By Tom Eastman
Back when it started, Black was known as Moody’s, as farmer Edwin Moody had his farmhouse which took in some lodgers and a hill behind the house. In 1935, he and local inventor George Morton and Phil Robertson of the local electric company at Goodrich Falls hydro-electric dam put up a tow, and soon skiers were flocking to the place.
“Phil [Robertson] needed a day time power customer because they were dealing with hyrdo-electric — that’s part of the story behind the lift at Moody’s. They could not turn off the river, obviously, and it made sense to try and develop a big customer during the day that would counteract the draw they needed for the nighttime when everyone would be turning on their electric lights,” notes Jeff Leich of the New England Ski Museum. (He added that Robertson played a pivotal role in the valley’s ski history: after putting up the lift at Moody’s, he later worked at Cranmore Mountain as general manager for 25 years for Cranmore developer Harvey Dow Gibson (1882-1950), and then went on to become a founder at Attitash, where “his vision of the Cog Monorail never took fruition,” said Leich. Still, think of the link there: the Shovel Handle, the Skimobile, and the Cog Monorail — all part of valley ski history.)
In fall 1936, Bill and Betty Whitney bought the farm, and renamed it Whitneys’ (that’s a possessive plural, Betty always said, because it took two people to make a go of the ski and innkeeping business).
That 1936-37 season was the same first winter for Carroll Reed’s Eastern Slope Ski School, the American branch of skimeister Hannes Scchneider’s ski school in St. Anton, Austria. Although they skied on a combination of frozen sheep manure and smashed apples at the nearby golf course of the Eagle Mountain House for much of that first winter, the ski school was a resounding success, and the area then known as the Eastern Slope Region was on its way to becoming a ski resort.
The following winter, Bill Whitney retrofitted Black’s rope tow by turning the bullwheel horizontal so it would not slip off so easily. He also ordered 72 shovel handles from Sears Roebuck — he attached the handles to the slippery rope, making it easier for skiers to hang on. Henceforth, the lift acquired a nickname — the Shovel Handle. Today, the Shovel Handle Pub at Whitneys’ carries on the old tow’s name.
In 1948, Bill and Betty teamed up with Stanley and Halsey Davis to expand their ski area’s trails to Black.
Now owned by the Fichera family, Black harkens to its roots as a family-friendly, affordable area that offers classic New England skiing on sunny, meandering trails that all give beautiful views of the surrounding landscape.
Sheltered from the prevailing northwestern winds, Black’s sunny slopes are a delight on days when other resorts can be windy and cold.
Families love its affordability, as evidenced by its low daily ticket rates and its Family Passport:
• Family Passport: Lift tickets for two parents and two juniors (ages 6-17) are $99 any day and $79 midweek, non-holiday.
• Girls’ Day Out: Ladies ski or ride on every non-holiday Tuesday for $20 and receive a coupon package for local businesses. Add lunch for $5.
• Wednesday Half-Day: Ski or ride half day on Wednesdays (12:30 to 4 p.m.) for $15..00 • Breakfast Club: Skiers and riders age 55 and older ski all day on Thursday for $20, and receive breakfast and a Black Mountain travel mug.
• Carroll County Sunday Afternoons: Residents of Carroll County ski or ride on Sundays after 12:30 p.m. for $10; valid ID is required.
Though the cost of operating a ski mountain continues to rise, affordability remains the area’s top priority, notes marketing director Lori Pecor. “We are committed to doing our part to keep the future of our beloved sport financially accessible for everyone. It is so rewarding to meet people and hear the same thing over and over, ‘I learned to ski at Black, I grew up on Black, my family spent winters at Black’, on and on,” says Pecor. “There is something about those old memories that give the mountain life. To me, it’s a pretty amazing thing. Black continues to walk the very fine line of today and yesterday. We strive to offer our guests an exciting, new experience, while honoring what we have always been, classic new England skiing at a great value. I often hear customers comment that when they come to Black, they feel as if they have stepped back in time to a place where the pace is slower, the crowds are smaller, the people are friendlier and life is simpler. That is what we all love about Black Mountain.”
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Black this 75th anniversary season has added three new trails and updated its snowmaking equipment with 24 low-energy tower guns, allowing the area to open more terrain in less time and reducing its carbon footprint.
Upcoming events for the 75th season include Winterfest and Winter Wildquack Duck Race Jan. 16; Black Mountain Employees’ Reunion Jan. 23; and Jan. 30, 75th birthday gala with big band music and more.
Other events will include the fourth annual chairlift speed-dating Feb. 13; the Mountain Dew Vertical Challenge Feb. 18; Shovel Handle Pub Race Feb. 27 (rescheduled from Jan. 17), a race that is named after Black’s original overhead cable lift; Deck Party March 13; 10th annual Red Parka Pub Downhill Regatta March 25, and the end-of-season pond-skimming splash party March 27.
In addition to skiing and riding, families love Black for its pony rides, with the Black Mountain Stables located at the base.
Black Mountain is located on Route 16-B, high above Jackson Village. Take Route 16 north to Jackson from North Conway, and drive through the Jackson Covered Bridge on Route 16-A and follow the signs to Route 16-B. For more information, visit www.blackmt.com or call 383-4490.