"I went to high school in Danbury, CT from 1981 to 1985 at the Wooster School. There was a small ski hill with a single rope tow across the street from campus behind one of the faculty homes. I figure this had to be Mad Hatter though I don't recall anyone ever referring to it by that name so perhaps this was another lost ski area. Its possible that it had been entirely privately owned by the school. Unfortunately, the best person to have remembered when this hill was active died a few years ago. The ski team used to dry land train on this hill until the snow fell then we would ski train elsewhere. There was a supply of bamboo slalom poles near the lift shack. I never actually skied on it.

I think my school shut it down in the late 70's due to fear of liability and lack of snow to be reliable. In fact, the hill may have been under utilized for training and recreational purposes because it still may have been privately owned and every time we were on it we may have technically been trespassing. Who knows? Anyway, I do remember a few older students telling me that several years previous they had taken a few runs. At that time, 1984-85, the rope tow, tow hut and pulleys were all still there but the engine was gone. There were also some remnants of lighting equipment. This hill and was pretty wide. It had been kept clear of brush over the years of course part of that was because there is an aircraft beacon at the top of the hill for the nearby Danbury airport.

I had always wanted to refurbish it as a gift to my school. With the lack of snowmaking and liability issues being what they are today, I don't know that they would consider it to be much of a "gift." I haven't looked at the hill since I graduated but I will next time I am in the area to see what kind of condition its in. There also several faculty members who may still remember this area who could tell me more. I don't even know if Wooster still has a ski team and whether or not they use the hill for dry land training. In retrospect, I now wish I had paid more attention to this "lost" ski area. It certainly had the potential to be a huge asset for such a small school (250 students.)"

Here's an aerial shot of the area. According to Michael, the area was lcoated on the lower slopes You can see the rope tow line just below the tip of the arrow.