This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
A group of local investors, including some who grew up skiing at Ragged Mountain, has purchased the resort, pledging to preserve its character while pursuing future opportunities for growth.
The new ownership group, called SF Mountain Co., is led by six close friends who have deep ties to the mountain and the small town of Danbury.
“Ragged has always been more than a ski area — it’s been a community,” Carl Rominger said in a statement on behalf of SF Mountain Co. “We’re committed to building on what makes this place special — great skiing, great people and a genuine New Hampshire mountain experience.”
General Manager Erik Barnes will stay at the mountain to oversee operations.
“Ragged has come a long way in the last 18 years, and I’m proud of what we’ve built with our team,” said Barnes. “This transition brings in a group that deeply understands the mountain and the community around it, and I’m looking forward to helping carry that vision forward.”
The company said it will honor all previous perks offered by the former owner, Pacific Group Resorts, including access to Jay Peak, Wisp, Mt. Washington Alpine Resort, Wintergreen and Powderhorn.
Like other small and medium-sized ski resorts, previous Ragged owners struggled with the cost of lifts, snowmaking and labor, not to mention warm winters.
The resort opened in 1965 — with the name believed to be reflective of the mountain’s ragged conditions — but it went bankrupt in 1974. It was bought by the state, which promptly sold it to private investors who operated Ragged for a decade before they went under and shut down the mountain.
It was later bought by developers Al and Walter Endriunas, who reopened it in 1988 and expanded by adding trails to adjacent Spear Mountain and installing the first six-person chairlift in New Hampshire. In 2007, the Endriunases sold Ragged to Pacific Group Resorts, which owns or runs a number of ski areas and golf courses across the country, including Jay Peak in Vermont.
Various plans have been floated for the mountain, including improving a golf course that is no longer operating and expanding snow sports to adjacent Pinnacle Peak. Some trails were cut on that peak, but no access was built and it is no longer shown as a “future expansion” site on trail maps. The commercial real estate listing for the resort mentioned plans for a “phased expansion” of up to 604 more acres of skiable terrain on the third peak.
Ragged, with a vertical drop of about 1,250 feet, currently has nearly 60 trails across 250 acres. It’s about 30 miles from Concord via Route 4.
