Industry News
While most New England ski areas have already called it a season, Black Mountain is pushing hard in the opposite direction—firing up snow guns in April and aiming to spin lifts through May 3. The 89-year-old ski area in the White Mountains made headlines this month after cranking up its snowmaking system on April 9, long after neighboring mountains like Cannon, Attitash, and Waterville Valley wrapped up their final days.
With temperatures reaching the 60s this week in Mount Washington Valley, Black is defying the norm. Loon Mountain in Lincoln is also still open through April 20, but Black intends to operate Fridays through Sundays until May. New Hampshire Public Radio reports that this late-season charge is part of a broader vision for Black Mountain’s future under its new ownership. The ski area was purchased in 2024 by the Indy Pass and its plan includes transitioning Black to a community-owned co-op model while preserving its character as a classic New England ski hill.
Black Mountain’s decision to stay open through May 3 puts it in rare company among East Coast ski areas—and reflects an unusually aggressive spring operations plan. The mountain fired up its snow guns as late as April 9 to bolster coverage on key terrain, even as daytime temperatures climbed into the 60s in the Mount Washington Valley. While most New Hampshire resorts closed after the second weekend of April, Black is continuing to run lifts Fridays through Sundays and aiming to host a 90th birthday celebration on closing day. The mountain has doubled down on spring skiing, building a reputation for sun-soaked laps and late-season turns when nearly all of its regional peers have shut down for the year.
General Manager Erik Mogensen, who joined Black Mountain after its 2024 purchase by the Indy Pass, told NHPR that the move is part of a broader effort to prove that smaller, independent ski areas can still deliver big experiences. The snowmaking push, he said, was less about marketing and more about showing that Black is serious about being in it for the long haul. So whether the snowpack will hold through early May remains to be seen—but if it does, Black Mountain may claim one of the latest lift-served ski days in New England this season.
