1938 Berthoud Pass Ski Area, Upcoming Coloradotopia
In this newsletter: Recent additions to the Coloradotopia Archives Collection and notes about upcoming newsletters.
A Harold Sanborn postcard from the winter of 1938-39 on Berthoud Pass was cataloged into the archives recently, along with a trio of photographs from the Fourth of July in 1938.
The first rope tow was added here in 1937, but people had already been skiing here for many years by this time. The parking and traffic was bad enough that a pair of courtesy patrol officers had to be stationed at the top of the pass on weekends. One of their cars can be seen parked in front of the bus in this postcard.
They can also be seen in the postcard below from one of the following winters. This one has also been documented here.
More Winter 1938-39
Another Sanborn postcard from the archives has been photographed below for this newsletter. This one is easy to date to the winter of 1938-39 because it shows the new shelter house before the expansion was added in 1939.
Fourth of July 1938
These 3 photographs were also added into the archives recently.
The Berthoud Pass Inn was torn down in 1938, and the new shelter house was built in its place before the winter began. This set of photos was captured during the summer when neither of those buildings existed here.
In the background, you can see a small outpost that was set up by the local American Legion chapter that was based out of Georgetown, CO, at the time.
The scanned versions of these photographs allow you to see the observation deck in the background better, along with the other sign, and the American Legion post.
The Sign That Ties These All Together
This is the Continental Divide sign that is seen in the photographs from the Fourth of July.
The same sign can be seen in the background of some of the winter postcards while mounted in its new spot on the shelter house.
Here is another photo of that sign from the archives showing it in the new location.
What Happened to the Sign?
That shelter house burnt down after being struck by lightning in 1946. The fire was bad enough that it also destroyed the rope tow house for the ski area. I suspect that the sign did not survive.
Also Read: The In-Depth History of Berthoud Pass, The Coloradotopia Archives Collection
Upcoming Coloradotopia
There is a small pile of film from the mountains ready to be digitized. Some old lift tickets have just arrived, and there is still a backlog of photographs and ephemera to catalog into the collection.
The next newsletter will be a one-off article that has been in the works for a few years. Keep in mind, that doesn’t necessarily make it good.
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