With flakes beginning to fly in the high country, we want to hear about resorts starting to open, not close—especially not closing for good. On Wednesday, N.H.’s , the oldest ski area in the state and one of the first in North America, shared that it will not operate for the coming winter.
“It is with sadness that we share that Black Mountain Ski Area will not open for the 2023-2024 season,” wrote the Fichera family, resort owners since 1995, in a statement. “Due to circumstances beyond our control, including soaring energy costs, unpredictable weather, extreme staffing shortages throughout the region, and many other challenges, we have made the very difficult decision to cease operations.”
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Black Mountain, located in Jackson, dates back to 1934, when the Civilian Conservation Corps cut the first ski trail down the mountain, according to . (Sun Valley, considered the first destination resort, opened in 1936.) The first lift, a modest rope tow, was installed during the winter of 1935-’36. The little mom-and-pop hill was a popular local spot for day and night skiing until 1948, when it was finally able to install a longer lift, a T-bar, on a part of the mountain known as Black Mountain Knoll. That’s when the ski area adopted its current moniker.
Black Mountain saw a slew of different owners over next several decades, each of whom added their own chapter to the ski area’s legacy. When the Ficheras took over in the mid-90s after the previous owners filed for bankruptcy, Black Mountain sported two chairlifts and four surface lifts. The Ficheras focused on increasing snowmaking and retaining the ski area’s independent vibe amid a ski industry landscape increasingly full of corporate consolidation and megaresorts.
Struggling to keep pace as a mom-and-pop operation, Black Mountain was among the first wave of ski resorts to join the , the collective of now-169 independent ski areas where pass holders get two days, plus 25 percent off additional lift tickets.
With yesterday’s announcement, it’s clear that it wasn’t enough to help the mountain remain competitive, and one can’t help but be concerned for all of the other struggling small ski areas in this difficult economy. After all, places like Black Mountain embody the soul of the sport, and each one that shutters is a loss felt acutely by its neighboring community.
“I am very sad to see one of the oldest, and [one] with some of the best history in the ski industry in New England and the United States, close its doors,” via Facebook. “I know it’s been a fight to keep the doors open.”