Monadnock Ledger-Transcript – MOUNTAIN OF MEMORIES: Gannett purchase leads to new era Winners of a ski race. COURTESY PHOTO An advertisement for weekday skiing at Crotched Mountain. FILE PHOTO From left, the Ski Patrol and mountain manager, the Willette family and Tim Gannett and his family. PHOTO COURTESY CROTCHED MOUNTAIN SKI AREA After Tim Gannett took […]
Winners of a ski race. COURTESY PHOTO
An advertisement for weekday skiing at Crotched Mountain. FILE PHOTO
From left, the Ski Patrol and mountain manager, the Willette family and Tim Gannett and his family. PHOTO COURTESY CROTCHED MOUNTAIN SKI AREA
After Tim Gannett took over, people could buy one season ticket for both mountains. FILE PHOTO
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Eighth of a series of excerpts from Gerry Miller’s book “Crotched Mountain Ski Area in Francestown, New Hampshire,” a history/biography about the original Crotched Mountain Ski Area in Francestown, developed by William C. (Bill) MacAdam and syndicate. Miller grew up in Francestown. Much of the material for the book was from the Monadnock Ledger or Peterborough Transcript.The Peterborough Transcript: December 10, 1970
New owners save ski area after bankruptcy
Land Vest Properties, Inc., of Boston, yesterday purchased the Crotched Mountain Ski Area in Francestown, for $486.393 and announced plans to further develop the site as a year round recreation, residential and retirement area.
Governor Walter Peterson hailed the transfer of ownership and support given to the project by the NH Industrial Development Authority…
The sale includes some 635 acres… all ski area facilities, …and the former Winslow estate property, a newly renovated 22-room Georgian Colonial structure of unusual charm and distinction which has been used most recently as an inn.
Tim Gannett was president and owner of Land Vest, and while over the years, many investors came and went, and company names were changed, Tim and his wife Marny Gannet stuck with it for nearly two decades. They began in December 1970 with Crotched Mountain in Francestown, and added Bobcat, the Bennington ski area in September 1979. Along with partner Tom Cochrane at Waterville Valley, the Gannetts bought Bobcat, which was in foreclosure. Bobcat is now called Crotched Mountain Ski Area; it is owned and operated by Vail Resorts.
The Gannetts and their team brought many changes to both Crotched Mountain Ski Areas, all in an effort to create a year-round business that would offset the inherent risks of the ski business. Year after year, snow shortfalls and lack of capital had challenged the previous owners, ultimately leading to bankruptcy.
The Gannetts were still living in Boston the first few years they owned the ski area. This distance made a tough job even tougher, so before the slopes opened in 1974, they and their four young children moved into a house on the mountain.
Marny Gannett’s first memory of Crotched Mountain is a brisk morning in 1970, skiing toward the T-bar with her 4- and 5-year-old daughters, Alison and Wendy. Stumped as to how she and could get both girls up the lift, a ski patrolman stepped in and took one of the girls up with him. “I thought, this place is pretty cool. I’ll never forget that, everyone was just so nice.”
That was the beginning of the Gannett family’s nearly two decades of growing the business and growing lifelong friends and memories.New additions by the Gannetts
— Condominiums and houses.
— Trail expansion.
— Cross-country ski trails.
— Improved snowmaking.
— Trails cut to connect Francestown and Bennington ski areas.
— One lift ticket for both mountains.
— Building ski racing building, Bennington.
— Nursery for infants.
— Weekend barbecues.
— Sleigh rides by Silver Ranch.
— Crafts shop in lodge.
— New lodge in Bennington.
— New lifts.
— Fall festivals with hayrides, music and crafts.
— Riding stables.
— Refurbished tennis court.
— New swimming pool at the inn.
— Outdoor concerts.
— Corporate outings.
Race and after-school programs are fun, and they’re good for business. Each year, fellow skier and race parent Linda Greenwood worked with Gannett to get the kids in the local sports pages. Greenwood photographed each racer at Christmas race camp, so they’d have the publicity photos on file.
Every Sunday night after race weekend, Marny Gannett wrote up the race results. On Monday mornings, “I rushed downtown and delivered photos of the winners, along with the press releases for the Chipmunks, the Buddy Werner, the Federation Team ski teams as well as the Peterborough High School teams. The Peterborough Transcript and Monadnock Ledger, published our successes and helped us promote skiing.”
After connecting trails were cut and the ski race building erected at Crotched Mountain in Bennington, the race program moved to the Bennington ski area, where racers of all ages still compete today.
“I loved how all the kids at our mountain became very good friends with all the kids at the other mountains. I thought that was wonderful. To this day, my adult kids still run into childhood race friends from all the other mountains they competed against. They’ve met up while skiing in California, Colorado and other places. They made so many good friendships.”
Night skiing was very popular in the 1980s, and New Year’s Eve was the grandest night skiing event.
“After an early spaghetti dinner and hours of skiing, you either skied in or watched the beautiful torchlight parade down Blitz.” Marny said. “It was a thrill when kids were old enough to carry a tiki torch and ski in the parade, and then hang out with their friends and watch the spectacular fireworks.”
Atlas produced the fireworks every year.
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