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This story was Published with photos in Maine Sunday Telegram
Published: February 23, 2003

By Heather Burke
Photography By Greg Burke

Imagine an international extreme ski film star running a ski hill in New Hampshire. Now imagine that ski area having the longest ski season in New England. “I never saw myself running a ski area,” said Dan Egan, of Warren Mille ski film fame. “But I have lived my dream and skied all over the world. Now I am really excited about the opportunity here at Tenney.” Egan is the new general manager of Tenney Mountain ski area in Plymouth, New Hampshire that reopened this winter after being closed last season. “Tenney is such an authentic ski experience, the trails here have so much personality and the lifts are not high-speed which gives the place a real mountain culture,” said Egan. “We plan to offer real value to our customers with our skiing and a focus on services.” Egan likened Tenney to Smuggler’s Notch, the Vermont resort that has received abundant awards for customer service, family programming, and a classic ski experience without the installation of expensive detachable lifts. Despite Tenney’s modest feel, Egan has big plans for the 1,400-foot vertical ski area with 46 trails. “We plan to replace the double, and put in a new lift on the west side,” said Egan. There is also potential for a mid-mountain lodge, and further development of real estate at the base. Egan is most excited about the new I.C.S. snowmaking system arriving in June. “It’s the most exciting thing to happen in the ski industry,” said Egan. “I could not pass up the opportunity to apply this technology.” Tenney has licensed the exclusive I.C.S. (Independent Climate System) technology from Japan to manufacture temperature independent snow. The “ICS” system freezes sheets of water, which are then compressed into tiny snow crystals. The crystals are then blown out of a 600-foot hose with explosive force to create snow. Egan says that this patented technology from Japan will enable Tenney to have a snow-covered trail by October 1 of next season. Tenney plans to be the earliest ski facility open in the East, making snow on the entire Snapdragon trail with the ICS system. This FIS qualifying race trail will be available to race leagues and ski academies midweek for their training purposes, then open for public skiing on weekends during the early fall months. Tenney could well become the Mt. Hood of the East, offering on-snow ski camp training well beyond our current New England winter time frame. “Tenney will be the showroom for this incredible SnowMagic technology,” said Egan. “We also plan to deploy the Wintertainment snowmaking systems from Tenney to urban areas by selling mobile units that can make 150 tons of snow a day at temperatures up to 60-F degrees. These portable units can create winter villages and indoor snow amusement parks. Imagine kids snow tubing in summer at major population centers,” Egan said. Our family checked out Tenney on a snowy February morning. Enthusiastic lot attendants greeted the four of us and thanked us for coming to Tenney. It was hard to believe that the winter prior this area was a ghost town. The signage was bright and welcoming, the chalet style base lodge was already bustling at 8:00a.m. We boarded the Hornet double chair to the summit, and our kids commented on how long the ride was. We have given birth to high-speed, high capacity lift aficionados apparently. Admittedly, the lift ride did take a while, because we were so anxious to ski the six inches of untouched powder on the narrow twisting trails below us. We waited as patiently as we could, and the sparkling snow waited for us. Run after run we found fresh tracks on Edelweiss, Forget Me Not and Morning Glory to name a few. By 10:00a.m., a few dozen other skiers and riders arrived, so we took to the handful of glade trails to find more fresh snow. Fisher Cat, Black Fly and Hornet Glades were challenging and fun. The skiing at Tenney is so spacious and unhurried, plenty of good old-fashioned elbowroom, because of the limited uphill capacity. All Tenney’s trails have been newly named, with a natural flower and wildlife theme, in keeping with the desire to preserve the ski experience in its essence. By the way, its “10e” for those in the know of the catchy logo. We sampled a few mellow runs like Tiger Lily off the lower-mountain triple chair. This western section of Tenney is perfect for learning families. It is also popular with snowboarders and free riders heading to the new Base Camp Terrain Park with its pipe, hits, spines and tables. This will surely be the future sight of some of Dan Egan’s Big Air Camps. There is a hometown feeling at Tenney, a friendliness that is hard to find at larger, busier areas. But there is also anticipation in the air, hopes of catching a glimpse of skiing icon Dan Egan. Our kids loved seeing Dan Egan ski, “even better than in those Warren Miller movies.” We were delighted to find that free hot cocoa was being served by a campfire at the summit. Ski patrollers tended the bonfire, and welcomed us to a cup of piping hot chocolate. It’s these little gestures, along with the trend setting snow technology, which give me the feeling that Tenney will be a long-term success story. The affordable pricing will help carve out a niche too. We skied Sunday morning on the Sunday Special - tickets are $25 for skiing 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Fridays are two-fer $29, non-holiday. Tenney is currently selling a spring season pass for $149, “all you can ski” from Feb. 22 through the end of the season. Egan’s enthusiasm for resurrecting and expanding the 110-acre ski facility, plus his plans to revolutionize snowmaking as we know it, make Tenney a mountain on the move. “I had never skied Tenney before,” said Egan. “I have skied all over the world, and now I am glad to be back at this small resort. Exciting things are going to happen here.” Tenney Mountain Ski and Snowboard Resort is just over 2 hours from Portland in Plymouth, NH www.tenneymtn.com or call 603-536-4125 Information on the SnowMagic technology is available at www.snowmagic.com
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All Photography by Greg Burke


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