Small Ski Area Saved

A plan to save little Powder Ridge Ski Area is major win for snowsliders.

Jul 31, 2006

When the Powder Ridge Ski Area felt the crunch of an overly warm winter and rising costs, it seemed likely houses would be built until local officials came to the rescue.

A recent story in the Middletown (CT) Press announced that the Middletown, Connecticut, board of selectmen had voted to save Powder Ridge Ski Area from being turned into a housing development.

According to the newspaper story, Powder Ridge's owner, Ken Leavitt, agreed to sell the ski area to the town for less than he might have gotten from a developer. While Leavitt will still own the infrastructure, the town will own the land which it will lease back to Leavitt.

The ski area has been operating in Middletown for more than 50 years. It has become, said one selectman, part of the community's fabric.

I first skied at a small, day area like Powder Ridge. On the last run of that maiden day, I conquered the novice slope without falling. I'd never experienced, in all my sixteen years, such a sense of athletic accomplishment. I was hooked. Watching novices ski at such areas always takes me back to not only my skiing origins, but the sport's roots. And, it's future.

Places like Powder Ridge-or New Jersey's Hidden Valley and New York's Sterling Forest where I first skied (and whose future is in doubt)-comprise the pastime's backbone. With a handful of trails, a modest vertical drop and a location close to major populations, they make skiing or snowboarding readily available.

Easy to get to and requiring only a few hours' commitment. Simply don your long johns and some decent outerwear, and drop by.

Local ski centers like this not only spawn new skiers and riders. They promote healthy activity, offer racing and snowboarding teams that build friendships and self-esteem. They create programs after-school programs to provides kids with weekly evening lessons and freeskiing/riding. And, they offer adult programs that encourage grown-ups to improve their snowsliding while socializing with peers.

Local ski areas also host chaperoned school groups arrive on Friday evenings by the bus load.

And, many of them they host non-ski groups, who come by the score to fanny-slide in the tubing park. "Tubing has become a very popular birthday party venue," former Hidden Valley (NJ) marketing director Kendall Kless told me.

Skiing and snowboarding needs places like Powder Ridge. Places to start. Places to hone skills. Convenient, affordable places for families.

Communities need these ski areas, too. Places where wholesome fun can be had. Places that get kids (and adults, too) off the couch and into the fresh air.

And, who knows where skiing/riding launched in places like this may lead? A seven year-old named Donna Weinbrecht started at Hidden Valley; she skied her way to five world moguls championships, an Olympic gold medal and enshrinement in the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame.

The copyright of the article Small Ski Area Saved in Winter Sports is owned by Mitch Kaplan. Permission to republish Small Ski Area Saved in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.