Roxbury, New Hampshire — We’ve seen a decent amount of ski area comebacks during the 2020s. This includes Nutt Hill in Wisconsin, Steeplechase in Minnesota, Tenney Mountain in New Hampshire, and Saddleback in Maine. Another inspirational comeback occurred at Granite Gorge in New Hampshire.
Originally known as The Pinnacle, the ski area first opened in 1959. However, it closed in the 70s and remained that way throughout the ’80s and ’90s. The Baybutt family reopened the ski area in the early 2000s and installed a double chairlift in 2005. However, they ran into financial issues, which were exacerbated by problems with the chairlift. It closed in 2020, which many thought would be its curtain call. However, another chapter had yet to be written.
In a new documentary produced by students at Keene State College, they interview Ron Wright, who is the President and Treasurer of the ski area. In the short film, Ron dives into why Granite Gorge is essential for Keene residents’ access to the outdoors.
Many locals learned to go to places that are now abandoned, like Temple and Maple Valley. Noticing the importance of having a local area, this new partnership group won an auction in 2022. It reopened in early 2023, and the mountain has seen various improvements over the past several years. Some of the recent upgrades include new trails, a chairlift refurbishment, lodge renovations, and the opening of a mountain biking park.
The film does give a few snippets of what they’re planning in the future. For this upcoming offseason, they plan to replace the night lights with new energy-efficient ones. For summer activities, they plan to install waterslides, which exist at a surprising number of ski resorts.
About Granite Gorge Mountain Park
Situated just outside of Keene, Granite Gorge features 18 ski trails, 4 lifts, and a vertical drop of 525 feet. The short yet steep mountain caters to ski racers and terrain park riders. In the winter, there’s also a lift-served snow tubing park. During the summer, its lift-served mountain biking park has been growing in popularity, establishing Keene as a hot spot for bikers. They also host events and concerts during the offseason.
Image/Video Credits: Granite Gorge Mountain Park
