Snowmaking operations to gear up following successful first weekend

GILFORD — The first weekend of socially distanced ski operations went well and Mother Nature appears ready to cooperate with cold weather that will allow snowmaking to gear up as Christmas approaches, Gunstock Mountain Resort President and General Manager Tom Day said Monday.

Lift ticket sales were capped at 100 per day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to allow enough room for season pass holders while still avoiding crowding.

“There is plenty of pent-up demand to go skiing and we had enough terrain to handle the crowd well,” Day said. “The lines were in control. People were masked up and socially distanced, tip to tail on the ski.

Snow conditions declined slightly with some rain on Sunday, but Friday and Saturday offered good early-season conditions.

The National Weather Service predicts highs below freezing through Saturday.

“When it’s nice and cold like this, that’s huge in allowing us to get a lot of terrain open,” Day said.

Ski areas depend on the holiday season and school break periods for a significant portion of their revenue.

Weather is always a variable, but there are a lot of other question marks this year given the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced areas to close sooner than expected last spring.

A goodly portion of visitors come from Massachusetts, and it’s not clear the extent to which that state’s travel restrictions will disrupt business for New Hampshire resorts this season.

Also, indoor dining will be limited by capacity restrictions, which could hurt food and beverage sales, while discouraging visits by some who like ample time to relax indoors during a ski excursion.

This year, skiers are being encouraged to use their cars as a base camp, a place to boot up and maybe even return to at lunch.

Day said people seem to have received the message about this. He’s not aware of anybody who tried to don their boots in the lodge as has been typical in past years, but he did see a few people bring lawn chairs to make it easier to put their gear on in the parking lot.

He encourages everybody to “Know before you go,” meaning skiers should be aware of the new operating procedures, including the need to buy lift tickets ahead of time.

On the Web:

Gunstock Mountain Resort: www.gunstock.com