What are some of the newest ski areas in the Northeast?

[zinger3000]

I've only been skiing for 5 years, so this is a topic I'm not too familiar with. It seems like most ski areas have been around forever. What are some of the newest ski areas in the Northeast? Are there any that have opened in the 90's or even the 2000's? (I'm not talking about areas that have closed and re-opened.) Thanks for educating me.

 

[threecy]

One could claim that Crotched was mostly new, since only one lift was reused and trails/other lifts weren't identical to the decade+ closed ski area.

If I'm not mistaken, the newest major ski area in New England is Bretton Woods, circa 1973.

 

[jimmywilson69]

White Tail Ski Resort in Pennsylvania was opened in 1992

 

[x10003q]

Whitetail Ski Resort near Mercersburg, PA, opened in 1992. Another newer ski area is Le Massif which is about 45 miles ne of Quebec City. They used school buses as lifts during the 1980s until chair lifts were installed 1992. I have skied Le Massif and it was worth the 8-9 hour drive.

 

[Smellytele]

Granite Gorge NH?

 

[Puck it]

Bear Peak was in the 90's

 

[threecy]

Granite Gorge NH?

That was built on the old Pinnacle area...similar situation to Crotched, but Crotched opened a season later.

 

[Smellytele]

Bear Peak was in the 90's

More of an expansion than a new ski area

 

[Rambo]

Montage Mountain, in the Pocono mountains, Scranton PA, now called Sno Mountain opened in December 1984. 1,020 ft. vertical. 7 lifts, 30 runs, 250 snow guns.

 

[threecy]

More of an expansion than a new ski area

Year 1 was an expansion from Attitash to the FGQ, then Year 2 was over to the HSQ, if I'm not mistaken.

The Bear Peak expansion was built over a previously cut, but never opened ski area from the 1960s.

 

[threecy]

Down in Virginia, Ski Cherokee opened in the late 1980s, then closed a few years later. The lifts were relocated to Crotched Mountain in 2003 for its reopening.

 

[CTNoob]

Montage Mountain, in the Pocono mountains, Scranton PA, now called Sno Mountain opened in December 1984. 1,020 ft. vertical. 7 lifts, 30 runs, 250 snow guns.

LOL. I've skiied there! Went night skiing last year while on business, 2 days after one of those many weird snowstorms that hit PA and missed New England. It is really like 2 different ski areas in one - upper mountain is veeerrry mellow and wide, boring as hell, lower was steep, dimly lit and mostly narrow trails. The lodge and parking are in the middle on the mountain.

Very odd, sort of urban feel to it, looking down into a city from the top at night.

 

[Telemechanic]

Bear Peak was in the 90's

Killington opened Bear Peak in 1979

 

[Gnarcissaro]

Killington opened Bear Peak in 1979

Hey smarty pants, I believe he was referring to Attitash. Which isn't exactly a "new ski area," either. (In the truest sense of the term.)

If you count Bear Peak, you gotta add Sunday River's 3 separate major expansions in the 90s (Aurora, Jordan, then Oz) to the conversation. Loon's South Peak, etc.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

For the northeast per the OP no new ski hills unless there is a small community hill after 1990. Figuring out the last ski hill/resort to open would take some checking. Since the number of ski hills that have closed number in the 100's I guess it easy to see why spending the time and money to build one would be pretty cost prohibitive, especially since there are ski hills/resorts for sale.

The other problem is that the number of skiers and riders has remained pretty flat for over 20 years now. Currently skiers and riders are pretty even as far which sport makes up the total.

The numbers for Vermont actually peaked in the late 80's with around 5m, currently it's been around 4m the last few years.

Out west the first new major ski resort in decades was built in Idaho, Tamarack. I think it opened about 8/10 years ago. It went bankkrupt a few years later. It was a major resort developement, millions were lost by investors. Stop following it once the lawyers got involved and they started suing eachother.

 

[Mildcat]

How long has Big Squaw in Maine been around? I tried checking their website to find out but none of the links are working. Are they still open? I also checked NELSAP and they're not listed on there.

 

[Telemechanic]

Hey smarty pants, I believe he was referring to Attitash. Which isn't exactly a "new ski area," either. (In the truest sense of the term.)

If you count Bear Peak, you gotta add Sunday River's 3 separate major expansions in the 90s (Aurora, Jordan, then Oz) to the conversation. Loon's South Peak, etc.

"expansion" vs. "new" was already covered in this thread.

Thanks for clarifying which Bear Peak Puck It was referring to. :roll:

 

[bobbutts]

"expansion" vs. "new" was already covered in this thread.

Thanks for clarifying which Bear Peak Puck It was referring to. :roll:

Killington calls their Bear "Bear Mt." not Peak anyway

 

[Skimaine]

How long has Big Squaw in Maine been around? I tried checking their website to find out but none of the links are working. Are they still open? I also checked NELSAP and they're not listed on there.

They have been around awhile. I believe BS was opened late '50s or early '60s. I could be wrong. I believe they are going to try to open the lower mountain again this year, however, the NELSAP listing is getting closer and closer. There is a dispute on plowing the access road.

Search facebook for "Squaw Mountain". There is an alumni site with some great stories and photos.

 

[snowmonster]

In the book on Killington: A Story of Mountains and Men, there's a list in the appendix showing Vermont's ski areas by date of operation. The three youngest are: Bolton Valley (December 1966), Quechee Lakes (1967) and Bear Creek Mountain Club (2000).