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鈥檚 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 鈥渟how me, don鈥檛 tell me鈥� mentality.
鈥淚t was one of the first to close last year, and this year we want to make it one of the last to close,鈥� Mogensen said of the late-season snowmaking. 鈥淎nd next year we want to make it one of the first to open. Being open matters.鈥�
And that鈥檚 central to Mogensen鈥檚 thinking for making Black Mountain a thriving ski destination. He鈥檚 director of , which purchased the mountain in Jackson in 2024.
Their plan is to transfer ownership to a community co-op 鈥� a member-owned model 鈥� while keeping what makes Black Mountain different from larger areas. Part of the goal, so the pitch goes, is to maintain 鈥渁n authentic New England skiing experience.鈥� (Black was established in 1935).
That old double chairlift to the summit? That鈥檚 not going anywhere, Mogensen said in an interview at the base lodge.
What they鈥檙e seeking to do 鈥� besides sell season passes at Black 鈥� 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鈥檚 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鈥檛 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 鈥� 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.
鈥淚 was told I would never sell a bottle of champagne at Black Mountain,鈥� 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鈥檙e 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鈥檚 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 鈥渟kin鈥� 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鈥檚 certain 鈥� you can bet there鈥檒l be fondue and champagne.
