could still draw a map of every trail that was on that little hill.
Although my old neighbor John Hanley mentioned the train tracks, If everyone will recall the train tracks were right next to the parking lot, which was right near the road... You had to cross the road and there were power lines immediately overhead that supplied power to the ski shack. Everything was right near each other.
A co-worker and friend of mine from Newport, Mark Lucia, knows exactly where the sight is and took these pictures last weekend 9/6/03. The pictures were taken from the old parking lot was and the train tracks are still right there.
Picture taken from the old parking lot
(Courtesy of Mark Lucia 9/6/03)
"Here is also a picture taken in March of 1971 of my cousins, Kathy, Karen and Colleen Poutre. As you can see there is a date stamp on the top of the picture... so the information about the name change to "Chamberlin Birch" in 1986 I don't believe is accurate since we called it CB back then." Photos courtesy of Doug Rooney and Mark Lucia
Many, many thanks to Jeremy Davis of New England Lost Ski Areas Project (NELSAP) for his permission to feature his work on the Vermont Northeast Kingdom Guide. If you have any info and/or photos relating to these (or other) ski areas of days gone by please contact us. Your contributions will be most appreciated and you will be credited.
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