Good Hill Skiing Through N. E.; No Base, But Trails Are Fair

Winter is king over most of northern New England this weekend, with winter sports devotees already trekking to the slopes and enjoying early skiing that serious unbelievably good after two snowless years.

Reports coming in from all states indicate that this will be a successful winter season, with skiers taxing the facilities of hotels, ski-schools, and railroads. Last year's poor snow conditions apparently only whetted the appetite of the average enthusiast.

The Harvard ski team, captained by William H. Hinton '41, is inaugurating a new season next Tuesday evening at 5 o'clock in Kirkland House Common Room. Movies of the 1936 Olympics and the Dartmouth ski team's trip to Chile will be shown through the courtesy of Ted Hunter, team member and Olympic skier. Alec Bright '19, founder of Harvard skiing, is expected to be there.

Big Squad

With the annual Harvard-Dartmouth slalom scheduled for April 16, plans have been made to get as many men as possible to enter races. There will be a big squad, and a team of about 20 members. At the end of the season, four or five of the more outstanding skiers will receive minor "H's".

During Christmas vacation the team will train at Saint Sauveur, Quebec, and after midyears at Woodstock, Vermont. Spring vacation will be spent at Tuckerman's ravine, where the Mountaineering Club has a cabin. But beginning on December 1, weekly training periods consisting of cross-country work and exercises will be held on Soldiers Field.

Skiers' Train Sunday

For the benefit of skiers dissatisfied with local facilities, the Boston and Maine is running a train to Plymouth, New Hampshire Sunday morning, leaving the North Station at 9 o'clock and arriving back in Boston at 10:45 o'clock the same evening. Although the past two seasons showed a drop in passengers carried, the Boston & Maine has no intention of cutting the number of Snow Trains.

New Year's weekend is the commencement of the regular schedule, and more than 100,000 people have been carried in the last nine years. Of special interest to Harvard men who cannot travel too far is the new "Berkshire-Mohawk," a daily that leaves Boston at 7:55 o'clock in the morning, arriving at Pittsfield at 11:52 o'clock. The daily "Albany-Boston Express" can be taken for the return trip.

More Ski-Tows This Year

Skiers who like to ride up and slide down will be interested to know that the New Hampshire State Planning Commission in a recent bulletin stated that there are now 47 ski-tows in operation, an increase of fifty percent. Furthermore, an Owners' Association of operators has been formed to raise the price of daily tickets. This infant industry has not been making money, and owners complain that with equipment costing up to $2,000 and weekly overhead averaging $140, they are hardly clearing expenses. A take of $250 a week is necessary for a profit of $1,000 over a ten-week season.

Among the newer developments is one of America's few funiculars, the Cannon Mt. tramway in New Hampshire. It has carried passengers all summer, and opens soon for the winter season. The Cannon Mt. trail now runs to the summit, and a C.C.C. crew has been repairing storm damage on the Taft trail