Two new “lost” ski areas in the Leelanau peninsula, several pictures received of Fonro, and eight new comments since our last update on April 8. This brings us to 138 “lost” ski areas, not to mention 42 current areas and 21 jumping hills identified so far.
On April 3, David Zemens passed along some information he found on the Friends of Sugar Loaf Facebook page about an old ski area south of Suttons Bay where the Ciccone Winery now operates. Apparently the former slopes, which are just about due east of the Loaf across Lake Leelanau, are now vinyards. While researching this area, Bremer’s Ski Hill, I came across information about another former ski area, this time right in Suttons Bay. Apparently Bahle Park, which is currently used in winter as a sledding hill, formerly sported a rope tow. I even found a picture by Andrew McFarlane on Flickr of the old rope cut with a tower and bogey wheel still standing (but was unable to post it on our site due to rights issues). If you have any information about skiing at Bremer’s or Bahle Park, please let us know.
Candy Dalton-VanNort sent along pictures of Fonro and a business card. They are displayed on our Facebook Page and will soon be added to our Fonro page.
Anton Mal, a frequent commenter, said he likes our Ski Area Patches page and would like to see more, particularly from Walloon. If you have any patches, please send them along. We were recently contacted by a gentleman (he has to be one, he’s a Spartan) whose father was in the ski pin manufacturing business. He has old pins from many areas and clubs around the US and the world. When we work out his contact information, we will pass it along (and depending on his prices, may purchase a few pins for our collection).
Jay Benda, another frequent contributor, commented that the ‘real’ Briar Hill (not the one the ski area was on, but the one across the road) is the highest point in Lower Michigan. Jay also left a comment on our Kandahar page. Tom H complained about the guard rails that have been installed on the former Mt. Frederic slopes that interfere with snowmobiling and dirt biking.
Gayle Walsh remembers a concert in the early ’80s at Mt. Maria. She thinks it might have been Eddie Money, but isn’t sure. Can anyone help? Jackie Roe commented on Fonro that she used to live there in the early ’60s. Tom Groenvelt thinks that the problems that led Sugar Loaf to close stemmed from the owners’ failure to invest money back into the resort to upgrade the lifts. Marion Dick left a comment on the Skyline page.
Please keep those comments, pictures and tips coming.
MILSAP 
Leelanau 4-H Ski Club – Stanley Ball operated a home made rope tow and ski hill near Wheeler road near Maple City. It used a tractor engine to power the rope.