Over the past couple of seasons, Black Mountain in Jackson, New Hampshire has become one of North America’s meccas for the uphill skinning community. But guest behavior from this season has challenged the future of uphill skiers at the ski area. Back in January, Black Mountain threatened to revoke uphill access due to trespassers parking in auxiliary and private parking lots to avoid paying the $10 uphill fee. This was not heeded by the local uphill community, and thus Black Mountain announced this week that they’ll be no longer selling uphill skiing tickets for the season. They will still allow uphill season pass holders to skin up the slopes for this season.
And when it rains, it pours. Ski the Whites, who hosts the Last Skier Standing event at Black, announced that they were ending their relationship with the ski area effective immediately. According to the New England Ski Journal, another situation took Black Mountain owner John Fichera over the edge with Ski the Whites. During one of their Friday Night Lights events, a guest smuggled in their own alcohol into the base lodge. John Fichera freaked out about this, calling the cops and shutting the Friday Night Lights event down. Hopefully, the ski area realizes the positive impact skinning has had on growing its brand over the last couple of years. The big question is what mountain will be home to Ski the White events will be held now, as Black Mountain was the closest mountain to their HQ in Jackson. Due to corporate interests, Wildcat and Attitash are unlikely. King Pine will host their final event of the season in April, but it’s a fair distance away. Other potential mountain hubs could include Cannon, Cranmore, Bretton Woods, and Black Mountain in Maine.
The official statement from Ski the Whites is below:
“Ski The Whites will no longer be hosting events at Black Mt or have a rental shop on-premise. We are thankful for the staff who have supported us along the way. We have hosted over 100 events here and I couldn’t think of a better place to share the uphill experience. Hopefully, policies change and we can start sending people back that way in the future. Our last event of the season will be the Wild Corn SkiMo at King Pine April 2nd, tickets will be on sale later this week.
-Andrew” 
Image Credits: Black Mountain, Ski the Whites
This article was originally published by Unofficialnetworks.com. Read the original article here.
