The original Skyline Lodge, built in 1954, deteriorated severely over the decades.
In 1980, a joint inspection by the U.S. Forest Service and Green Mountain Club found the building in extremely poor condition with respect to public safety and structural stability, with a long-term recommendation that it be obliterated when safety could no longer be assured.
By June 1986, a Forest Service engineer’s inspection revealed the structure had deteriorated to hazardous condition, and since it was beyond repair with heavy snow posing a collapse risk, it was removed on December 12, 1986 by members of the USFS Middlebury District.
The plan to replace the lodge began over three years before construction, when in July 1984 the U.S. Forest Service proposed replacement.
Since the lodge was within the Breadloaf Wilderness, the Forest Service and GMC had to ensure that the Vermont Wilderness Act allowed them to replace Long Trail structures.
The new cabin would be similar to Spruce Peak Shelter, with funding for reconstruction coming through a substantial donation from GMC member and Skyline adopter Mike Bromberg.
The new shelter would be a 13′ x 14′ cedar log cabin with double-decker bunks, inside table, and a wood stove.
It would sleep 14 people and was believed to be the first cedar log cabin in the Long Trail system.
Mark Brown of the Brattleboro Section drafted the plans, while USFS Middlebury District Recreation Technician Russ Eastwood became the key logistical organizer, locating a source of cedar logs and arranging their delivery to Middlebury.
The most challenging logistical task was transporting several thousand pounds of twenty-foot logs, cement, and other materials to the ridge of the Green Mountains—accomplished by arranging for three Vermont Air National Guard helicopters to airlift all materials to the site in April 1987.
During June 1987, work began on cleaning up and preparing the site, with Russ Eastwood doing much of this work with assistance from Al Stiles and other members of the Bread Loaf Section.
Construction began in July 1987, with Mike Russom serving as construction foreman and spending over two weeks on site, GMC Field Supervisor Ray Auger assisting for several days, and the Long Trail Patrol working for three weeks.
Forest Service volunteer Andy Sterns worked for over a month, sometimes laboring twelve-hour days, while other GMC volunteers including Jory Diehlman, Robert Reardon, and Doug Thompson each spent about a week working at the site.
By August, the walls were up and the roof was on, with finishing touches completed in early September.
The lodge celebrated its completion with a gathering hosted by the Bread Loaf Section on October 10, 1987, attended by 21 GMC members. The shelter has remained in service since, serving as an enclosed refuge on the scenic shore of Skylight Pond in the Breadloaf Wilderness.
Sources
- Long Trail News 1987 (1987). Green Mountain Club. 6.
- Smoke and Blazes (Killington) 40 (1987). Killington Section, Green Mountain Club. 4.
- Long Trail News 1987 (1987). Green Mountain Club. 2.
- Long Trail News 1987 (1987). Green Mountain Club. 20.
- Long Trail News 1987 (1987). Green Mountain Club. 20.
- Long Trail News 1987 (1987). Green Mountain Club. 17.
- Long Trail News 1987 (1987). Green Mountain Club. 13.
- "Long Trail News." , no. May (1987).
- Long Trail News 1988 (1988). Green Mountain Club. 16.
- Long Trail News 1993 (1993). Green Mountain Club. 8.
- Long Trail Guide Book. 24th Edition ed. Green Mountain Club, 1996.
- Smoke and Blazes (Killington) 54 (2001). Killington Section, Green Mountain Club. 24.
- Long Trail News 2002 (2002). Green Mountain Club. 6.
- Long Trail News 2003 (2003). Green Mountain Club. 8.
- Long Trail News 2005 (2005). Green Mountain Club. 32.
- Smoke and Blazes (Killington) 60 (2007). Killington Section, Green Mountain Club. 24.
- Long Trail News 2014 (2014). Green Mountain Club. 3.
- Long Trail News 2016 (2016). Green Mountain Club. 8.
- Long Trail News 2016 (2016). Green Mountain Club. 5.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 162.
- Woodward, Paul & Joanne. Long Trail System Shelter History. 2nd ed. Green Mountain Club, 1999. Pp. 173.
