Ragged Mountain Resort facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ragged Mountain Resort |
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The Summit Six Pack Chairlift
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| Location | Danbury, New Hampshire, USA |
| Nearest city | Franklin, New Hampshire |
| Coordinates | 43°29′04″N 71°50′32″W / 43.48444°N 71.84222°W |
| Vertical | 1,250 ft |
| Runs | 57 |
| Lift system | 1 Six Pack, 1 HSQ, 1 Triple, 2 Surface Lifts |
| Snowmaking | 85% |
| Website | [1] |
Ragged Mountain is a fun ski resort found in Danbury, New Hampshire, in the United States. It's located on the northern side of Ragged Mountain. This resort has a "vertical drop" of 1,250 feet. This means the difference in height from the top of the mountain to the bottom is 1,250 feet. The resort covers about 250 acres of land. Ragged Mountain has three special areas called terrain parks where skiers and snowboarders can do tricks. It also has many "glades," which are ski trails through trees. A cool fact is that Ragged Mountain has the only six-person chairlift in all of New Hampshire!
History of Ragged Mountain
Ragged Mountain Ski Area first opened its doors in 1965. Back then, it had seven ski runs, a T-bar lift, and a double chairlift. However, the resort faced some tough times. There wasn't much natural snow, and they didn't have machines to make snow. Because of this, the resort ran out of money in 1974.
That same year, the state of New Hampshire bought the ski area. They quickly sold it to a group of people who knew a lot about the ski business. But even with new owners, the resort closed down for the 1983-84 winter season.
A few years later, two real estate developers, Al and Walter Endriunas, bought the area. They made big improvements! They added snowmaking equipment, which was very important. They also built a new slope for beginners and another T-bar lift. Ragged Mountain was able to open again for the 1988-89 season. In the early 1990s, they added two more double chairlifts. They also created a new set of trails called Spear Mountain.
In 2002, the resort bought a new, modern chairlift called the Summit Six-Pack. This is a "detachable chairlift," meaning it slows down when you get on and off, making it easier. This was a big investment, and unfortunately, it caused the resort to run into money problems again.
In 2007, the owners sold Ragged Mountain to a company called RMR-Pacific, LLC. This company is connected to Pacific Group, which develops resorts in Utah. The new owners invested over $3 million to make the resort even better. They updated the main lodge, improved the snowmaking system, and added new places to eat. This included a pizza place with a brick oven and a tavern in the west lodge.
In August 2013, Ragged Mountain announced exciting plans for a new tubing park and a beginner area called "Beginners Basin." The tubing park was planned to be over 650 feet long, which is longer than two football fields! It would have ten lanes for tubing. A special "carpet lift" would carry snow tubers from the bottom to the top of the park. The Beginners Basin was planned to be near the terrain park. A second 350-foot carpet lift would help new skiers learn.
In the summer of 2014, Ragged Mountain replaced the old Spear Mountain triple chairlift. They put in a new, fast "high-speed detachable quad" chairlift. This new lift can carry four people at a time and also slows down for easy loading and unloading. They also made big improvements to the Elmwood lodge. These changes included more seating and two new restaurants. All these projects cost over $5 million.
Future Plans for Ragged Mountain
Ragged Mountain has exciting plans to become a place people can visit all year round, not just for skiing. For the past few years, people have seen trees being cut on Pinnacle Peak. This peak is right next to the main Ragged Mountain peak.
Ragged Mountain officials have shared that they plan to add at least 10 new ski trails. This will create 60 more acres of skiing space for skiers of all skill levels. We don't know yet exactly when Ragged will finish clearing these trails, install snowmaking, or add a new chairlift there.
Besides Pinnacle Peak, Ragged is also moving forward with plans to update its 18-hole golf course. This project might take up to two years. The golf course will become a 9-hole course. This change will make space for the tubing park, future places for people to stay, and more ski trails.
