I learned about the Ski Wing Murders in a roundabout way. This summer we’ve been working on the NYSkiBlog Guide, our directory of all kinds of historical data. One goal is to make progress on our Western NY Ski Areas section during this offseason.
In the process, we’ve come across information about some great looking NY ski areas that are now gone. Places with Holiday Valley vertical and more than 100 inches of snow in an average year. This peaked our curiosity.
This story is about a NY ski area that was best known as Ski Wing, even though the area had three different names from 1958 to 1993. The story is both tragic and incredible.
Grosstal Ski Area
The now defunct ski area in Allegany, N.Y. began as the Grosstal Ski Area. Grosstal is German for “big valley” — an 813-foot vertical drop with a challenging headwall, an enticing trail map, one chairlift, two T-bars, a rope tow, night skiing and snowmaking. The complete package in Western NY.
The ski area operated as Grosstal from 1958 to 1968. The owners claimed the mountain was “designed to rival the famed ski centers of the Alps.” Grosstal took on Holiday Valley promoting their vertical by comparing it to Holiday’s 750-foot number.
Mathias Hefti, a ski racer, played a big role in developing the Grosstal Ski School. Before coming to the US, he was a professional skier with the Swiss team. He immigrated to the US in 1962, coming to help coach the US Olympic team and to teach skiing at Magic Mountain. In 1963 he was offered the opportunity to head the new Grosstal Ski School in Allegany NY. With experienced skiers from Europe in charge, the ski school was highly regarded.
The resort was one of the first to make snow. In those days Grosstal would coordinate snowmaking schedules with local industries to avoid damaging the regional power grid.
In 1968, there was a tragic accident, when many were hurt and a young boy died as a result of a chairlift slipping backward. The ski area was closed and then sold to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Stein.
Ski Wing
The Wing Ski Club, was a separate private ski club with its own building, located adjacent to Grosstal. The popular social venue was known for it’s youth ski racing team, the Wing Cup and après ski parties.
When the Steins revived the ski area, they re-named it Ski Wing.
Wing Hollow
In 1975, the Steins divorced and Henry Stein took full ownership of the resort. He changed the name to Wing Hollow. Winters were generally exuberant and fun until 1978, when Cattaraugus County’s most infamous murder dominated the headlines.
Tragedy at Wing Hollow
One cold night in February of that year, two young men were working overnight, grooming. Sometime after midnight, the groomer broke down and they came off the hill to look for a part to repair it. Unfortunately when they went back into the lodge, they interrupted a burglary in progress.
According to the sister of one of the victims: “A couple of weeks before this happened, there had been another break-in. Some teenagers were caught and when he saw someone had broken in again, he may have thought it was the teenagers again.”
There was a struggle and both employees were killed, shot from behind with a revolver that was never recovered. A janitor who came to work at 3am found the bodies of the two young men.
The circumstances of the burglary led police to believe that the crimes were committed by someone with knowledge of the location. The target of the robbery — a heavily fortified safe, hidden under the floor — was chipped out of the cement it was cast in. The safe was eventually recovered from the river, but had been cut open and $18,000 was gone.
The murderers were never captured.
Even though this tragedy took place at Wing Hollow, the incident seems to live on as the Ski Wing Murders. There were actually more good years of skiing before Wing Hollow finally closed in the early 1980s.
Sources:
• www.allegany.org/pdf/
• buffalonews.com
• www.tapinto.net
• caseyhalwighartle.com
• map provided by skimap.org / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
Very interesting article. Never knew about this resort, but must have been great!
So many stories come out of our ski areas …unfortunately some are tragic like this one.
Skied Wing several times a year with my Dad in the early to mid 70’s. Noticed the runs this summer as I was driving the back way to a family reunion at Holliday Valley. Many happy memories.
Wow, what a story!
I often refer to the lost ski areas as ghosts. This one fits the bill. Gone but not forgotten. History stays alive through stories. Thank you for telling them.
I was working at Wing then. I was 20 years old and worked in the ski shop. When I reported to work the next day, the access road was blocked by New York State Troopers. Of course I had no idea what happened. I was questioned and told to go home.
I currently live across the valley from Wing and I can see it as I type this.
Ski Wing Murders Video.
Wow. ‘Bout all I have to say.
Hello anyone know if the building and lifts are still there ? I’ve been there in 2000 4 wheeling and it well preserved haven’t been there since but very cool place !!!!!
A great, informative story! Thanks for passing some interesting ski history on to appreciative skiers!
I always thought it was strange that Holiday Valley never looked at the facility as a satellite location. The terrain at Ski Wing was good with a wide variety of slopes. There were some extremely challenging headwalls, a good amount of intermediate slopes, and some long, easy runs if you just wanted to chill out. I learned to ski there and loved it. Many great memories as a teenager.
Sad that they never solved it. I had a passing acquaintance with a New York State Trooper who worked the case very hard. I know it bothered him that he never found the people who committed this awful crime.
My step dad owned Ski Wing… we lived there. We also lived at the base in Glass Works log cabin bar and the huge brick house at the bottom of the road…the 5 mile. Interesting to still read about this place. My brother went back years ago. We had planted saplings all over the area and the forest there…
I actually lived there when The Potters lived there… I remember the guys in the ski shop. I’d love to hear history from the early 70’s. Trying to find info from when we lived there with Joe Herger.
I actually lived there when The Potters lived there… I remember the guys in the ski shop. I’d love to hear history from the early 70’s. Trying to find info from when we lived there with Joe Herger.
I used to work there in the early 80s and running the chair lifts we’d work all day and party all night with the groomers, grooming the slopes putting on our skis hi to I’m and skiing half the night with the groomers grooming the slopes as we skied what a beautiful place it was.
Never heard of this before but interesting. I can’t believe they never caught anyone. Had to be a past employee or someone who knew where it was and was prepared with tools. Where is this place located? How horrible for the people that were killed.
Located on 5 mile road in Allegany/Olean, NY.
Ski Wing Hollow and Glassworks
I skied there many times, not when this crime was committed. But I grew up in the area and knew all local NYS troopers and Cattaraugus County deputies. One person of interest has passed away. For $18,000 in cash what a waste of life. All locals thought it was a local responsible. With few leads and no proof it will never be solved.
Wonder if any evidence or DNA was ever saved from the scene to see who could have been involved. Many other old cases are being solved.
There were several suspects. A local family, the son of a wealthy Olean businessman and others. The Cattaraugus County Police did a poor job. The Lodge at the resort burned several years later.
I learned to ski there and was on the race team. One of the younger Potters was a coach, as were the Nenos (who now coach/work at Holiday Valley) and the Shaffers who lived next door. Mr. Shaffer taught me how to wax and tune a ski. Wing closed when it was 12 or 13. It was a magical place for a kid. We were free to roam all over the mountain. I have many great memories from there as a kid. 40 years later, I can say I have never had a day skiing where I wished I had done something else. It started my love for skiing that I passed on to my kids and my daughter is now a PSIA instructor at our local mountain.
I can also vaguely remember the murders. I was probably 7 or so and we were supposed to go up to ski that day and my mom said we couldn’t. She didn’t say why but was upset. Being kids, one of us overheard the talk about it next time we were there. It is very strange that in such a small community, nobody was ever caught. You think someone would know and it would get out about who did it.
I knew Shaffers when Mike and Mark were kids ..we were add all kids then…
I know Potters and remember Nenos…my brother went back years ago to look at the area we lived @Glassworks also. We planted over 5000 saplings up there back then….
@Kelly Hardin. I have a vague recollection of the glassworks bar. I think it might have been closed when I was a kid up there. I know my parents used to go there. We knew the owner lived down the access road and there was cool looking log cabin there. I believe a group currently owns the old ski club building and uses it as a hunting camp. Since Ski Wing closed, I’ve wondered why it never got re-developed into something like Holimont. Ski Wing is probably to small to be profitable as a public resort, but semi-private with real estate opportunities for owners like Holimont would be interesting. Maybe WNY doesn’t have the economic base anymore to support that kind of semi-private resort and development.
Thanks for that info in your mind! We came there as children…i was about 8. But I remember everything. We had the brick house and barn at the bottom of the road.Livedcthere and then moved up to the Glassworks. Jack Horde was the the man that built the cabin..large cabin at that…and did all the hunting of the animals in the Glassworks..its been many years…..im now 60….
Used to ski there a lot while at St. Bonaventure. The school would run a bus up there and the conditions were always good! Lots of snow, cheap lift tickets, and cheap drinks in the bar. Good memories of knee-deep powder!
2 lives taken for $18,000!!! Very sad to hear. I grew up in Olean, left in 1977 & loved Ski Wing.
I could say something about the people hired, but I won’t! I’ll tell you this, you want to find the killer(s), look close to home! Real close!
Came across this after listening to a podcast by a couple of yahoos that didn’t even read what’s been published to date. I worked there for a few years when I was in high school and nobody talks about Joe Herger’s ownership. He owned it between Eatons and Stein. He was the only owner I know of that had a vision for the future of the resort. I wish he could’ve made a go of it. Unfortunately, mother nature didn’t help him out (lean snow years) and he ran out of funding to keep the place open. After Stein bought the place it fell into disrepair, they had a falling out with the company that owned all of their signage in western NY, hired poor managers who were more interested in hanging out at the disco than running a business. For a couple years everyone thought the place was closed because all the signage was painted over. Good business move there. Wide open slopes, though. Let’s not forget pissing off the property owner that owned part of Ridge Run between the top of the chair and the Big T-bar. “Sorry folks, that trail is now closed.” The Stein’s treated it like it was a cash cow, but it wasn’t. The only thing that kept that place afloat that long were the workers who did their best. People like the Dale’s and others. (You too, Dave) There were some shady dudes working there, I won’t lie. Sadly, I suspect the crime scene was compromised and valuable evidence lost or corrupted by poor investigation work. Pretty sure Wing opened the evening after the murders were committed. We may never know what happened. I agree that it was locals that did the burglary/murder, quite possibly an inside job. Mafia? I highly doubt it. One more bombshell before I go. Wing claimed 813 feet vertcal drop. Not unless you ski down the access road to the West Five Mile. True maximum vertical drop was about 686. Top of the chair to the bottom of the chair. Hmmmmm…..less than Holiday. Holiday today looks like about 775 vertical from the top of Happy Glade to the bottom at the Inn at Holiday Valley. It wasn’t as developed then as it is today. RIP Mike and Steve. Peace out!
That’s awesome history and glad someone from my time there knows!!
Funny you say mafia….when we got there with Joe…everyone gave my mom mafia grief…..
It was certainly an interesting time there.
We lived at Glassworks also!
So many stories……thanx for the memories……I wondered if anyone Remembered Joe….✌
Hi Kelle. We lived pretty close and you could tell if the place was busy or not by looking out the window. I was never in the Glassworks when it was open before you moved in. I did go there afterward when it was Charlies. Cool place and fond memories. Supposedly it was a speak-easy duting Prohibition. I remember the 3D model showing future expansion for the area. Pretty cool. I don’t recall when the trees were cleared for MULTIPLE new slopes going from Feather Run down to the Glassworks building……. with no plans for a new lift to get you back up the hill to the area and the parking lot. The trees were cut and left on the slopes. Big trees. I never could figure that one out.
So many good memories there! And one I wish I didn’t remember! Steve was a real cool guy and a good friend! God rest their souls!
Correction: The runs that weren’t finished started off of Smoothie/Rock Garden, not Feather. Rock Garden is not on the trail maps but it’s the bottom steeper section after the cut-overs from Smoothie to Fang. It was aptly named.
It always kind of interesting that nobody solved a double murder in an area that small. I know there was a lot of speculation and I suppose any theory is as likely as the next. I saw a couple years ago in the Times Herald that NYSP cold case was looking into it again. I wish there was public access to the investigation files now so we could see what they know and don’t know. I imagine most people involved are dead at this point or quite old. My theory is that it was set up by someone with knowledge of the place and done by professionals from out of the area. That safe weighed a ton, so more than one person would need to move and someone would need to know how to get it out of the floor. Not to mention the ability to kill two innocent young men in cold blood for $18K ($86K in todays dollars). There is a saying that 7 people know a secret, which seems to be surprisingly accurate. If locals did this crime, someone would have talked, it seems unlikely they could have kept a secret. The whole thing doesn’t say much for police work back then either.
Bill. In a small town like ours, it is someone close to home. Closer than you think. And they did have extensive knowledge of everything there, including the depth of the cement that safe was in. A higher up employee would know all that! Or could easily have access to learning it all! If you lived there your whole life like some of us, you would know better than to think this was pulled off by outsiders! That wouldn’t have a clue! Like many places, many people had keys and access to a few places! Crime was the last thing we ever worried about! Till then! Speaking for myself, but I’m sure other townies feel the same! I’d like to see it re-opened and solved! I want to know if I was right!
@Doris – I have to disagree and as someone who was born and raised there, learned to ski there and skied there almost every day it was open until it went out of business, I remember a lot about Ski Wing (although I was a kid) and even more about the area I grew up in. This wasn’t Casino Royal; it was simply a safe sunk in the floor of a dumpy office in a small ski chalet. Anybody who was a regular there knew they had a safe in the office. Back then, when people used cash, most businesses did. There were no “higher up employees.” Ski Wing was pretty small operation as ski areas go. Also, most all other crimes of any magnitude in Olean/Allegany over the years were solved. Its a very small area. People talk. The comments published in articles about the crime by the NYSP say they believe professionals did the crime because of the way they removed and opened the safe. Also, I can tell you firsthand, most criminals are shockingly dumb, which is why they get caught. Professional criminals are better at it because they are not as dumb as your normal opportunistic burglar. A couple locals and an employee planning this burglary would have screwed it up somehow and been caught. The criminals that pulled this off knew what they were doing, were capable of murdering two people, and got out of town afterward., without leaving any real evidence to link them to the crimes.
I disagree J. Sweet there was a 2,000 page Topix blog that was deleted when Topix went under. The case was discussed ad nauseam. A good many people believe that it was a local job. There were some pretty compelling arguments, that’s why the police had renewed interest for a brief period. According to the blog, the investigators appeared to be inept. Several leads weren’t followed up on. The safe was found under the Vandalia bridge, with a triangle cut out of it, which would suggest that it was a local job. Also, you mentioned the most of the cases in the area were solved, however the case of the housewife that was murdered in her kitchen on 5 Mile road five or so years earlier has never been solved.
I was a child there at that time with Joe Herger owning Ski Wing. That unsolved Murder was, I believe if I remember … Det. Panus on the case..I went to school with his son if my memory serves me.
@Just Sayin – I read that blog it was wild. There were a bunch of theories and a lot of them were tin foil hat type. They threw around some local names, including Hefti, who was the founder of Grosstal (original name of Ski Wing). His son got on the blog to defend his father. A Magnano was also mentioned, who was alleged to have Buffalo mob connections. That blog went all over the place. I’ll give it that there were some interesting theories and a couple good arguments for them. That murdered housewife on the five mile in 1970 was not solved either. They have dna and fingerprints on that one and still can’t solve it. Its interesting stuff that never got much coverage, except maybe locally.
They seem to still keep the runs mowed. If you drive by or go on Google maps, you can see them, they are not grown over. I wonder why and who maintains them.
The Wing property is privately owned by a family and they keep it under tight wraps. People have been approached up at the entrance gate have been asked to leave and it is posted as private property. They have a major lead on the woman on the 5 mile, she worked for a Dentist who committed suicide within months after the murder. A local family other than little Lou have had much speculation for involvement at the Wing.
Been watching this a while. J Sweet, Hefti was not the founder of Grosstal. The place was built by the Eaton family. Hefti ran the ski school until he left. I believe Hans Auer took over the ski school. Hefti started Valbella up McClure Hollow after he left Wing.
It would have been very easy to make that safe nearly impossible to remove without busting out half the office floor. I wonder why that wasn’t done and who would’ve known that? I don’t subscribe to the “outside professional” idea. Too many ways for this to go sideways. Not enough money involved. Pros probably would’ve had a lookout.
I do know that Hans did take over the school…I was there then, I believe. He was there when Joe Herger owned it. As were Bill and his buddy (name forgotten) the lived at the top of five mile before you went up the road to Ski Wing. They were in the ski shop and rental.
What a rabbit hole. Thanks @Harvey and all the commentators for this. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction.