The Red Sox season was already a dozen games deep when, on April 9, a small ski area in New Hampshire fired up its snowmaking guns to add to the snow base on its main slope.
It’s unusual for a ski area to make snow this time of year. The milder weather is a factor, of course. On Monday in the Mount Washington Valley, the temperature reached 60 degrees. Attitash, Bretton Woods, Cannon Mountain, and Waterville Valley held their final ski days last weekend.
Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln is the only other ski area still open. They plan to be open through April 20.
But Black Mountain is determined to be open Fridays through Sundays until Saturday, May 3. The late-season snowmaking is part of what new general manager Erik Mogensen calls a “show me, don’t tell me” mentality.
“It was one of the first to close last year, and this year we want to make it one of the last to close,” Mogensen said of the late-season snowmaking. “And next year we want to make it one of the first to open. Being open matters.”
And that’s central to Mogensen’s thinking for making Black Mountain a thriving ski destination. He’s director of Indy Pass, which purchased the mountain in Jackson in 2024.
Their plan is to transfer ownership to a community co-op – a member-owned model – while keeping what makes Black Mountain different from larger areas. Part of the goal, so the pitch goes, is to maintain “an authentic New England skiing experience.” (Black was established in 1935).
That old double chairlift to the summit? That’s not going anywhere, Mogensen said in an interview at the base lodge.
What they’re seeking to do – besides sell season passes at Black – is modernize the point-of-sales systems and update mountain operations. The cornerstone of this is software from Entabeni Systems, which Mogensen founded in 2015, to serve independent ski areas.
To date, about 80% of Black Mountain’s pass holders have already renewed for next season and over 40% of pass sales are new customers, according to Mogensen.
Leveraging technology to improve the customer experience is perhaps the first thing a skier would notice if they hadn’t visited Black Mountain in a couple of years.
The other might be the remake of the alpine cabin at mid-mountain, where fondue and champagne are stars of the limited menu.
It was deliberate topspin by Mogensen and team to create something different – something with a European feel. Skiers come in, smell mulled wine, listen to live music or a DJ on the deck. That sort of thing.
“I was told I would never sell a bottle of champagne at Black Mountain,” says Mogensen, smiling.
Testament to its popularity, scores of empty bottles of Veuve Clicquot are lined up on shelves outside the alpine cabin. When skiers finish their champagne, they’re invited to sign their bottle with a Sharpie.
It is but one profit center at Black, but one that gets a lot of attention. It’s tough to miss for skiers and snowboarders because the summit chairlift passes closely above the cabin.
Last season, Mogensen says the mid-mountain cabin did $26,000 in business. A few Saturdays ago, he said they conducted $38,000 in business there in a single day.
Alex Lahood, assistant manager at Black, said some skiers have shared that they visited with the sole purpose of hanging out at the cabin for some sun, fondue and bubbly. Others “skin” up the slope with the cabin their primary destination.
Spring skiing can have that kind of effect.
Mogensen is planning a 90th birthday party for the mountain on May 3. Will the snow on their slopes hold out that long? One thing’s certain – you can bet there’ll be fondue and champagne.
