{"id":11900,"date":"2024-03-02T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T09:00:26","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"Franklin-ski-area-faces-uncertain-future-after-early-closing-due-to-warm-weather-54238962\/","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/?p=11900","title":{"rendered":"Franklin ski area faces uncertain future after early closing due to warm weather"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Skiers
Skiers take to the slopes at the Veterans Memorial Ski Area in Franklin on Sunday afternoon. With a recent snowfall Thursday, and the new addition of a snow cannon, the ski area had enough snow to reopen for the weekend.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Rebecca
Rebecca Vallieres, left, watches her family on the slope, along with her 2-month-old daughter Robby Vallieres on her lap and 2-year old Emilie Hibbard at the Veterans Memorial Ski Area in Franklin on Sunday afternoon.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Mary
Mary Nolin, left, of Sanbornton, and her son Nolin Hibbard, 5, ski at the Veterans Memorial Ski Area in Franklin on Sunday afternoon. Nolin grew up in Stark, where she spent a lot of time learning to ski at Cannon Mountain, including during ski trips for her school gym class. She now takes her children to learn how to ski at The Vets.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Jhi
Jhi Lucio, 8, left, receives a snowboarding lesson from instructor Adam Heath at the Veterans Memorial Ski Area in Franklin on Sunday afternoon. Heath is the assistant football coach at Franklin Middle School and gives his time at The Vets due to both love of snowboarding and the ski area. He has also enlisted several of his football players who snowboard to help teach.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>

FRANKLIN \u2014 Despite a successful opening weekend, the lack of snow this winter season has left the Veterans Memorial Ski Area struggling to stay open. After what was thought to be an unseasonably warm weather anomaly last year, it seems a pattern is forming. This weather has made the success and future of smaller ski areas like \u201cThe Vets\u201d unpredictable.<\/p>\n

The ski area is closed this weekend, due to the warm weather this past week, according to an email from Robyn Morrill, treasurer of the Franklin Outing Club, the nonprofit volunteer organization that runs the hill. Morrill also wrote the ski area will most likely be closed for skiing and snowboarding for the rest of the winter season, as there is no snow in the forecast in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

After rescheduling, their season opening on the first weekend of February was a success after receiving enough natural snow to cover the trails. But it became clear natural snow was not able to cover what was necessary to remain open. The ski area purchased one snow cannon to produce manmade snow. Last weekend was the first time ever the ski area opened with the combination of natural and manmade snow. The section of the mountain with the rope tow was covered entirely by manmade snow.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur most exciting thing right now is this will be the first year ever that we see our manmade snow up here. We opened up because of that,\u201d President Timothy Morrill said. \u201cSo that\u2019s a pretty big deal for us. It wasn\u2019t an easy task, but the team and volunteers made it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volunteer Mark Pickard has been working maintenance with the ski area for about 15 years. He was part of making the manmade snow coverage happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made snow last week for three days. All day long, all night long. And we\u2019re volunteering to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The recent warm weather has halted this progress, and the snow has begun to melt. Vice President Julie Bisson, who has skied at Veteran Memorial Ski Area for 31 years, said winter has changed since she was a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always remembered when I was a kid coming up here for Christmas vacation and having plenty of snow,\u201d she said. \u201cBut last year, we opened on Jan. 27. And then this year, we were going to open that same weekend and we couldn\u2019t because of the rain.\u201d<\/p>\n

The board emphasized that despite these challenges, smaller ski areas like this one are important to keep alive. While they don\u2019t provide rentals, they strive to keep prices affordable. Lift tickets stay under $30 for both adults and children, and children under 6 can ski and snowboard free.<\/p>\n

For the first time in about 20 years, The Vets offered lessons. Those prices were kept low due to a $4,000 donation from Pemi Youth Center. Being a smaller ski area also means it\u2019s perfect for anyone who wants to learn to ski or snowboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kind of call ourselves a beginner area. So being able to get back to ski lessons, I think is really going to help us grow to that,\u201d said Timothy.<\/p>\n

Many skiers and boarders also buy memberships to the Franklin Outing Club. While there are some additional benefits, like access to the donation room and a discount on renting the hill in spring and summer, the membership is mostly to support the ski area. Skiers and riders on Sunday expressed their appreciation for The Vets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe bought the family membership here. It\u2019s only $50 and it goes to a really good cause,\u201d Mary Nolin said. \u201cI think skiing is a little bit exclusive if you think about it, with the price barrier if you don\u2019t have skis and the rentals. So, I think what they tried to accomplish is really important for the Lakes Region and to get the next generation of skiers on the slopes.\u201d<\/p>\n

But despite the already low cost of skiing and snowboarding at The Vets, there are also weekends where use of the hill is free. Businesses can sponsor days to provide free lift tickets. Marie Rabinowitz with Pawsome Adventures, a dog concierge service, sponsored the ski area on Sunday. She spent the day in the lodge with a client\u2019s dog named Michael Jackson, or \u201cMJ\u201d for short, who got a lot of attention from passersby. Rabinowitz was happy to sponsor the day.<\/p>\n

Get involved<\/h2>\n

To learn more about memberships and The Veterans Memorial Ski Area, visit skithevets.org.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been snowboarding and skiing for over four decades. And when I moved to Franklin, and I discovered this place, for me it\u2019s really important to support my community,\u201d Rabinowitz said. \u201cAnd having a business right here in Franklin, it\u2019s important to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I pay $800, it\u2019s our neighbors, it\u2019s my friends\u2019 kids; it\u2019s my community that directly benefit out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This sense of community, and love for a local spot, is how the board feels as well. Even with the lack of snow, pivoting to other outdoor recreational activities throughout the year is their next move.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we\u2019re a ski area, but we\u2019re looking at other things that are just outdoor recreation,\u201d said Robyn. \u201cSo, there comes a time where we can\u2019t do this anymore, but we will still be striving to continue to offer outdoor recreation in some form to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ski area puts on events throughout the summer and fall, including Oktoberfest, with bands, food, beer vendors and kids games. This year, at the end of the winter season, they will hold a luau event.<\/p>\n

Timothy said his main reason to keep the ski area going is his love for it and the memories he\u2019s made throughout the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our heart and soul and we all care about it,\u201d he said. \u201cGlobal warming might make it hard to be a ski area, but we\u2019re not quite ready to let it go, and we\u2019re gonna keep fighting as long as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about the Veterans Memorial Ski Area and membership, visit skithevets.org, or facebook.com\/FranklinOutingClub.<\/p>\n

\n

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FRANKLIN \u2014 Despite a successful opening weekend, the lack of snow this winter season has left the Veterans Memorial Ski Area struggling to stay open. After what was thought to be an unseasonably warm weather anomaly last year, it seems a pattern is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":11901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_newspack_byline_active":true,"_newspack_byline":"by [Author id=138]Daniel Sarch[\/Author] The Laconia Daily Sun","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[508,12],"tags":[505],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[527],"class_list":["post-11900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-headlines-cm","category-town-city-government","tag-paywall","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/43057406-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11902,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11900\/revisions\/11902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11900"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fnewspack_spnsrs_tax&post=11900"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nne-concord-monitor-2.newspackstaging.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=11900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}