Lost Valley

Using land that connected their two parcels, Otto Wallingford and Dr. Camille Gardner opened Lost Valley Ski Area in 1961, primarily so Wallingford would have something to do in winter-downtime for his family apple orchard. At Lost Valley Wallingford, who had a degree in agricultural engineering, put together the state’s first snowmaking system and introduced Down-Easters to night skiing. But his biggest contribution to skiing came in 1971 when he started towing a cylindrical steel grate behind a tractor to convert hard snow crust into groomed powder. The Powder Maker became an essential grooming tool and was the signature product of Wallingford’s new company,Valley Engineering, which he sold in 1975.