Burke, Vermont — A new season is nearing its beginning at Burke Mountain, which will feature many changes. This will include a new General Manager.
Last week, Burke Mountain Resort announced that Gabe Porter-Henry has been hired as the next General Manager of Burke Mountain Resort. He will replace Tom Day, who was hired as the Interim General Manager. Starting on December 1st, Gabe will work alongside Tom, who is expected to work until the end of December.
Gabe Porter-Henry has decades of experience working in the adventure travel industry. Over the past decade, he’s worked at Berkshire East Mountain Resort in multiple leadership roles, including as General Manager. He’s also had roles with affiliated companies, Zoar Outdoor in Charlemont, Massachusetts, and Big Red Cats in Rossland, B.C.
He also has extensive leadership experience with experiential education programs. This has included programs in Mexico, Peru, and Thailand. These programs averaged from $3 million to $28 million in annual revenue.
“I’ve known Gabe since I was six years old,” said Jon Schaefer, Bear Den Partners Chief Operating Officer. “Not only did we build Berkshire East up, we added Catamount, Thunder Mountain Bike Park, Big Red Cats, and a lot of other fun things… We also grew up playing little league on opposing teams, we went to high school together, ski raced at Berkshire East together and have just been great friends and collaborators our entire lives. Generally speaking, I run into messes, and Gabe helps clean them up and is a tremendous resort operator. I couldn’t be more proud to hand him the keys to Burke and point him at one of the most special communities in New England.”
Tom Day is set to finish his work at the end of the year. Previously the leader of Waterville Valley and Gunstock, he was brought in to help the new ownership with the transition.
“There was already a great team at Burke who unfortunately went through a nine year period of not having an owner dedicated to making Burke a better place,” said Tom Day. “The team has been willing to jump in and do whatever necessary to make the mountain more successful both internally and forward facing for our guests. My job has been to make each department shine; the staff was ready to do that. I really appreciate the time I have had here and can’t wait to see Burke continue to flourish with the dedication of Bear Den Partners, the staff in place and with Gabe at the helm.”
Snowmaking Update
While snowmaking is well underway at many Vermont ski resorts, it’s been a bit of a slower start at Burke Mountain. In a letter to the local community, Jon Schaefer detailed that they’ve been unable to start significant snowmaking efforts due to the lack of flow on the Passumpsic River. When the West Branch of the river is below a certain level, the ski resort can’t draw water for snowmaking.
Since then, the snowmaking system has come online. Warm weather is also coming through, meaning more water is in the river. All this means that opening day isn’t too far away.
Image/Video Credits: Burke Mountain, WCAX-TV Channel 3 News
