When there’s enough snow, Black Mountain in Jackson, New Hampshire likes to spin its historic J-Bar on Whitneys Hill at least once a season. Before a classic New England rainstorm hit the region on Sunday, Black Mountain had their chance after plentiful snowfall in the past two weeks. The J-bar lift is the first and oldest operating overhead cable lift that is still running in the country, as it started spinning in 1935.
It’s been an interesting past couple of weeks for Black Mountain. The ski area stopped selling uphill skiing tickets after numerous violations from trespassers. They then ended their relationship with Ski the Whites, who hosted the Last Skier Standing uphill event at the mountain. The owner of the mountain, John Fichera, said there were a variety of reasons that made them end their partnership, including hundreds of people showing up to events without reserving, John getting assaulted by multiple drunk patrons, having guests bootlegs their own alcohol onto private property, seeing minimal financial returns from Ski the Whites, among other reasons. In hindsight, it’s fairly obvious that Black Mountain was right to cut the relationship with Ski the Whites, although I do hope uphill skiing is still part of Black Mountains’ future. Black Mountain is closed today due to the rain over the weekend but will reopen on Tuesday.
Image Credits: Black Mountain
