Okemo was founded in 1955 by a group of local businessmen. Operations
officially began January 31, 1956, with four inches (102 mm) of snow
and trails serviced by two Poma surface lifts. The lower poma cost
20 cents per ride, while the upper one cost 60 cents. The early 1960s
saw the introduction of four more Pomas. In these years, Okemo had a reputation
of operating with all Poma platter lifts, while other ski areas used double
chair lifts to serve advanced ski terrain. The first chairlift, the Sachem
double, was introduced in 1965. Along with all of these improvements, Okemo
began to offer slope
