On Dec 3, 1962, Sports Illustrated, in an article about “New Ski Facilities” noted:
Pine Knob, Clarkston: New area with two Riblet double chair lifts, 1,200/200/1,200 and 1,000/154/1,200; six slopes; snow-making equipment; night skiing. Lodge, ski shop” with rentals, lounge, bar, cafeteria, restaurant, night club. Parking for 1,500 cars. Stein Eriksen, Norway‘s 1952 Olympic gold medal slalom winner, directs ski school. Telephone Don Riddell Jr., Clarkston, MI 4-5633.
Stein made the rounds in those days, moving from area to area (starting with Boyne Mountain in 1953) helping to attract people into skiing.
If you have any information about the development of the Pine Knob Ski Area, please Post it or send it to us via the directions on the About MILSAP page.
Here’s an interview with the Pine Knob School Director, Pat Diebel. I’ve also been an instructor here going into my 18th season now. Nice little place to learn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkbx5FMsLa0
O.L.”Doc” Smith, one of the founders of the Teeple Hill (Pontiac Ski Club) and national ski patrolman, signed up to patrol at Pine Knob along with Roscoe Goddard for the initial 1962-1963 season. There was also a professional ski race that season which featured many international Olympic stars, one of which was Pepi Granshammer (owner of a Vail hotel of the same name). I was racing high school at the time (at Mt Holly) and Doc arranged to have me train one night with all those pros. Pepi was extemely gracious. I’ll never forget it. It was my first night of skiing at Pine Knob.
The first time that I skied Pine Knob I might have been 8 or 9, back about the mid-1960s. Back then they only had the 2 double chairlifts, I believe that they were on either side of the lodge. My dad preferred Alpine Valley so I didn’t ski Pine Knob much until 1973 and onward, after I was old enough to drive, which was about the time that they had their big addition. I remember some guys doing inverted aerials off of the side of the big hill down toward the top of the old summit in maybe 1974 or 1975. Back then Pine Knob was a hopping place weekend nights because they usually had a band playing in the bar. I haven’t skied there since the 1976-77 ski season back when I was in school at WMU and back in town for a weekend.