New Hampshire’s Ski Areas Prepare For 2019-20 Season With Capital Improvements
High-efficiency snowmaking and facility upgrades continue to be top priorities for improvements at New Hampshire ski areas.
New Hampshire ski resorts are unveiling new improvements for the 2019/2020 season. The state’s ski areas have been hard at work during the snowless months, revamping everything from their facilities and trails to improving snowmaking capabilities. Below is a sampling of ways in which resorts have made the state’s official sport—skiing—even more enjoyable for residents and visitors alike for the upcoming winter.
- Bretton Woods - Resort enhancements underway at Bretton Woods include New Hampshire’s first 8-passenger Gondola that travels at 1,200-feet per minute, which will debut for the 2019-2020 ski season along with a 16,000 square-foot on-mountain dining-and-event venue, anticipated to open during the summer of 2020.
- Cannon Mountain - This season Cannon Mountain is investing heavily in lift maintenance and infrastructure improvements with $2.5M being spent on upgrades to the Mountain Station Tram building at the summit, including $25K toward adaptive route paving at the Aerial Tramway and $650K in lift maintenance projects. Cannon will also have a brand new Prinoth Bison WinchCat Groomer with the latest technology to tackle the steeps. Cannon’s recently upgraded snowmaking system will get a boost with 20 new HKD Phaser snowguns along with new hydrants and pipe for the Tossup Terrain Park.
- Cranmore Mountain Resort - Phase II of Kearsarge Brook Condominiums at Cranmore Mountain Resort broke ground on August 20, 2019. This is the second phase of a $50 million development that will transform the resort into a vibrant mixed-use community with year-round residences and expanded base facilities.
- Great Glen Trails - Great Glen Trails’ biggest investment for this winter is in the form of an additional SnowCoach. Other improvements to Great Glen Trails Nordic Center include upgrades to their tubing hill and drainage work at the racing facility in the stadium area.
- Gunstock Mountain Resort - Gunstock Mountain Resort has spent in excess of $1,000,000 on improvements this year. Gunstock invested in additional high-efficiency snowmaking equipment including 47 new HKD Impulse snow guns and one TechnoAlpin TR8 Fan Gun. Gunstock Ski & Sport, formerly Mountainside Outfitters, has been remodeled and enlarged. Other improvements include an enhanced Terrain and Freestyle Park, new grooming equipment, trail signage, and new base lodge furnishings.
- King Pine Ski Area - King Pine Ski Area has invested over $60,000 during the off-season maintaining its lift infrastructure, making base lodge improvements and investing in technology upgrades. Included in the technology portion, King Pine is working with Only Sky to seek improvements with cloud-based technology to improve its ski school inventory management, scheduling and is exploring additional online sales "ecommerce" options for various products and activities. King Pine has also invested an additional $50,000 purchasing new equipment to add to its available ski and snowboard rental fleet.
- Loon Mountain Resort - Loon Mountain Resort has installed 50 more semi-automated snowmaking hydrants on major trails. Loon Mountain has expanded and remodeled its lodge facilities with the Summit Café remodel and the addition of the all-new Pemigewasset Base Camp. Loon Mountain Resort is introducing RFID ticketing to its resort this winter. Lift tickets, Fly cards and season pass products will now be loaded onto reusable cards, which will be scanned remotely by electronic gates.
- Pats Peak - Pats Peak has built a new post and beam lodge featuring new enlarged bathrooms, an elevator and ski boot-friendly stairs. They have also added more energy-efficient snowmaking fan guns and towers to their arsenal that already gives the mountain 100% snowmaking coverage.
- Ragged Mountain Resort - Ragged Mountain Resort has remodeled the interior and exterior of the Elmwood and Meetinghouse Lodges and has renovated the New Hampshire Mountain Inn. Other resort improvements include snowmaking system upgrades, new gladed trails, a live streaming camera and a new Rossignol rental fleet.
- Mount Sunapee Resort - Mount Sunapee has installed new snowmaking pipe and updated the valve activation for more strategic and specific snowmaking capabilities in its South Peak area, and plumbing and facilities upgrades were made to their maintenance building. Mount Sunapee has also acquired new racks for skis and boots that will accommodate the addition of new rental equipment for Ski School.
- Waterville Valley Resort - The Freestyle Lounge at the Waterville Valley base lodge is close to completion and has an anticipated winter opening. Other base lodge improvements include a private event space and a family area.
Ski New Hampshire is the statewide association representing 32 alpine and cross-country resorts in New Hampshire. For more information on ski areas, trail conditions, vacation planning, and updated winter events at Ski New Hampshire resorts, visit SkiNH.com.
