A week ago I mentioned the annual Meister Cup Race at Mount Cranmore and made the short trip over to North Conway to be on-hand once again at this very special event.

It started with a reception at the new location of the New England Ski Museum in North Conway on Thursday night. This new museum is located next to the common in the center of town, which is also right by the railroad station where Hannes Schneider and his family arrived 80 years ago.

I had visited the new facility a few times but every time I discover something new — actually, something old — that I hadn’t noticed before.

There are displays on the history of skiing in all the New England states, with Maine getting a good space and a well-documented story.

The story of New England’s lost ski areas has a video display that I hadn’t paid much attention to on previous visits. This time I discussed some of the lost ski areas I was familiar with. One was No-Par, which I skied in high school. It was started by our scout master, Albert Soule, and was located on Orchard Street on the lower part of Pike’s Hill in Norway. Years later it was part of joint recreation program between the towns of Norway and Paris. As far as I know, it died when the rec program was discontinued.

Obviously, Maine’s first ski area is listed, Jockey Cap in Fryeburg. You can watch a video of skiing there at the Ski Museum of Maine. I visited the website, www.NELSAP.org (New England’s Lost Ski Areas Project) to learn more. I found Gould Academy listed. I didn’t find the rope tow on Vernon Street in Bethel. This tow was built in 1947 by a group of Bethel businessmen who ran it until they looked for something bigger. In 1959 they opened Sunday River and moved the rope tow there.

Something similar happened in Rumford, where a pair of sites were listed. Both are long gone, but Black Mountain replaced them and is still going strong. This is what happened to a lot of these small community ski areas. They served a purpose until bigger and better facilities came along. With Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton and Mount Cranmore in North Conway, there was no need for Jockey Cap.

If we count all the lifts and trails in Maine today, they far exceed what were provided all those years ago by 79 rope-tow areas. But these lost ski areas served an important role. They got people on skis, and without those skiers, today’s ski areas would not have been able to grow.

Put the museum on your list the next time you head to North Conway. It’s well worth a visit.

TRIP UP THE MOUNTAIN

Our next stop was at the Mount Washington Auto Road.

I can’t count the number of times I have been on this mountain, for skiing in Tuckerman Ravine, in the snowfields, hiking, watching the auto Race to the Clouds, and on one occasion traveling by snowcat to the observatory for an overnight.

This was my first visit to ride the SnowCoach and see the new Glen House hotel. The coaches are vans equipped with tracks, and they travel the snow-covered auto road to a point just above the timberline, at 4,200 feet elevation just about the summit of Wildcat across the Notch.

Because the snow fills in the road through the open snowfields, only snowcats equipped with blades can go beyond this point. The 90-minute ride is $55 for an adult and reservations are recommended. They do accept walk-ins but can’t guarantee a ride that same day. It would be nice to wait for the kind of day we had, but that’s also the kind of day most people who are in the area get the idea that a ride up the mountain would be great.

The backdrop for pictures at the turn-around is Mount Adams, the one of the five peaks that ring the Great Gulf that is the most like Mount Washington with it’s wide open snowfields. I’m sure plenty of visitors tell their friends the peak is actually the big mountain because they didn’t pay attention to the driver. It’s a great trip with some great views of Wildcat at points on the road.

After the ride we had lunch at the new hotel and general manager Howie Weymss gave us a history lesson. He explained how the first Glen House in 1852 predated the Auto Road, which open in 1861. In all, four Glen Houses burned, the last in 1967.

Given the number of Grand Hotels that succumbed to fire in the White Mountains, the fate of these hotels in Pinkham Notch is not surprising. Howie pointed out that location made it difficult to get equipment up there, especially during a snowstorm. The new hotel is on the mountain side of the road opposite the present Glen House, which serves as a headquarters for the Auto Road. From the Glen View Cafe, we watched cross country skiers on the Great Glen Trails and visitors climbing to ride snow tubes.

The new hotel, with its 68 rooms, has been a long time coming. Wildcat has always needed lodging, but it is entirely on National Forest land and there is no space for any kind of lodging.

Now guests at the hotel can ski Wildcat, cross country ski at Great Glenn Trails or enjoy other mountain activities. Five minutes down the road is the AMC visitors center at the foot of the Fire Trail to Tuckerman Ravine. It’s safe to say that the New Glen House hotel will enjoy plenty of occupancy year round.

Finally, join me at Mount Abram on Thursday for the 50-plus Legends Race, a chance to ski against members of the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. See you there.