Snowbowl history

[chumley]

Recent thread on wilderness management and how the forest used to look reminded me of this brochure from 1960 at NAUs Cline Library.

Thought some of you might be interested. Seems like more than 50 years ago...

[Jim]

Looks like late 1950s or early 1960s. I like the Yosemite Sam guy.

Snowbowl and the road, the Waterline Road, the three diesel powered city water pumps in the inner basin, the Weatherford Road turned trail, and at least 80 years of intense exotic grazing on the Peaks make it one of the worst excuses for a wilderness I have ever seen, especially when compared to the Gila or John Muir. But, its what we have. It was only created in 1984, and it probably never should have been except to mitigate the Snowbowl expansion that occurred at the same time. Agassiz was closed the same year. If they had done things better they might have thinned and burned a lot of the area before they closed it, but...

[azdesertfather]

Interesting, the last image shows a map of the area. It dates the map before the building of I-17 or I-40, and has the towns of Bellemont and Winona on it.

In the beginning of 1942 and shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Government built Navajo Ordnance Depot, close to the little community Bellemont, which is close to Santa Fe Railroad. Here ammunition and explosives were stored, packed and shipped off. Most of the workers were from the Navajo Indian Reservation. To try and make the Navajo feel like they were at "home" in this new landscape, the military built a Navajo "town" with traditional hogans and a Trading Post. Here worked more then 2,000 native Americans during WWII. Today all facilities are run by a little staff of Arizona National Guard.

Winona even better dates the piece, as it was once an incorporated village called Walnut Creek, until the 1950s when it became part of Flagstaff.

[Jim]

That map also shows a connecting road between Hart Prairie Rd and Snowbowl Rd. That must have been closed a long time ago.

[joebartels]

I think you're talking about the one that goes by AlfaFia tank? It's still on all the maps, though it's a faint scar of the past.

That is some interesting literature from the past Chumley. Thanks for posting, I love that kind of stuff.

[Jim]

Does/ did it leave from Snowbowl Rd nearby the small parking area on the shoulder that is just below the resort?

[joebartels]

I think so
http://hikearizona.com/images/screenshots/polar.png

[chumley]

As you drive up Snowbowl road, there's a 130-150° right turn maybe a mile or so from the ski area. I always remember this because regardless of the winter's snowfall, when you make this turn you end up in a very shaded grove of Aspens and there's always a lot of snow here. But just at that turn, the old road goes down to the left. There's a bit of an open meadow there and some fencing (pine logs I think) that prevents motorized access. Lots of no parking signs there as well. There's also a sign that indicates the road is now closed to motor vehicles. I assume it's still a hiking/biking trail, but I've never made that trip.

The topo map here shows it. (lower center)

Edit: Google Maps still shows it as a Forest Service Road too ... even though I've never known it to be open in the 15 years I've been going up there!

[fotogirl53]

You all are correct. When I first moved to Flagstaff in 1976, the road at the Aspen Corner (the beginning of the hike titled "Polar Aspen Alley") went thru to Hart Prairie Road. It does go past AlfaFia tank, just above the wilderness boundary. I remember exploring this road by motorcycle back then. I think it was closed when they designated the 'wilderness". About Camp Navajo at Bellemont: it is still an active base that is part of the nuclear proliferation treaty with the Russians--all those bunkers that you can see from the top of Snowbowl are active and store missle parts. Rumor has it that the parts are inventoried regularly by the Russians, just like we inventory their supplies.

[BobP]

Your guesstimate dates are right on. Buzz Bainbridge was hired in 1958 to build a new lift and become GM. The "old" route was a 5-7 hour drive from Phoenix. I've talked to a few oldtimers on chairlifts. I remember when....... Pretty interesting stuff. Thanks for posting.