“We sincerely hope that all residents of the area will pull together to make Mont. Glen the valuable and even beloved feature of our community that it once was.”– Peter White, Former and Future Owner of Mont. Glen. 

If you live in Southern Québec, you will love this news. La Voix de l’Est and the Sherbrook Record report that Peter White has purchased the former ski area for CAD $6,100,000, and will take possession of the land on October 31st.  The mountain is located in Southern Québec, just above Vermont, and below Autoroute 10. Peter White owned the ski area from 1978 to 2004 and is trying to reopen the mountain, which could possibly happen during the 2022-23 season. Their goal is to allow access for uphill skinners, but lift access sounds unlikely.

Peter White is planning on spending CAD $1 million to revitalize the mountain. The main challenge is getting a lift running, as the old lifts are no longer in service, and they don’t if they can get a chairlift constructed and open in time for this season. They are looking at getting a Poma surface lift, but that also may not be possible for this season. The Québec resident is looking for additional investors to create a viable business.

Mont. Glen opened for the first time back in 1960 by Canadian Ski Hall of Fame member and Olympian Bob Richardson and his wife Paula Richardson, who designed and cut the trails. The mountain was initially serviced by two t-bars, but a chairlift was added in the 1962-63 season. The mountain faced some financial troubles in the seventies, but Peter White and Michael Murray stepped in to run the mountain for the next couple of decades. The Ski & Bike Magazine described that the ski area became“a fun, affordable, challenging and unpretentious ski area with deep roots in the community.”

2004 was its last year of operations under Peter White’s ownership group. It was closed and sold to a private developer who wanted to build real estate on the property, but the municipality disallowed these plans. A few years later, it was sold to someone who reopened the mountain for one season. He had a bizarre operation strategy: only be open on weekends, sell a maximum of three hundred tickets a day that was exclusively sold online, and operate without having their base chalet offer any food. Unsurprisingly, this model only lasted a season, and the ski area hasn’t operated since. The most recent owner has used it for cat skiing, and the base lodge became a private residence.

In terms of reopening, a lot of work will need to be done to get the mountain ready for guests. The base chalet has reportedly been renovated, and they are planning on adding a bar. For improvements though, trail maintenance will likely need to be done, and lift and snowmaking repairs will be necessary. They are planning on buying new Snowmaking guns for the 2022-23 season. For summer activities, they are aiming to be open year-round, as they could offer activities like hiking and mountain biking.

Whether they have a viable reopening plan for this winter remains to be seen, but they are hoping to welcome mountain bikers in November, and skiers/riders in December. If it does reopen though, it will be a great skiing option for the people of Southern Québec. Image Credits: Skimap.org, Ski & Bike Magazine

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Have any post ideas or corrections? Reach out to me: ian@unofficialnetworks.com.