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See Photos of Skiing’s Early Days as a Popular American Pastime

2 minute read

Skiing is somewhere in the vicinity of 22,000 years old—not as sport or recreation, but as a critical mode of transportation for early hunters. But skiing as Americans know it today, complete with high-speed chairlifts and cozy lodges selling overpriced French fries, only began to boom in the mid-1950s. With the advent of artificial snow and metal skis during that decade and plastic boots the next, more Americans took up the sport. Ski resorts, in turn, introduced new amenities to attract bigger crowds with each passing year.

LIFE photographer George Silk hit the slopes in 1957 to capture the building frenzy. A record 3.5 million skiers had made their ways down America’s mountains the previous year, and several of the resorts he visited in Vermont—Stowe, Mount Snow, Mad River Glen—were host to ever more luxurious lodges, high-end apparel and, most of all, epic crowds. “As the peak late-February season approached,” LIFE declared, “the question was where all the skiers would find room to ski.”

The more skiers there were, the more the businesses rose to meet their demands. Mount Snow served up almost 20,000 hot dogs in a single weekend. Equipment rentals, previously unavailable, now came with free lessons. At Mad River Glen, skiers at the end of a long run could shed their gear and slip into a Catholic Mass. The only ones who weren’t pleased were the “old-line ski addicts,” who viewed new adopters of their sport as “a nuisance that crowds the slopes and inns they once had to themselves.”

But the newcomers were there to stay. The record 3.5 million who hit the slopes in 1956 pale in comparison to statistics for the 2014-2015 winter season, during which 53.6 million people made tracks in the powdery white stuff.

Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

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Caption from LIFE. On Spruce Peak, VT., Harry Larsen climbs from her new lodge.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Skiing Boom in the Stowe area of Vermont, 1957.
Skiers unload from a train at Stowe, Vermont, 1957.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Skiers at Mount Snow in Vermont, 1957.
Skiers board a chairlift at Mount Snow in Vermont, 1957.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Fashion on the ski slopes at Mt. Snow, Vermont, 1957.
Fashion on the ski slopes at Mt. Snow, Vermont, 1957.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Skiing Boom in the Stowe area of Vermont, 1957.
Workers maintain the slopes at Stowe, Vermont, 1957.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Ski family, the Edward McMahons of Stowe, group before a run. Mr. McMahon, wife Marilyn, her mother, Mrs. Gale Shaw, Suzanne 10, Sally 7, Debbie 5, Patty 3 practice together weekends.
Caption from LIFE. Ski family, the Edward McMahons of Stowe, group before a run. Mr. McMahon, wife Marilyn, her mother, Mrs. Gale Shaw, Suzanne 10, Sally 7, Debbie 5, Patty 3 practice together weekends.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Skiers at Mount Snow in Vermont, 1957.
Patty McMahon gets a push from her mother.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Skiers at Mount Snow in Vermont, 1957.
The McMahon kids get comfortable on their skis, Mount Snow, Vermont, 1957.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Skiers at Mount Snow in Vermont, 1957.
Learning how to fall is an important part of the sport, 1957.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Skiers at Mount Snow in Vermont, 1957.
A packed chairlift at Mount Snow in Vermont, 1957.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Hooded skiers shuffle slowly toward a chair life at Mt. Snow. Cloaks are provided by lift operators to keep skiers warm on windy ride up the mountain.
Caption from LIFE. Hooded skiers shuffle slowly toward a chair lift at Mt. Snow. Cloaks are provided by lift operators to keep skiers warm on windy ride up the mountain.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Double-chair life at Mt. Snow gives novices a luxury usually enjoyed only by crack skiers. Rushed carpenters finish their work after it goes into use.
Caption from LIFE. Double-chair lift at Mt. Snow gives novices a luxury usually enjoyed only by crack skiers. Rushed carpenters finish their work after it goes into use.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Manufactured snow, blowing from nozzles, veils skiers in mists at Bousquet's, near Pittsfield Mass. During a January thaw, Bousquet's was jammed with skiers unable to ski elsewhere. The artificial powdery surface, made from compressed air and water, can be laid at temperature below 32 degrees.
Caption from LIFE. Manufactured snow, blowing from nozzles, veils skiers in mists at Bousquet's, near Pittsfield Mass. During a January thaw, Bousquet's was jammed with skiers unable to ski elsewhere. The artificial powdery surface, made from compressed air and water, can be laid at temperature below 32 degrees.George Silk—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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Write to Eliza Berman at eliza.berman@time.com