New skiers key for success at Gunstock

GILFORD — Gunstock Mountain Resort has some of the best terrain in the state for teaching people to ski, which should be an asset as it strives to expand its customer base, Peter Ness told Belknap County Legislative Delegation members before they selected him to join the five-member board that manages the ski area.

Ness, a Belmont attorney and a top-level professional ski instructor, was sworn in as a member of the Gunstock Area Commission on Wednesday. He interviewed before the delegation on Nov. 6.

“If we could have aggressive pricing and marketing and we had the ski school and the marketing department cooperate and coordinate to develop programs to attract and retain new skiers and riders, that could be very important,” said Ness, who is also a certified public accountant and has worked as a ski patroller.

Gunstock has 55 trails, 12 percent rated as novice, 61 percent intermediate and 27 percent expert.

Ness said a major goal throughout the industry is to have people stick with the sport after an initial attempt at skiing or snowboarding. It’s particularly important to bring new people in as others age out of the sport.

“One battle is getting them as nonskiers and riders to come to your ski area,” Ness said. “The second battle is getting them back for a second day. The frightening statistic in this industry – and this has been studied for two decades and the needle has not moved – is that one in six people come back a second day."

That statistic leaves a lot of room for improvement, in Ness' view.

“Please tell me what other business survives when 85 percent of your customers don't come back a second time. There are solutions to moving that needle and I think part of it requires a concerted effort by an area to coordinate functions between departments to make them understand that this is a critical role of the entire organization.”

Ness succeeds Robert Durfee, whose term on the commission expired this year. Durfee sought re-appointment, but the delegation decided by an 8-5 vote to appoint Ness, with one additional vote cast for an alternate candidate.

Meanwhile, Greg Goddard, who has served as general manager for 21 years, plans to retire in August and a national search is under way to find his replacement.

Durfee told the delegation Gunstock is facing “an exciting and challenging time” with the effort to find a new general manager and to make improvements.

Work is also being done to explore a new magnet attraction to expand the resort’s adventure park, he said.

He called the resort the “jewel of the county.”

In his presentation to the delegation, Ness said ski resorts are capital intensive and subject to weather challenges that can make or break a season. Establishment of reserve funds can help with business risk.

Improvements are needed, he said.

“I would suggest that any candidate who chooses to maintain the status quo is providing a course that I think is fraught with risk, and I also think that course should be unacceptable to you as a delegation,” Ness said.

In a brief response to a question about possible improvements, Ness said one thing that might be considered at some point could be the addition of a privately run hotel.

In an interview last Thursday, Gunstock Area Commission Chairman Stephan Nix said commissioners have been working with the delegation on a study on the future of the resort, which is owned by the county and originated in the 1930s as a Works Progress Administration project.

There have been suggestions over the years about selling the resort, but that would require a change in the legislation under which it was created and is not something the current delegation supports. 

“We have been working with the delegation on the study,” Nix said. “I can tell you we’ve had a very positive interaction with the delegation and we’re moving in a real positive way on recommendations.”