One of the most important devices that ski mountains across the world use came from the brain of a New Hampshire college graduate and skier.

Avid skiers will know exactly what I am talking about with a one-word hint... corduroys.

How do Ski Mountains Groom the Snow in New England?

Snowcats are giant machines that are crucial to the safety of skiers.

Snowcats pack down snow as they drive the machine over it, leaving fresh corduroy stripes behind.

If you have ever heard a skier say "I got there for the cords" or "It was a corduroy run," they got to the mountain early and got the best trail condition it could be (other than a dumping of powder).

If it were not for snowcats, ski trails would be icey, bumpy, uneven, and frankly unsafe.

Who Invented the Snowcat?

Before the technology for these incredibly useful and necessary snowcats was made, ski mountains needed another way to groom their trails.

In the early 1950s, a college skier from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, helped invent the first-ever snowcat called the Bradley Packer-Grader. Named after himself, Stephen J. Bradley.

Read More: these are the best inventions that came from New England.

This was not really a snowcat but more of a snow groomer operated by a skier...on the skies...going nearly 50mph...

After competitively skiing at Dartmouth, Stephen J. Bradley worked at the Ski Mecca: Winter Park Ski Area, CO.

It was in Colorado that the Bradley Packer-Grader was first used.

The machine was 700 pounds and needed to be operated by a very experienced skier as a fall could lead to serious injury like losing a limb...or death.

According to a Powder article, Bradley's invention of the Packer-Grader earned him the nickname: "The Father of Slope Maintenace."

Keep scrolling to see the best ski mountains in New England for advanced OR beginner skiers: