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Old School ski areas to explore

marzNC

Angel Diva
One of these days, I'd like to stop by the home mountain of @nopoleskier , Royal Mountain in NY. Happy to see that the long time owner has found a new family to take care of the mountain.

Jan. 1, Daily Gazette
With new owners, Royal Mountain keeps its solid base
https://dailygazette.com/2021/01/01/with-new-owners-royal-mountain-keeps-its-solid-base/
". . .
The conditions mirrored administrative change on the mountain, as Blaise finalized ownership sale of Royal Mountain in October to Jake and Brooke Tennis, a young couple who live in Johnstown with their daughters Hadley, 2, and Kennedy, 11 months.
. . .
“I broke my arm snowboarding there,” said Jake Tennis, who has been working at Royal in a variety of capacities for the last 20 years. “That’s how it all started. I broke my arm, and I didn’t want to sit around. I think I might’ve started working in the rental shop a little bit, and parking cars. He said, ‘Well, you can do that with a broken arm if you want.’

“Definitely a giving guy and likes to see the kids smile. So everything he does there typically and obviously is for the patrons that ski there. Every year he’s ever been there, he just puts everything right back into the mountain. He just keeps dumping it back in, and that’s why we have one of the best snowmaking systems in the Northeast.”

“He’s wanted this forever,” Blaise said on Monday afternoon. “Jake is a P.E. [licensed Professional Engineer], a very smart guy. I used to kid him 10 years ago, ‘You’re the heir apparent,’ and we’d both smile.

“It was pretty cool that it all came together. A ski area of this size, winter and summer, the person that’s running it, the face of the place, they’ve got to be here. You can’t just take it over and send a bunch of jamokes in that nobody knows. They all know Jake.”
. . ."
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
One of these days, I'd like to stop by the home mountain of @nopoleskier , Royal Mountain in NY. Happy to see that the long time owner has found a new family to take care of the mountain.

Jan. 1, Daily Gazette
With new owners, Royal Mountain keeps its solid base
https://dailygazette.com/2021/01/01/with-new-owners-royal-mountain-keeps-its-solid-base/
". . .
The conditions mirrored administrative change on the mountain, as Blaise finalized ownership sale of Royal Mountain in October to Jake and Brooke Tennis, a young couple who live in Johnstown with their daughters Hadley, 2, and Kennedy, 11 months.
. . .
“I broke my arm snowboarding there,” said Jake Tennis, who has been working at Royal in a variety of capacities for the last 20 years. “That’s how it all started. I broke my arm, and I didn’t want to sit around. I think I might’ve started working in the rental shop a little bit, and parking cars. He said, ‘Well, you can do that with a broken arm if you want.’


“Definitely a giving guy and likes to see the kids smile. So everything he does there typically and obviously is for the patrons that ski there. Every year he’s ever been there, he just puts everything right back into the mountain. He just keeps dumping it back in, and that’s why we have one of the best snowmaking systems in the Northeast.”

“He’s wanted this forever,” Blaise said on Monday afternoon. “Jake is a P.E. [licensed Professional Engineer], a very smart guy. I used to kid him 10 years ago, ‘You’re the heir apparent,’ and we’d both smile.

“It was pretty cool that it all came together. A ski area of this size, winter and summer, the person that’s running it, the face of the place, they’ve got to be here. You can’t just take it over and send a bunch of jamokes in that nobody knows. They all know Jake.”
. . ."

we are all SOO Happy Jake bought the Mt. nice to continue the legacy. It is a fun Mt.
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
When does Royal usually close in the spring? Is it open on weekends only, or is it open on Fridays too?

We've skied way into march, sometimes into April, in the past we brats have been allowed to use 4 wheelers or snowmobiles and water ski ropes to pull us up to top, one year we skied on Mother's day!!

Last year my last day was via snowmobile and water ski ropes.

Yes open weekends and local school kids holidays, we're trying to talk Jake into opening on Fridays :-) I'll let you know if he does.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Although I've spent time in Saranac Lake many times, didn't realize there is a little community ski hill there. Mt. Pisgah is run by volunteers and owned by the town. They sold just over 400 passes for 2020-21. Right after the lifts closed In late March, a man decided to spend a day on skis going up and down . . . until he skied the vertical equivalent of Mt. Everest.

May 1, 2021, Adirondack Daily Enterprise
Big winter for a little ski hill

Saranac Lake village-owned Mount Pisgah did well despite COVID, late start
" . . .
After the mountain’s T-bar lift was closed, Lake Placidian Alex Goff “Everested” the mountain on March 30, a first at Mount Pisgah. That meant skiing the hill up and down 93 times to gain the 29,032 feet in elevation equal to that of Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.
Testo was doing work on the mountain the morning Goff started and saw him skinning up and skiing down. This is common, and after seeing Goff take a few laps Testo thought he would be done.
But when Testo left and came back, Goff was still there. Later in the day, Testo asked Goff what was doing, and Goff just said he’d be there for a while. When Testo returned the next morning, he was surprised to see Goff still on the mountain. That’s when he learned Goff was “Everesting” the 315-foot-tall Mount Pisgah.
“It was fun to watch him do it,” Testo said. “Can’t say I would have done it on Pisgah, but that’s not me. So many transitions.”
Mt Pisgah has a T-bar and night skiing.
Screen Shot 2021-05-11 at 11.21.28 AM.jpg
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Hard to know since I've only seen the trailer, but this TGR film sponsored by the Indy Pass might be a good one for people who like old school ski areas. Available for download after Oct. 19 from the usual streaming sources.


 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Hard to know since I've only seen the trailer, but this TGR film sponsored by the Indy Pass might be a good one for people who like old school ski areas. Available for download after Oct. 19 from the usual streaming sources.



I was coming here to post this as I just watched it this morning. I highly recommend the film, really enjoyable and well done!!
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Black Mountain in NH, Berkshire East, Bolton Valley, Beaver, Saddleback, Cannon a tiny bit, can’t recall the rest off the top of my head as most I had never heard of. :smile:
 
Last edited:

marzNC

Angel Diva
The media release for the TGR movie just arrived by email. The locations in the northeast are Berkshire East, Black Mountain, Bolton Valley, Brundage Mountain, Cannon Mountain, Magic Mountain, and Saddleback Mountain. The ones in the west are Beaver, UT; Lost Trail, MT; 49 Degrees and Mission Ridge in WA; Snow King in Jackson, WY. Only Saddleback could be considered a ski resort.

" . . .
Indy resorts featured in the film include: 49 Degrees North, Beaver Mountain, Berkshire East, Black Mountain, Bolton Valley, Brundage Mountain, Cannon Mountain, Lost Trail Powder Mountain, Magic Mountain, Mission Ridge, Saddleback Mountain, and Snow King.

In Pursuit of Soul was directed by Jeremy Grant, who most recently directed TGR’s latest mountain bike film, ACCOMPLICE. THE FILM IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD ON TGRtv (available for download on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon, and most major streaming platforms)."
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
The media release for the TGR movie just arrived by email. The locations in the northeast are Berkshire East, Black Mountain, Bolton Valley, Brundage Mountain, Cannon Mountain, Magic Mountain, and Saddleback Mountain. The ones in the west are Beaver, UT; Lost Trail, MT; 49 Degrees and Mission Ridge in WA; Snow King in Jackson, WY. Only Saddleback could be considered a ski resort.

" . . .
Indy resorts featured in the film include: 49 Degrees North, Beaver Mountain, Berkshire East, Black Mountain, Bolton Valley, Brundage Mountain, Cannon Mountain, Lost Trail Powder Mountain, Magic Mountain, Mission Ridge, Saddleback Mountain, and Snow King.

In Pursuit of Soul was directed by Jeremy Grant, who most recently directed TGR’s latest mountain bike film, ACCOMPLICE. THE FILM IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD ON TGRtv (available for download on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon, and most major streaming platforms)."

Whoops of course Magic, don't know I forgot them!!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
The media release for the TGR movie just arrived by email. The locations in the northeast are Berkshire East, Black Mountain, Bolton Valley, Brundage Mountain, Cannon Mountain, Magic Mountain, and Saddleback Mountain. The ones in the west are Beaver, UT; Lost Trail, MT; 49 Degrees and Mission Ridge in WA; Snow King in Jackson, WY. Only Saddleback could be considered a ski resort.

" . . .
Indy resorts featured in the film include: 49 Degrees North, Beaver Mountain, Berkshire East, Black Mountain, Bolton Valley, Brundage Mountain, Cannon Mountain, Lost Trail Powder Mountain, Magic Mountain, Mission Ridge, Saddleback Mountain, and Snow King.

In Pursuit of Soul was directed by Jeremy Grant, who most recently directed TGR’s latest mountain bike film, ACCOMPLICE. THE FILM IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD ON TGRtv (available for download on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon, and most major streaming platforms)."
Did Copy & Paste too fast trying to split by geography. Bundage is out west in Idaho.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
If you scroll past the start of this newsletter, there is info about a few old school places.

November 14, 2021
" . . .

“It would have been easier to build a new ski area”

Bousquet is the eighth-oldest ski area in America, serving Massachusetts’ Berkshires since 1932. For a long time, it felt as though nothing had been replaced since then, the place a charming but ramshackle antique that seemed to be teetering on the edge of existence.
. . .

The 279-foot mountain with a $199 season pass and 70-plus partners

Several months ago, I wrote about Ski Cooper’s $299 (at the time) season pass, which includes three mostly no-blackout days at each of more than 50 ski areas. It is, by my assessment, the best value among the many Western mountains that have forged such alliances, mostly because of its discount price and national scope. But several ski areas – Loveland ($499), Monarch ($519), Powderhorn ($699), Sunlight ($599), Lee Canyon($519) – have assembled a list of pass perks that may appeal to skiers who never even boot up at that mountain.

But a pair of Midwestern resorts have developed ultra-cheap versions of these passes. One, Mount Bohemia, I already wrote about: buy their $99 season pass between Nov. 24 and Dec. 4, and you get two days each at Bogus Basin, Porcupine Mountains, Crystal Mountain (Michigan), Lost Trail Powder Mountain, and Hurricane Ridge; and three days each at Mission Ridge, Brundage, Great Divide, Pine Creek, White Pine, Sleeping Giant, Mt. Spokane, and Eagle Point; and free skiing with a lodging stay at Caberfae over two March weeks.

The other ski area is far less famous than freewheeling Bohemia. Little Mont du Lac, Wisconsin, has built one of the largest reciprocal pass coalitions in America on its $199 Superior Pass. Passholders get discounted or free days at these ski areas:
. . ."
 

AdkLynn

Certified Ski Diva
Although I've spent time in Saranac Lake many times, didn't realize there is a little community ski hill there. Mt. Pisgah is run by volunteers and owned by the town. They sold just over 400 passes for 2020-21. Right after the lifts closed In late March, a man decided to spend a day on skis going up and down . . . until he skied the vertical equivalent of Mt. Everest.

May 1, 2021, Adirondack Daily Enterprise
Big winter for a little ski hill
Saranac Lake village-owned Mount Pisgah did well despite COVID, late start
" . . .
After the mountain’s T-bar lift was closed, Lake Placidian Alex Goff “Everested” the mountain on March 30, a first at Mount Pisgah. That meant skiing the hill up and down 93 times to gain the 29,032 feet in elevation equal to that of Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.
Testo was doing work on the mountain the morning Goff started and saw him skinning up and skiing down. This is common, and after seeing Goff take a few laps Testo thought he would be done.
But when Testo left and came back, Goff was still there. Later in the day, Testo asked Goff what was doing, and Goff just said he’d be there for a while. When Testo returned the next morning, he was surprised to see Goff still on the mountain. That’s when he learned Goff was “Everesting” the 315-foot-tall Mount Pisgah.
“It was fun to watch him do it,” Testo said. “Can’t say I would have done it on Pisgah, but that’s not me. So many transitions.”
Mt Pisgah has a T-bar and night skiing.
View attachment 15867
My kids learned to ski at Mt. Pisgah, five minutes from my house! We usually ski Whiteface, but Titus, near Malone is a fabulous family ski center!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
My kids learned to ski at Mt. Pisgah, five minutes from my house! We usually ski Whiteface, but Titus, near Malone is a fabulous family ski center!
I've stopped by the base at both Pisgah and Titus in recent years. My daughter skied Titus during a telemark Saturday day trip with her North Country School friends and ski teacher. She had a very good time.

Pisgah is a clear example of what can be done to keep a community ski hill going.

Mt. Pisah, Saranac Lake, August 2021
Pisgah Aug 2021 - 1.jpegPisgah Aug 2021 - 2.jpegPisgah Aug 2021 - 3.jpeg
 

Zard

Certified Ski Diva
This is my 25th post, I’ve been a member of the forum for many years. I just bought a cabin in southern vt so I feel like this will be a momentous year skiing for me. Before the pandemic I was on ikon, and skied with a friend who really pushed my skiing abilities. During the pandemic I dropped back to the local mom and pop mountains, skied with my adult boys (which means mostly alone) on an Indy pass.
I’ve skied a lot of the local NE mountains on the list but can’t believe no one thought of the mountain I learned on Crotched mountain.
Crotched is a bare bones local staple mountain. I’m not sure what will happen now they are on epic, but for years I could get discounts there, they supported local Cub Scout ski and camp programs, and their weekend night skiing was the late teen and early 20 something mainstay. Pure barebones no comfort skiing, if you’ve ever been inside their lodge you’d know what I mean.

I’m surprised that no one thought Of it?
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I’m surprised that no one thought Of it?
Thanks for the first-hand comments about Crotched.

Since the list is a combination of comments from Divas since we started talking about "old school" ski areas plus my personal experience, Crotched isn't mentioned explicitly because it's in NH. In addition to skiing in NH during a couple of ski safaris (before Indy existed), I also stopped by a few other places during the off-season just to get a sense of the vibe by walking around the base. What I have on the list I keep on my computer from a few years ago is:

NH in general, except Loon: Arrowhead (non-profit), Attitash, Black Mountain, Cannon, Cranmore, Dartmouth Skiway, Ragged, Tenney, Waterville Valley, Wildcat
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Mission Ridge in WA has bought Blacktail Mountain in MT. Spokane is 3-4 hours drive between the two ski areas. Reminds me of the purchase of Catamount in the Berkshires (western MA) by the owners of Berkshire East. Possible that Blacktail could use a bit of help financially for new major projects but has a solid base to build on. Of course, "small" is a relative term out west given that Blacktail has over 1000 acres.

November 18, 2021
" . . .
“Steve Spencer and his team built this ski area from the ground up 23 years ago. They have run Blacktail Mountain with a focus on quality and a family atmosphere. We are really honored that Steve and his team trust us to operate Blacktail Mountain into the future and plan to make him proud,” said Josh Jorgensen, General Manager of Mission Ridge.

“We have enjoyed working with Steve and appreciate his vision and hard work to create the Blacktail Mountain Ski Area on the Flathead National Forest which has provided a great recreational opportunity for the community” said Swan Lake District Ranger Chris Dowling. “We are enthusiastic about this new partnership with Mission Ridge to continue providing the public this use and unique experience.”

Transition of the ski area’s ownership is set to begin immediately and all Blacktail Mountain staff will be retained. All 2021/22 season passes and other pre-purchased products will be honored. New benefits for season passholders will be announced in the next few weeks.

Blacktail Mountain features a unique experience for skiers and riders, with their lodge and parking located at the top of the mountain. Offering over 1,000 acres of north facing slopes and 1,440 feet of vertical drop, Blacktail Mountain offers adventures for the whole family. Blacktail Mountain is located less than an hour’s drive from Kalispell, Montana and is the state’s youngest ski area. To learn more, please visit blacktailmountain.com"
 

Knitjenious

Angel Diva
Reading through this thread, I realize that all the places near me in Western NY would pretty much fall into this category. The place we are members, Buffalo Ski Center, has like 300 acres, one little on-site snack bar, and still uses a T-bar for one area (and 2-seater chairs for the lifts.) You can get a 6-pack of weeknight lift tickets for $120 and it's 30 minutes from the city of Buffalo. Our other place, Kissing Bridge, is a little bigger and has 2 actual restaurants and on-site ski rentals, but no lodging. (Edited to add, as an example, this is where all the elementary/middle school ski clubs go in our area, and it's like $200 for 8 Sunday afternoon/evening lift tickets plus five 1-hour group lessons.)

We also have 2 public ski hills in county parks with magic carpets and like 2-3 runs each that are totally free but depend on natural snowfall to operate and have limited hours. But a fun place to take kids to learn and practice. (My very first ski experience was my now-husband "teaching" me on one of those free hills.)
 

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