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by Laurie Puliafico

Increase font  Decrease font    Printable format  Email to a friend Contributing writer Laurie P. shares her recent adventure exploring a newly discovered lost ski area. I have visited several lost ski areas in recent times. When I visit these areas I usually find something that I did not plan on finding. It's always exciting to find a hidden treasure buried away in the leaves or thick growth which has overtaken the area. My visit to a recently discovered lost area was no exception. After discovering Riggidy Alps in Ware, MA, I contacted the several members of the Anair family to get more information about the area, which operated on their property in the 1950's. They referred me to Richard Boos. His father Donald actually ran the ski area. It seems that his father was hunting just off of his cousin's property in Ware, MA one winter day. As he walked down the hill toward the Anair house he sunk nearly waist deep in the snow. Excited, he sped home and told his wife that he had finally found the perfect place to build the ski area they had talked about for several years. They drove back and spoke to Frank Anair about their idea and he agreed to let them erect a rope tow there the following year. The area ran rather successfully for a few years, but unfortunately, a few bad snow years caused them to close. Richard also suggested that I speak to his aunt as she might have additional information and pictures. With spring days getting longer, I figured I would have time to explore the area after work. I asked Richard if it would be possible to do so. He suggested that we meet at the area to learn more about it. At 3:30 on a Friday afternoon, I pulled into the designated meeting place. He had already arrived and was sitting in his red, extended cab pick-up truck waiting for me. He was nothing like I had envisioned while talking on the phone several nights before. Richard was clean cut and well spoken and had a friendly, welcoming manor about him. Richard greeted me and told me that his aunt, who he had suggested I speak with, passed away during the week and her wake would be taking place that night. I suggested that we schedule another time to explore the area, but he wanted to continue as planned. He suggested that we drive up the hill to his cousins property, which is located near the top of the old ski slope. On the way up he told me several additional facts about Riggidy Alps and his parents. When we arrived, he pointed out the old ski area and lead me to an old truck that ran the lift. I looked over the vehicle and took several pictures of it. It was partially buried in brush, wire and other discarded items, but Richard helped me clear away debris so I could get a picture or two. After several pictures, we walked down from it and found a wheel that had been attached to a tree, partially buried, on the ground. We talked about the area as we continued to explore. He told me how a bulldozer had been hired to push back rocks from a wall to clear the slope. After a while, we had seen everything there was to see at the top of the hill. Back at the bottom we found an ATV path that was clear and walked in to see what we could find. Little evidence of the ski area was available from this vantage point as it had also grown in significantly and was very wet. The area was also infested with ticks so we started back to the cars. When we were almost at the end of the path he stopped suddenly. There across the path was a snake, about 3 feet long and an inch or so in diameter. Though not afraid of snakes, I was startled and screamed. He laughed at me and asked me if I was Ok. Richard took a stick and started to poke at the snake. It coiled up and looked ready to strike. He then took the stick and began to lift the snake. When he got the snake about knee high, he grasped it just below the head and held it out. Ask he held the snake it began to wriggle and slip from his grasp. It bit his hand and he dropped it. The snake slithered off into the leaves and we continued on the path back to our vehicles. While I had seen plenty of birds, squirrels, mosquitoes and ticks while exploring lost areas, I had never seen a snake!

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