While not as big and flashy as the bigger mountains like Killington or Stowe, the small feeder ski hills like Brattleboro Ski Hill, Cochran’s Ski Area, and Northeast Slopes are as important due to their affordability and allowing locals to not travel far to ski.
First opened back in 1937, Brattleboro Ski Hill is a volunteer-run operation that lets people ski and ride for only $5. After briefly closing for good in 1995, locals teamed up to reopen the hill in 1997 as a non-profit.
In order to be successful in the New England ski industry though, you need efficient snowmaking. The ski hill typically makes snow out of three Lenko Northwind fan guns that are from the early 1990s.
Due to their aging equipment, they are now down to two of these fan guns. They are trying to get back up to 4-5 fan guns. If they reach this number, it means they can keep one in reserve, which is needed in case one of their fan guns go down. This summer, their team has been making trips to ski areas in Southern New England in order to find used snowmaking fan guns that are in good shape.
This is why they have started a GoFundMe to purchase the necessary equipment. The Brattleboro Ski Hill has raised nearly $1400 so far and needs to generate another $8600 to make it happen. You can donate to the Brattleboro Ski Hill here.
Image Credits: Brattleboro Ski Hill
