As I scan through all the various events ski areas have planned for spring, I’m reminded of events from years ago, when I was an active ski patrolman.  

Today, it seems as if every ski area has some version of pond skimming, slushing, jumping or whatever. For two years, 1969 to 1971, Josef, “Sepp” Gmuender was general manager at Sunday River. In his two years, he installed the first snowmaking at the area and the area’s first chair lift.  

Dave Irons, Ski Columnist

I have the written request he made to the board of directors. He asked for $20,000 to install snowmaking on the Mixing Bowl. For that amount, he covered the T-bar line and a strip of snow about 100 yards wide down beside it.  

How he made snow for Thanksgiving weekend, and when no other areas in Maine were open — he called radio stations to tell skiers we couldn’t sell any more lift tickets that Saturday — is a story in itself. Imagine if you will that over 800 skiers were riding that one T-bar and skiing that 3,000-foot strip of snow. It was a scary day for those of us on ski patrol, but that’s another story, As is the one how Sepp got the chairlift for no money down.

But this is about spring, and it was Sepp Gmuender who brought the idea of skiing into a pond to Maine.  He had done this at Glenn Ellen (now Sugarbush North) in Vermont where he had worked before coming to Sunday River. With a snowcat he bulldozed out a pond between the base lodge and the pond and pumped water from the pond to fill it. Skiers came down Lower Rocking Chair and tried to ski all the way across the pond. There was a small lip just before the pond, so skiers could make a bigger splash trying to soak watchers — who were a little too close.  Naturally, there were a few skiers who had other ideas. I won’t mention any names, but two were members of my ski patrol.

One convinced his girl friend to ride a toboggan as he pulled it across the pond. He skied ahead of the toboggan into the middle of the pond where he realized with the sled slowing him down that he couldn’t make it. So he let go of the handles and continued across by himself. His girl friend was left sitting on the toboggan as it sank into a foot and a half of water.  

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Would you believe she still married him a few years later?

The other patrolman didn’t haul a rescue sled, but he was far more spectacular.  Figuring he could actually clear the pond if he started further up the slope. On his first try, he hit almost at the end of the pond and skimmed onto the snow without getting wet.  Figuring all he needed was a little more speed, he started further up the hill for a second try. He almost made it. Planting the tips of his skis in the far bank, he made two or three cartwheels into the ski racks. The best part was that Claus Weisse, who owned the Norseman and was an executive at Channel 8, either videoed or filmed the whole event. I don’t know if that video still exists. but it made great viewing for a number of years after.

And that is how pond skimming came to Sunday River and I believe it was the first in Maine.

Sepp left after two years to manage a ski area in Pennsylvania.  I last made contact with Sepp about 10 years ago when I was writing a book on the history of Sunday River. He retired to live in Florida but spent his summers in his native Switzerland and skied every season for a few weeks in Vail.  He was the one who made me ski patrol director, and he offered me the job at his new area,, but I had a real job and wasn’t ready to go south to ski a 500-foot hill.  

Sepp made a big impact on Sunday River in his two years. In those days, when everyone knew everyone else at a ski area, there were a number of spring traditions, as I’m sure there were at other areas as well. One was the mountain-top picnic or barbecue.  This actually started in the ‘60s, when the only way to the summit was the upper T-bar. And it could be said that it predated the ski area itself.

In February, 1958, nine or 10 local businessmen climbed Barker Mountain to determine if it would be suitable for a ski area.  After hiking in from the point where the access road leaves Sunday River road, they started up the mountain on snowshoes from about where the Barker Base Lodge now sits.  They climbed the mountain and cooked steaks on the ledges above where the Locke Mountain Triple now unloads. I don’t have space for the whole story of how they built a ski area and opened Sunday River Ski-waySki-way a year and a half later, but we could say they started a tradition.

Through the ‘60s and even into the 80s, Sunday River regulars would somehow get food and beverages to the summit.  I assume management just looked the other way as those of us on ski patrol were drafted to haul everything up the two T-bars on our rescue toboggans. Everything from hot dogs and burgers to sausages were grilled and spring was celebrated. Obviously, those of us on duty as ski patrollers couldn’t partake in any adult beverages, but we did get free lunch for our contribution.  On a few occasions, we had to transport an over indulger to the base in a toboggan at the end of the day. These were not the usual gentle rides an injured skier would get.  

There are more stories around these traditions. What are yours? See you on the slopes.

Dave Irons is a freelance writer and columnist who hails from Westbrook. He has been contributing to the Sun Journal for many years and is among the most respected ski writers in the Northeast. He also is a member of the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. Write to him at DaveiSkiGolf@aol.com. 


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