Yes JD is back! Now IMHO the Balsams needs to be added and Ascutney taken off and left on all at the same time. I'm sure there is quite a backlog over at NELSAP.
ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
OT but supposedly The Balsams purchase agreements are to be distributed in a couple months.
This will make it the sixth season in a row The Balsams has been closed. If that doesn't qualify it for NELSAPBMRS (ButMightReopenSomeday) I just don't know what does.
ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
Visited Tenney today on my way home from Cannon. Its just a few miles off I-93, easy to get to, GPS got me to it. The last few hundred yards of road are rough, but worth the trip. Approaching the ski area is like the time machine other discussions have been hitting on. Nice neat ski area with a couple of classic lifts that look much cleaner than many their ages elsewhere. The first person I met was "Mike from Tenney" who is as pleasant in person as he sounds on the Facebook feeds. I got a quick tour of the base lodge which fits the 'Back to the Future' concept to a 'T' , its not tremendous but will handle a fair amount of traffic comfortably with all the basic amenities. Café, Bar, clean modern restrooms and a deck they can serve beer on edging on to the slope.
Looks like a great place for a 'retro' day with lift prices that are supposed to be retro as well.
12/29/2016 post on their FBook page it says they are close to a soft opening and it also says a lot more.
"....we are that close to accomplishing our third phase goal of a soft / limited opening. (Limited: Meaning no day care, ski rental will be coordinated in advance with Plymouth Ski & Skate and ski lessons by reservation only)....."
ISNE-I Skied New England | NESAP-the New England Ski Area Project | SOSA-Saving Our Ski Areas - Location SW of Boston MA
I have skinned up/ridden it the last couple of days - conditions are SUPER fun!!! I really regret I never got to ride/ski it in my younger days!!!!! There were a few people on the summit as well when I got there yesterday. He has groomed out several routes up/down to the top terminal of the Hornet Double (didn't check the other chair).
Tenney Mountain owner says ski area is close to a ‘limited opening’
By DAVID BROOKS
Monitor Staff
Sunday, January 01, 2017
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been edited to add mention of Pinnacle Mountain near Keene, which closed in 1977 and reopened in 2003 as Granite Gorge.
The best snowfall in almost two years has the Plymouth area ready for the long-awaited reopening of Tenney Mountain Ski Area, but the owner is asking them to be patient a little longer.
“The mountain has been groomed a few times and the tubing park carved out. We got a thumbs up from state public safety department, less a few operation procedural verifications that can be taken care of in a day. We have been preaching safety from day one and what’s left is a few technical and legal issues, period!!!” Michael Bouchard wrote Thursday in a post on the ski area’s Facebook page.
Bouchard wrote that the area is close to a “limited opening” on part of the mountain, but no official date has been announced.
“The mountain has been off-line for seven years and a few more weeks won’t kill anyone,” he wrote.
It is unusual but not unknown for a ski area to reopen after being closed for years. The most prominent example in New Hampshire is Crotched Mountain in Francestown, which was shut for 13 years before it reopened in 2003 after being bought by Missouri-based Peak Resorts. That required basically rebuilding the entire resort, including cutting new trails and building an entirely new lodge.
In Roxbury, Pinnacle Mountain closed in 1977 and reopened in 2003 as Granite Gorge, while in Enfield, Whaleback Ski Area reopened in 2005 after being closed for three years. It almost closed again in 2013 but is now owned by a nonprofit group, the Upper Valley Snow Sports Association.
And this month New Hampshire saw a surprise entry into its list of ski areas with the opening of the tiny Gateway Hills Snow Park in Nashua, near the Massachusetts state line. It is so small that it has just one “magic carpet” to transport skiers up the hill.
The rebirth of Tenney Mountain Ski Area is of huge interest in Plymouth and surrounding towns, where its long status as the local resort means that thousands of locals learned to ski there, and have avidly followed Bouchard’s attempts to resurrect it.
Tenney Mountain Ski Area dates to 1960. It flourished for years but hit roadblocks in the 1980s, compounded by financial problems involved with grandiose plans for nearby condominiums. It then went through four owners, including a Japanese company, before shutting down in 2010.
In 2014, Bouchard, a physicist who co-founded an engineering firm in Nashua, bought 900 acres on the mountain, including the ski area, for a reported $1.2 million.
Bouchard says he was interested in the mineral rights but was persuaded that it would be worthwhile to reopen the ski area as a first step for a long-term business plan involving more housing and businesses on the property, with frontage along Route 3A. Bouchard had never skied when he bought the area.
Bouchard says he and investors have spent some $4 million on upgrades since then. The ski area’s Facebook page has detailed the process extensively, showing bad news like frozen fan guns, flooded rooms and drainage projects gone awry, as well as good news like restarting the chairlifts and starting snowmaking after more than half a decade.
The business plan has been complicated by a contract dispute with former chief operating officer Keith Fitzgerald that led to dueling lawsuits being considered in Belknap County Superior Court.
(David Brooks can be reached at 369-3313 or dbrooks@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @GraniteGeek.)
Keith Fitzgerald was convicted on five counts of theft by unauthorized taking.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
Former Tenney Mountain Chief Operating Officer Keith Fitzgerald has been sentenced to 10 to 30 years in prison following his conviction on five counts of theft by unauthorized taking. Fitzgerald was convicted earlier this spring of stealing $875,000 from this terminally ill father. Fitzgerald has also been accused of taking money from Tenney Mountain under false pretenses.
Fitzgerald, 51, was sentenced to prison last week by Belknap County Superior Court Judge Larry Smukler. According to Assistant Attorney General Patrick McQueenan, Fitzgerald used the money to fund a 100 acre Center Harbor estate with a helicopter pad and to set up a fake charity to purchase two airplanes.
Assistant Attorney General Jesse O’Neill labelled Fitzgerald a "liar, a con man, and a scam artist."
In a separate case, Fitzgerald reportedly "conned his way" into becoming Chief Operating Officer of Tenney Mountain Development Group, according to TMDG lawyer James Laura. Laura claims Fitzgerald pocketed a large sum of money and slandered TMDG CEO Bouchard to investors. Fitzgerald later sued TMDG, which reportedly stalled the ambitious project.
Citing the legal issues, Tenney was unable to open its lifts for the 2016-17 season. Snowmaking and grooming did take place, however, and skiers were invited to try the slopes under their own power.
After a noticeable absence of progress videos on Facebook, Tenney Mountain CEO Michael Bouchard resumed posting work videos following Fitzgerald's conviction. A link to an article about Fitzgerald's conviction was recently posted on Tenney's Facebook page with the message, "Friends and family of TEAM TENNEY will appreciate this article below...Truth prevails!"
Located just outside of Plymouth, New Hampshire, Tenney Mountain ski area first opened in 1960. After repeated struggles in recent decades, the 1,400 vertical foot ski area closed in 2010. Bouchard's Tenney Mountain Development Group acquired the property in November of 2014.
Hopefully this is the last legal hurdle that Mike has to face in re-opening Tenney. I'm not versed at all in the suits/countersuits involved here and Mike wisely kept those issues off the Tenney facebook page.
That being said I'm very excited to see this place re-open and to take my first turns ever in New Hampshire at Tenney this upcoming season - and off of that Stadeli double!
Something tells me this is a much uglier situation with this Keith fellow than is being let on in the press. Even though we're all just looking in at a distance and none of us are remotely involved in the Tenney resurrection we can't but wish everyone at Tenney well and that this resort will indeed open and be a real blessing on the Plymouth community.
Comments
I'm sure there is quite a backlog over at NELSAP.
12/29/2016 post on their FBook page it says they are close to a soft opening and it also says a lot more.
"....we are that close to accomplishing our third phase goal of a soft / limited opening. (Limited: Meaning no day care, ski rental will be coordinated in advance with Plymouth Ski & Skate and ski lessons by reservation only)....."
Tenney
Mountain owner says ski area is close to a ‘limited opening’
By DAVID BROOKS
Monitor Staff
Sunday, January 01, 2017
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been edited
to add mention of Pinnacle Mountain near Keene, which closed in 1977 and
reopened in 2003 as Granite Gorge.
The best snowfall in almost two years has the
Plymouth area ready for the long-awaited reopening of Tenney Mountain Ski Area,
but the owner is asking them to be patient a little longer.
“The mountain has been groomed a few times and
the tubing park carved out. We got a thumbs up from state public safety
department, less a few operation procedural verifications that can be taken
care of in a day. We have been preaching safety from day one and what’s left is
a few technical and legal issues, period!!!” Michael Bouchard wrote Thursday in
a post on the ski area’s Facebook page.
Bouchard wrote that the area is close to a
“limited opening” on part of the mountain, but no official date has been
announced.
“The mountain has been off-line for seven
years and a few more weeks won’t kill anyone,” he wrote.
It is unusual but not unknown for a ski area
to reopen after being closed for years. The most prominent example in New
Hampshire is Crotched Mountain in Francestown, which was shut for 13 years
before it reopened in 2003 after being bought by Missouri-based Peak Resorts.
That required basically rebuilding the entire resort, including cutting new
trails and building an entirely new lodge.
In Roxbury, Pinnacle Mountain closed in 1977
and reopened in 2003 as Granite Gorge, while in Enfield, Whaleback Ski
Area reopened in 2005 after being closed for three years. It almost closed
again in 2013 but is now owned by a nonprofit group, the Upper Valley Snow
Sports Association.
And this month New Hampshire saw a surprise
entry into its list of ski areas with the opening of the tiny Gateway Hills
Snow Park in Nashua, near the Massachusetts state line. It is so small that it
has just one “magic carpet” to transport skiers up the hill.
The rebirth of Tenney Mountain Ski Area is of
huge interest in Plymouth and surrounding towns, where its long status as the
local resort means that thousands of locals learned to ski there, and have
avidly followed Bouchard’s attempts to resurrect it.
Tenney Mountain Ski Area dates to 1960. It
flourished for years but hit roadblocks in the 1980s, compounded by financial
problems involved with grandiose plans for nearby condominiums. It then went
through four owners, including a Japanese company, before shutting down in
2010.
In 2014, Bouchard, a physicist who co-founded
an engineering firm in Nashua, bought 900 acres on the mountain, including the
ski area, for a reported $1.2 million.
Bouchard says he was interested in the mineral
rights but was persuaded that it would be worthwhile to reopen the ski area as
a first step for a long-term business plan involving more housing and
businesses on the property, with frontage along Route 3A. Bouchard had never
skied when he bought the area.
Bouchard says he and investors have spent some
$4 million on upgrades since then. The ski area’s Facebook page has detailed
the process extensively, showing bad news like frozen fan guns, flooded rooms
and drainage projects gone awry, as well as good news like restarting the
chairlifts and starting snowmaking after more than half a decade.
The business plan has been complicated by a
contract dispute with former chief operating officer Keith Fitzgerald that led
to dueling lawsuits being considered in Belknap County Superior Court.
(David Brooks can be reached at 369-3313 or
dbrooks@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @GraniteGeek.)
Keith Fitzgerald was convicted on five counts of theft by unauthorized taking.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
Former Tenney Mountain Chief Operating Officer Keith Fitzgerald has been sentenced to 10 to 30 years in prison following his conviction on five counts of theft by unauthorized taking. Fitzgerald was convicted earlier this spring of stealing $875,000 from this terminally ill father. Fitzgerald has also been accused of taking money from Tenney Mountain under false pretenses.
Fitzgerald, 51, was sentenced to prison last week by Belknap County Superior Court Judge Larry Smukler. According to Assistant Attorney General Patrick McQueenan, Fitzgerald used the money to fund a 100 acre Center Harbor estate with a helicopter pad and to set up a fake charity to purchase two airplanes.
Assistant Attorney General Jesse O’Neill labelled Fitzgerald a "liar, a con man, and a scam artist."
In a separate case, Fitzgerald reportedly "conned his way" into becoming Chief Operating Officer of Tenney Mountain Development Group, according to TMDG lawyer James Laura. Laura claims Fitzgerald pocketed a large sum of money and slandered TMDG CEO Bouchard to investors. Fitzgerald later sued TMDG, which reportedly stalled the ambitious project.
Citing the legal issues, Tenney was unable to open its lifts for the 2016-17 season. Snowmaking and grooming did take place, however, and skiers were invited to try the slopes under their own power.
After a noticeable absence of progress videos on Facebook, Tenney Mountain CEO Michael Bouchard resumed posting work videos following Fitzgerald's conviction. A link to an article about Fitzgerald's conviction was recently posted on Tenney's Facebook page with the message, "Friends and family of TEAM TENNEY will appreciate this article below...Truth prevails!"
Located just outside of Plymouth, New Hampshire, Tenney Mountain ski area first opened in 1960. After repeated struggles in recent decades, the 1,400 vertical foot ski area closed in 2010. Bouchard's Tenney Mountain Development Group acquired the property in November of 2014.
http://www.newenglandskiindustry.com/viewstory.php?storyid=570
Wow, 10 to 30 years. There's child molesters who get shorter sentences.
https://www.skitenney.com/