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Resort Stragglers Fall One By One

By J.D. O'Connor
November 27, 2006

Name your curse: declining ticket sales, receding snow levels, intrusive governmental bureaucracies - they're all bad. Any one of them can sink a ski area. Together, they'll drag you down faster than river water in your hip waders.

Several ski areas are feeling the clammy hand of death on their shoulder this season, and in some cases the ripple effect of their demise is being felt far and wide.

Tenney Mountain, N.H., opted not to open for the 2006/07 season.

The ski area was bought out in January by a New York Company. It is not known what part skiing will play, if any, at the resort in future.

“Ownership believes the best way forward is to concentrate fully on the future planning for the ski resort and associated real estate, without the encumbrance of the daily ski resort operation” said Joel Bourassa, spokesman for Tenney Mountain. “Here at the mountain, we are indeed very disappointed but, at the same time, excited to be working on some exciting development plans and working with our new friends at EMS.”

The 2006/07 ski season was cancelled briefly at Mount Orford in Quebec's Eastern Townships, and local business owners scrambled to salvage something of their year.

Last minute negotiations prevailed and the area resumed operations for the 2006/07 season.

Not so in Pennsylvania where officials with Somerset Trust Co. said there won't be any skiing at Laurel Mountain State Park this winter. Somerset took over the skiing concession at Laurel Mountain two years ago, and had hoped someone might step forward to run it this year but it's not to be. Somerset closed the slopes last winter due to mild weather.

In Middlefield, Conn., the owner of the Powder Ridge ski area announced he was closing the area for the first time in more than thirty years due to increased energy and insurance costs.

Owner Ken Leavitt said it wouldn't "make sense" to open this year. Leavitt purchased Powder Ridge in 1997 and tried to build a water park to supplement business during the summer months but opposition from local groups sank that plan - citing noise and traffic concerns.

A note posted on the company Web site advised skiers that the area would not be opening pending its sale.

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Comments

	The reporting of Orofrd's death is greatly exaggerated...;) They'll be open this year. Best Steve
	Posted by: Steve Wright Jay Peak Ski Resort | November 27, 2006 10:14 AM

	Mt. Orford will operate this year. an agreement was reache last week that will insure that the popular Eastern Township Resort will operate through 2007 -- then it will be sold under a secial sale/leased agreemnt. I just returned from Magog and can confirm that an agreement was reached, including the 60 quasi municipal workers. Tres Bon! David Barrell
	Posted by: David Barrell | November 28, 2006 12:48 PM