Skiing pioneer Betty Whitney dies at 102

Betty Whitney, a local icon and skiing pioneer who co-founded Black Mountain ski area, has died at the age of 102. Called "a lady of firm purpose," by Selectman Dee McClave, Whitney passed away Tuesday at Sunbridge after a brief illness. Always involved in her community the town library has been named in her honor, Whitney will be remembered for her zest for life, passion for skiing and the outdoors, commitment to education and a streak of stubbornness. "She'll obviously be sorely missed," John Fichera, owner of Black Mountain, said Wednesday. "She and Bill (her late husband) were true visionaries and had a true love for the sport. They're the ones who brought skiing to the Mount Washington Valley. I'd wager to say they loved the sport more than anyone. Betty's legacy is the fact that we're still here 69 years later she obviously did something right."Fichera used to ski at Black as a child when the Whitneys owned the mountain. "I remember her being a perfect hostess," he said. "She was just so gracious to us kids; a true first class woman."Author Nick Howe remembered Whitney fondly. "When Bill Whitney died, Betty buried him in the garden. She put a white trellis at the head of his grave so a vine could grow there, then she came back to the house and sat down at the dining room table. She said to herself, 'Well Betty, are you going to be an old lady, or not?" She decided not to be. Now 30 years later we understand what staying young really means.""The last time I saw her at Sunbridge," recalled Brenda Medeiros, of Glen, who worked for Whitney at Black Mountain and Whitney's Inn, "she laughed and told me I'm dying from the feet up. She was a good lady who was very good to me. It was Betty who taught me all I know about book-keeping... I know she loved the outdoors and she and Bill (her late husband) loved to hike all of the AMC trails."Whitney always spoke passionately about Black Mountain. In 2001 she invited the Sun into her Jackson home where she reminisced about how the ski area came into being.Bill and Betty Whitney purchased the property in 1936 and poured their hearts, souls, and bankroll into Black Mountain, presiding over the family ski area as it repeatedly achieved a series of firsts in the American ski industry: first cable lift, first ski school, and first mountain to invest in snowmaking. Whitney smiled as she looked out her porch windows at the busy slopes. "Thousands of people learned to ski there," she said, smiling proudly. "The first Hannes Schneider Ski School in the country was right out here on Whitney's Hill... The first cable lift in the country was put in in 1935-36... We bought the ski lift in 1936-37 for the magnificent sum of $250 from George Morton (creator of the Skimobile at Cranmore)."The Whitneys also purchased an inn (now known as Whitney's) from the Moody family, paying $12,000 for 100 acres of land. "I don't know if I should say this," she said, laughing, "but now I have 2.2 acres and it's assessed at $83,000. Haven't the times changed?"The Whitneys lived in Boston before moving north. "I worked for Filene's for six years," she said. "I really kind of hated it... I met my husband in 1928 on an Appalachian Mountain Club ski trip. He was very skeptical about marriage when we first met."Whitney said the couple went to see a business agent who told them of the inn and land for sale in Jackson. "We knew the value of the land, but the farm was just in awful shape," she recalled. "There were only nine rooms when we first started. When we came there (the Moody's) rented them for $2 a day and all three meals were included. We raised the price to $3.50 when we got there. When we raised the price to $5, we found out we got a little higher clientele."The first ski lift was a cable with ropes hanging from it. "It wasn't very efficient," Whitney said, laughing. "Bill wrote to Sears and asked them to send 75 shovel handles. They wrote back and said do you really mean it? We did. In those days rope tows were very common, but the shovel handle was different."In 1948, they joined into partnership with Ozzie and Stan Davis. "They decided they'd like to get into the ski business," she said. "They each invested $25,000 and we put the T-bar in. That year we didn't receive any snow until Jan. 21... In 1958, we were the first mountain to put in snow-making."Whitney was a member of the Jackson Women's Sewing Club. "She was a remarkable lady I'll tell you," Virginia Temple, her longtime friend, said. "The things she did in her 102 years were amazing. For many, many years she was so active in the church, in the town in general. It was remarkable at her age, I think she was still driving at 100 and hated the thought of having to give up her license... She'll be missed. I would imagine there will be a huge send off for her."Whitney was heard in the Sun's editorial pages as recently as last year. "Skiing started in Mount Washington Valley in 1935 to 1936 when Carroll Reed, having broken his legs skiing at Wildcat, instigated the first ski promotion club," she wrote in a January 2004 letter. "I was then living in Jackson, the first Eastern Slope Ski Club operated in Whitney Hill, then a part of the Moody farm. The Moody farm was bought by Bill and Betty Whitney in 1936. Black Mountain was not opened until 1948 or 1949. "I know Cranmore wants to claim being the first, but it was two to three years after Whitney's, as Harvey Gibson's daughter Helen came to Whitney's to ski, but Harvey didn't like coming to Jackson, so he proceeded to buy Cranmore and developed the skiing there. When Schneider just came to this country, I can remember seeing him teaching on Whitney Hill. Please don't throw this factual history in the waste basket."The letter was signed: "Betty Whitney 101, at Sunbridge."