King Ridge, Crown and Peaks — c. 1970s

A vintage King Ridge ski patch, estimated to date from the 1970s, with a gold crown floating over two red peaks drawn in a single unbroken line and a red skier silhouette dropping straight through the G. Round, gold merrowed edge, KING RIDGE in red across the middle.

King Ridge opened on December 23, 1961, in New London, spun off from the New London Outing Club when the project got too big for a club to carry. The club had been running a rope tow on its Northeast Slope since 1947. In 1961 it found 400 acres in Sutton and needed a company to build on them.

It was built upside down. The lodge and the parking sat at the summit, so you started the day by skiing down and ended it by riding up to your car. About 775 feet of vertical, all of it below the parking lot.

That's a lovely idea until the last chair of a cold afternoon, keys in your pocket, car at the top of the hill.

The area closed after the 1994–95 season. The summit where the lodge stood became house lots.

Embroidered on twill, merrowed edge. Photos are the condition report.