Non-profit ski areas in North America as of 2023, large and small

[SallyCat]

Looking forward to the upcoming film by TGR, with support from the Indy Pass, about four non-profit ski areas. The trailer was released recently. The premier will be in late November 2024.

October 15, 2024

Same; I'm trying to convince my editor to let me report on or preview the documentary, because one of the featured mountains--Whaleback--is a local gem.

We have quite a few local gems in fact, all with different management structures.

Here are non-profits within about an hour's radius of the Upper Valley (Lebanon NH/White River Junction, VT). Everything but the ones labeled "community" are on the Indy pass. Pretty sweet little non-corporate hot spot!

Whaleback
Dartmouth Skiway
Saskadena Six
Storrs Hill (community)
Ascutney Outdoors (community)
Ragged Mountain
Pat's Peak
Magic Mountain
Northeast Slopes (community)

 

[SallyCat]

Here's a piece I wrote previewing the film premier and speaking to both Whaleback's Executive Director and our own @ski diva

 

[marzNC]

Storrs Hill in Lebanon, NH is making news this week. Their Opening Day is Dec. 26, 2024. Thanks to a grant, skiing will be free at Storrs Hill this season. Storrs Hill is open Friday evenings, Saturdays 11am to 9am, and Sundays 11am to 5pm. Storrs Hill opened in the early 1920s with a focus on ski jumping. There have been lights since the 1930s.

December 16, 2024

A New Hampshire ski area is offering free lift tickets all season long

A New Hampshire ski area is offering free lift tickets all season long due to a gift from the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation.

www.boston.com

 

[SallyCat]

Storrs Hill in Lebanon, NH is making news this week. Their Opening Day is Dec. 26, 2024. Thanks to a grant, skiing will be free at Storrs Hill this season.

Storrs Hill is an amazing community resource!! It's tucked away in a little neighborhood, which means a whole lot of people can walk or take the Upper Valley's awesome free bus service to ski and ride!

It's also a hotspot for ski jump training, with three jumps: 50, 25, and 10 meters.

Here's a bit about the Byrne Foundation, which is funding the free skiing. The foundation has had a tremendous impact on the Upper Valley.

I'm biased obviously, but the UV is a really great place to live (especially the Vermont side )

 

[marzNC]

Bridger Bowl in Montana is in the process of developing a new Master Plan. The population growth in Bozeman is a factor for wanting to expand the beginner area, as well as add another lodge and more terrain. As with any Master Plan, even after approval by the U.S. Forest Service it would take years to implement the proposed changes. Even after approval, a ski area is not obligated to complete all the proposed projects in a Master Plan.

Bridger Bowl and Bogus Basin are two of the largest non-profits. They have been operating for years.

February 26, 2025

What do Bozeman skiers think of Bridger Bowl's proposed Master Development Plan?

If you ski at Bridger Bowl, there could be some big changes coming your way with the ski area's new proposed master development plan.

www.kbzk.com

 

[Christy]

WA's nonprofit Badger Valley apparently has the cheapest lift ticket in the West--$15, cash only. It's run by the Waterville Lions Club.

This WA ski hill boasts the cheapest lift ticket in the West

In the era of the billion-dollar ski industry, the rustic community-run ski hill Badger Mountain, northeast of Wenatchee, vaults skiers back to a simpler time.

www.seattletimes.com

If you’ve been conditioned by the social media-fueled stoke powering the billion-dollar Ikon and Epic Pass global ski industry, dial your expectations back several decades. The parking lot holds a few dozen cars; after that you’re parking on the side of a road next to a farmer’s field. It’s a quarter-mile trudge through snow to the lodge. Along the way you’ll pass eager sledders, who, for $10, access what might be the state’s best sledding hill where it seems like you’ll slide all the way to the Palouse before coming to a stop. The lodge is cramped, but cozy, and smells heavily of grease from the daily lunch special: $8 for a burger, chips and soda. There are no lessons or rentals.

The terrain is modest. A lone T-bar lift rockets 800 vertical feet to the top of a surprisingly stout hill owned by the city of Waterville, with a pitch as steep as 35 degrees in places, and three marked runs down. A rope tow runs about halfway up the hill, while another serves a gentle bunny slope. The daily skier count typically numbers in the dozens.

 

[marzNC]

Happy to report that Whaleback managed to raise the money required to fix the double chairlift to the summit. Work will begin in July. They needed $250,000. There was a fundraising concert held in mid-April. As of late April, there was still $50K to raise. Killington made their closing day on April 13 a fundraiser for Whaleback.

May 19, 2025

Whaleback Mountain reaches fundraising goal after lift breakdown

A New Hampshire ski area is thanking the community for helping to raise the money needed for lift repairs.

www.wcax.com

May 19, 2025

https://www.powder.com/news/whaleback-mountain-killington-donation

"
Killington, Vermont has donated $10,000 to support Whaleback Mountain, a New Hampshire-based non-profit ski area raising money in the hopes of repairing its broken chairlift.
. . .

Killington, among numerous others, heeded the call. The Vermont ski resort donated the proceeds from its closing day earlier this month, plus an additional bonus gift, producing the $10,000 that was sent to Whaleback Mountain.

The gift was appreciated."

 

[marzNC]

Bogus Basin continues to do major upgrades. This summer the Pioneer Lodge is getting an exterior makeover and an elevator will be installed.

The organization that owns and operates Bogus is a 501(C)(3) called Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area. The mission since 1942 is to provide the local community "accessible, affordable, and fun year-round mountain recreation and education." It's about a 45 min drive from Boise (metro area population about 750,000).

I had a very good time exploring Bogus with Bill in March 2025. We only spent a day there as part of an Idaho ski safari but would be happy to go back in the future. Before we left, we drove up to the end of the road, which is where the Pioneer Lodge is located. It's a secondary base next to a ski in/out condo complex. The trails in that area are mostly green and blue. There were people who drove up to the parking lot that is right next to a cat track along the top of that ridge.

May 21, 2025

Exciting Pioneer Lodge Enhancements

Did someone say remodel? The Pioneer Lodge is undergoing an overdue exterior facelift this summer, along with the installation of a new elevator!

bogusbasin.org

"
Did someone say remodel? The Pioneer Lodge is undergoing an exterior facelift this summer, along with the installation of a new elevator.

The Pioneer Lodge has been a favored spot at Bogus Basin since its construction in 1973. That year, thanks to the foresight of previous leadership – including General Manager Bob Loughrey, the BBRA, and the Bogus Basin Planning and Development Committee – Bogus Basin purchased 640 acres of land from the State Land Board. This land acquisition allowed for the construction of the Pioneer Lodge, Bitterroot Chairlift, water treatment ponds, and the Pioneer Condominiums. It also made future projects possible, including: lighting Morningstar, Lulu, and Silver Queen for night riding in the winter, installing snowmaking systems, and building The Basin Gravity Park, a popular spot for people of all ages and mountain biking abilities during the summer season.
. . .

This remodel is part of Bogus Basin’s broader commitment to enhancing your on-mountain experience. Over the past decade, we’ve invested more than $65 million in a wide range of improvements – from adding three new quad chairlifts to launching daily summer operations and expanding year-round activities. These investments have helped transform Bogus Basin into a thriving, all-season destination that now welcomes up to 500,000 visitors annually. See you up here!
. . ."

 

[Trailside Trixie]

I've a friend who lives near there and it's his regular ski area. Hope to visit him one day.

 

[SnowHot]

I've a friend who lives near there and it's his regular ski area. Hope to visit him one day.

Lynne Wieland AKA Banana Pants lives near there and that is her home mountain. I think she worked there for a bit too.

 

[marzNC]

As of 2024, there is a non-profit ski hill in southern Colorado near the town of Cuchara (45 min from Walsenburg on I-25). Cuchara Mountain Park was open in 2024-25, but there was no working chairlift. Going forward for 40 years, the county is counting on a non-profit organization to keep the slopes open.

May 22, 2025, Denver TV news

‘A huge step’: Nonprofit inks 40-year deal to continue operating southern Colorado’s Cuchara Mountain Park

The nonprofit behind the quest for a ski revival at Cuchara Mountain Park in southern Colorado will continue to operate the park for decades to come, thanks to a new agreement with Huerfano County.

www.denver7.com

" . . .
Denver7 has extensively covered Panadero’s effort to revive the once-abandoned ski area. A “ski bus” – bus seats welded to a car hauler that’s attached to the back of a snowcat – pulled skiers and riders up the hill the past two winters, with tickets costing just $40. The ultimate goal is to raise the funds needed to rehabilitate Lift 4, the only chair fully on park property, and bring lift-powered skiing back to roughly 50 acres of trails at the base of the hill.
. . ."