Gibson Cup

The Gibson Cup was organized by Harvey Dow Gibson and his wife Helen to stimulate ski racing interest in the Eastern Slope Ski Club. The history of the Gibson Cup stretches back to the winter of 1940 and is named after one of Cranmore’s founding fathers, Harvey Dow Gibson. Gibson cleared the first trails on the slopes of Mount Cranmore in 1937 and was key in the relocation of Austrian Hannes Schneider to North Conway who later became known as “the father of American skiing” and the director of the Cranmore Ski School.

The Gibson Cup has had a number of formats over the past 75+ years.  From 1940-1966 the race served as a premier racing event attracting many of the top racers in the East. In 1989 the Gibson Cup was revived as a Masters event. Race organizers used a format which divided racers’ times by their ages for the event.

More recently, the Gibson Cup was awarded to the overall winner of a two day combined race for New England Masters (NEMS) Series. The weekend long event was comprised of a Giant Slalom and a Slalom race. The overall winner of the 2-day event would have their names inscribed upon the Trophy that still hangs on the wall of Zip’s Pub.  The names on the Trophy are familiar to the ski racing community and include former US Ski Team members, Olympians and World Cup and Pro Tour Racers; but the race has not been held as a NEMS event since 2011.

In 2017, the Gibson Cup made its return as a 5-Race series held in conjunction with, but separate from, Mountain Meisters. For more information on the current Gibson Cup race series please visit the Cranmore Mountain Meisters Race page.