I found this area listed as being near “Midville.” I can find no Midville in Michigan, perhaps this was in Middleville. Apparently so from the posts below. On Feb. 3, 1966, The Cass City Chronicle printed the AAA Guide to Winter Sports Fun in Michigan. It lists Eskar Hills with 6 slopes, 4 tows, night skiing and snowmaking.
Geologically, an eskar is a stratified alluvial deposit, usually shaped as a long, narrow line of hills resulting from channeled glacial melt outflow (often beneath the glacier). Stratification is caused by the seasonal nature of glacial melting; larger, heavier gravel deposits when flow is heavy, sand and clay when light. Eskars are among the many glacial features occurring throughout Michigan.
A current photo of Eskar Hills/Middleville.
In addition, I have found references to a Middleville Ski Area. Was this another name for Eskar Hills?
If you know anything about skiing at Eskar Hills or Middleville, please post it or send it to us via the directions on the About MILSAP page.
You can see vestiges of the former area as you drive out of town from Middleville
ProfesoraV is not specific, but perhaps the area shows up on the topo map on a ridge just south of State Street and northeast of W. Irving Rd. The topo makes reference to ski touring at that location. If this is the location, it seems they had at least two runs with a vertical drop around 150′.
I skied Eskar as a kid in the early 60′s. It was visible from M37 heading South from Grand Rapids. It had a number of rope tows. One long one that ran up the main slope and several short, fast tows that were just as much fun going up as it was going down. I remember the exposure was wrong – lots of sun that made for very soft snow.