Text by Scott Andrews, Ski Museum of Maine
Images from Shawnee Peak
Technological advances and social acceptance helped to make skiing a popular sport during the second half of the twentieth century.
The T-bar, and then the chairlift, made make it easier to move up the hill, while metal and synthetic materials supplanted wooden skis and leather boots.
During the 1950s and 1960s, millions of casual skiers -- including large numbers of women -- flocked to mountains every winter weekend, spurred on by the technological advances, new equipment at the slopes, and publicity generated by the ski areas.
Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton was Maine's foremost ski area in those halcyon days.