Crotched Mountain Ski & Ride

Crotched Mountain Ski & Ride
View of ski area from Francestown Road
View of ski area from Francestown Road
LocationFrancestown/Bennington, New Hampshire, US
Nearest major cityManchester
Coordinates43°0′8.21″N 71°52′42.81″W / 43.0022806°N 71.8785583°W / 43.0022806; -71.8785583
StatusOperating
OwnerVail Resorts
Top elevation2066 ft (630 m)
Base elevation1050 ft (320 m)
Skiable area75 acres (300,000 m2)
Trails23
32% Beginner
36% Intermediate
32% Expert
Lift system1 HSQ, 1 quad, 1 triple, 1 double, 1 magic carpet
Websitewww.crotchedmtn.com

Crotched Mountain Ski & Ride is a medium-sized ski area located on Crotched Mountain in Bennington and Francestown, New Hampshire. The ski area reopened in 2003 after having been closed for 13 years. Crotched Mountain is 30 miles (48 km) east of Keene, 26 miles (42 km) west of Manchester, and 77 miles (124 km) northwest of Boston. The resort has become popular destination for night skiing. Visitors can ski until midnight during extended-hours on several nights each winter.

History

The original Crotched Mountain Ski Area opened in 1964 on a different face of the mountain - the northeast side, entirely in Francestown. In 1970, a second area opened on the north side with the name Onset, later changed to Bobcat. Bobcat and the original Crotched Mountain merged in 1980 and operated jointly as Crotched Mountain. More than 100 adjacent condominium units were constructed in the late 1980s, creating a burden of debt that contributed to the demise of the resort in 1989.[1]

The resort was bought in 2002 by St. Louis-based Peak Resorts, a company that ran a few North American ski areas, including Attitash Mountain Resort and Wildcat Mountain Ski Area in New Hampshire. The company spent an estimated $9 million to build a new lodge, install new, state of the art snowmaking equipment and chairlifts, and to recut trails, and in 2003 reopened what had been the Onset/Bobcat side as Crotched Mountain Ski Area.[2]

In 2012, the resort installed a high-speed quad, bought from Ascutney Mountain Resort in Vermont.[3]

The portion of the mountain with the original Crotched Mountain ski area is now largely owned by the town of Francestown.

In October 2019, Vail Resorts became the owner when it closed on a deal to buy Peak Resorts and all of its 17 ski areas.[4]

  • View from mountain towards Manchester
    View from mountain towards Manchester
  • View from mountain towards Bennington
    View from mountain towards Bennington
  • Old Summit T-bar
    Old Summit T-bar

References

  1. ^ "Onset/Bobcat Ski Area". New England Lost Ski Areas Project. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  2. ^ New England Ski History: Peak Resorts
  3. ^ "Crotched Mountain to Get Southern New Hampshire's First Detachable Quad". First Tracks!! Online. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
  4. ^ Olmsted, Larry (2019-07-22). "Ski Travel Revolution: Vail Acquires 17 More Ski Resorts, Expands Epic Pass". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-02-08.