Is Vail Resorts Abandoning Summer Operations at Attitash Mountain Resort, NH?

Last month Brandon Swartz, general manager of Vail Resorts owned Attitash Mountain Resort, NH, wrote an open letter on social media revealing that the resort will not be opening this summer. Instead, they would be focusing on the construction of a new lift, maintenance work on existing lifts, improving snowmaking, and forging better relationships and communication with the community and employees. Most locals were happy that the resort is focused on
winter ops and welcomed Swartz’s openness. However, this latest development may not go down too well…

Construction crews are currently removing the resort’s famous waterslide. In a Facebook post yesterday, Skiology Matt in the Northeast Skiology Group confirmed (via LiftBlog) that the waterslide is being removed. As you can imagine, the locals are not happy.

“It is tragic to have to continue to watch them destroy Attitash. Replacing a learning lift and they think that is going to fix things? After 15 years in the valley, we are leaving and going elsewhere. I hope other people also do not buy epic passes next year as it is the only thing that Vail cares about or notices.”

– Facebook comment

• Related: Bike Park at Stevens Pass, WA, Won’t Open for Second Consecutive Summer

Does this mean that Vail Resorts is abandoning summer operations at the resort totally? It wouldn’t be the first time. Stevens Pass bike park has not opened for the last two summers, and an announcement has yet to be made for summer 2022. However, Vail spokesperson Adam White told us that Summer operations at Attitash are NOT gone forever. White wrote in an email to SnowBrains:

Summer operations will return to Attitash Mountain Resort. We are focused this summer on completing important maintenance and upgrade projects to help ensure the best possible experience for our guests next winter. General Manager Brandon Swartz outlined some of these projects in his letter on social media last month:

• Supporting the construction of our new lift, the Progression Quad, returning access to our amazing beginner terrain.
• Replacing the necessary electrical systems to bring the Kachina Triple back online next season.
• Enable our maintenance teams to focus on a dive deep into all of our lifts to make repairs, large and small, to improve reliability moving forward.
• Re-evaluating and reimagining our snowmaking plans to ensure that we can provide an amazing experience for all experience levels as we ramp up our winter season.
• Exploring new opportunities to hire the necessary staff by partnering with local seasonal businesses and schools while leveraging our newly announced minimum wage.
• Continuing to build strong relationships and partnerships with our community stakeholders.

According to White, summer operations at Attitash will come back—but probably not this summer. This summer will be focused on improving the resort experience for winter, says Vail. But will the experience next summer be back to the same level as previous summers at Attitash? We’ll just have to wait and see!