TR Tenney, NH 3/9/2018

[marzNC]

A few years ago, Tenney Mountain in Plymouth, NH was bought as a long-term development project by a group with roots in Boston. Little did they expect how much time, money, and energy they would spend bringing the ski area back to life. Community support was key in the process. Tenney had a "soft opening" last week after the snowstorm that dropped 14+ inches of relatively dry snow. Opening Day was Thursday, 3/8/2018, which was eight years after Tenney shut down.

I was in Boston last week to watch my daughter in dance performances. Couldn't resist driving up to see Tenney first hand when I realized that it would be open with good snow and clear roads. Tenney is very close to I-93 and only about two hours from Boston. It was well worth the drive.

Only the Hornet double to the summit was open. All natural snow because the warm weather a few weeks ago melted what snowmaking had been done. But that was more than enough given that a lift ticket was $30. Price is $39 on weekends. Tenney is hoping to be open Thu-Sun as much as possible in the next few weeks as long as the snow lasts.

For more background about Tenney and the current owners, check out the thread from 2015:
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/anyone-remember-tenney.19608

 

[marzNC]

Most of the people who are skiing Tenney are locals who have been watching closely as lifts were fixed, trails were cleared, and lodge renovations were started. The best source for information is the Tenney Facebook Page, which has over 10,000 followers.

For more about Opening Day, check out the reports by local media. The WMUR video report gives a feel for how happy locals are who used to ski Tenney regularly. I heard that about 60 people showed up to enjoy some runs. It was made quite clear that there was no beginner terrain.

https://www.concordmonitor.com/tenney-mountain-ski-reborn-nh-16071621

https://www.wmur.com/article/skiers-snowboarders-love-conditions-after-noreaster/19391429

I met a couple who live down the road from Tenney. They have skied at many of the ski areas in NH/ME. Discovered Tenney in around 2007 when their daughter was starting to learn to ski and they were making the drive to NH from Boston. Fair to say that they are happy to be able to ski at Tenney again. It's clear that Tenney's terrain compares well with Waterville, Ragged, and other smaller mountains in the region for skiers who are intermediates and above.

Nothing was groomed on 3/8 because the snow kept up all day. For 3/9, basic grooming was done but there was plenty of places left to play in deep snow.

Hank greeting folks first thing in the morning


Groomed and ungroomed under the Hornet lift



Powder tracks a day after the storm

 

[marzNC]

The lodge is still a work in progress. One of the people I talked with worked on a lot of the renovations, including the tile floor. Everything had to be redone. The bathrooms are completely new. The approach is to do things right the first time. But with an old building, there have been plenty of surprises.

By next season, the bar and small cafeteria will be in full operation.

Downstairs, restrooms


Main floor, access to slopes via ramp

 

[marzNC]

The ride up Hornet is about 12 minutes. It's an old double but does have footrests. It's steep to start and then relatively flat near the summit. Heard that wind is usually not an issue, even near the top. Well worth turning around to check out the view on a clear day. The vertical is about 1300 ft. Enough that it felt noticeably cooler at the top when it was around 30 at the base.

I was having too much fun on the trails to stop to take pictures. Besides, hard to capture the feel of a narrow, winding trail through the woods with a snapshot. There were 2-3 ways down from the top, depending on whether or not skiing in ungroomed snow was of interest.

I rented regular rentals from Plymouth Ski and Sports in town for $20. For this trip, I flew carry-on only with my boots and adjustable poles.



Top of Hornet, ski patrol hut


Peak ticket office, paved parking lot


Have to ski down for now, stairs to be replaced soon


Classic lodge

 

[marzNC]

The bonus after I returned the skis in town was stopping in M'nM for Soup & Scoop. Got a big bowl of homemade soup and two large scoops of homemade ice cream for under $10. Really, really yummy! Perfect food after skiing.

Everyone around Plymouth and Tenney was very friendly. I hope to be able to return when Tenney is completely open. It's a special place. An old school ski area that's been brought back to life by someone who didn't even ski before he visited the town of Plymouth in order to plan for the future.

 

[RhodySkiBum]

Thank you for this update! I loved Tenney years ago - have many great memories there

It was killing me that I couldn't get up there for their reopening or even for this past weekend. Hope to be able to get out there and ski, and support them soon! So exciting!

 

[marzNC]

There are quite a few good little videos of the Tenney trails on their Facebook page from the last couple weeks. Take a look in the Comments to recent posts if you are interested. Clearly people are having a very good time.

 

[liquidfeet]

Thanks so much for this report. I've been wondering about Tenny. This gives me a good idea what it's looking like these days.

 

[marzNC]

Thanks so much for this report. I've been wondering about Tenny. This gives me a good idea what it's looking like these days.

Talking to the local couple about how Tenney compares to Waterville Valley, Bretton Woods, and other places in NH was very interesting. I can understand why the locals were so happy that the new owners were willing to get the lifts re-certified just in time. If that hadn't happened, then the Tenney trails would probably have become back country with no one keeping them cleared. The trees under the Hornet lift had grown to almost touch the bottom of the chairs in many of the steeper sections.

The variety of terrain for intermediates and above is pretty impressive for a small mountain. My understanding is that they want to add a bit of beginner terrain, but Tenney is going to stay a place where kids and adventurous adults will move to blue trails pretty quickly.