History

Mount Sunapee's history as a ski area dates back to as early as 1940, when in response to the success of a tram at Cannon Mountain a survey was made for a similar tram on Mount Sunapee. The following year, the state of New Hampshire passed the Mt. Sunapee Tramway Bill, which proposed the construction of a tram intended for sightseeing, though it was expected also to be used for skiing. After World War II, the proposal was revisited, but it was found that the state didn't have enough money to construct a tram. Instead, a chairlift

Chairlift

An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel cable loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs...

 was built, to the present-day location of North Peak.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the ski area continued to expand, with the construction of several surface lifts and chairlifts, including the opening of the summit of Mount Sunapee, above the original North Peak. The first snowmaking

Snowmaking

Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun" or "snow cannon", on ski slopes. Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliability of their snow cover and to extend their ski...

 capability was installed in 1982, and additional trails were cut and lifts installed throughout the 1980s.

By the 1990s, however, the resort's facilities required more improvement than the state, which at the time still owned and operated it, had invested. In 1998, the Mueller family, which operated and had significantly improved the Okemo Mountain Resort in Vermont, began leasing Sunapee from the state of New Hampshire. Two new expansions for the ski area were proposed soon after this—the East Bowl and the West Bowl. Due to the presence of old-growth forest in the proposed East Bowl, this proposal was dropped in 2000. Sunapee went ahead with the West Bowl project, and purchased 656 acres (265.5 ha) of land. The expansion would include the addition of 75 acres (30.4 ha) of skiable terrain and two lifts in the West Bowl, as well as the upgrading facilities on the main mountain, including the introduction of night skiing

Night skiing

Night skiing is the sport of skiing or snowboarding after sundown, offered at many ski resorts and mountains. There are usually electric lights along the piste which allow for better visibility...

. New Hampshire governor John Lynch

John Lynch

John H. Lynch is the 80th and current Governor of New Hampshire. Lynch was first elected in 2004 and has been re-elected every two years since. On September 15, 2011, Lynch announced he would not seek a fifth two-year term in 2012....

, however, was opposed to the project, which as a result was placed on indefinite hold. Instead, capital improvements were limited to the existing terrain, on which new lifts and snowmaking were built, as well as a new lodge.

Mountain statistics

Mount Sunapee Resort has 65 trails spread over 230 acres (93.1 ha) of skiable terrain. 26% of the trails are rated as easy, 49% are rated as intermediate, and 25% are rated as advanced. There is one terrain park

Terrain park

A terrain park is an outdoor area that contains terrain that allows skiers and snowboarders to perform tricks. Terrain parks have their roots in skateparks and many of the features are common to both. One of the first in-bounds terrain parks was the "Snowboard Park" built in 1990 at the Vail...

, and 97% of the terrain has snowmaking installed on it. Sunapee has ten lifts—a detachable quad

Detachable chairlift

A detachable chairlift or high-speed chairlift is a type of passenger aerial lift, which, like a fixed-grip chairlift, consists of numerous chairs attached to a constantly moving wire rope that is strung between two terminals over intermediate towers. They are now commonplace at all but the...

, two fixed-grip quads, two triples, a double, and four surface lifts. The mountain's base elevation is at 1230 feet (374.9 m) and the summit is at 2743 feet (836.1 m), for a vertical drop of 1513 feet (461.2 m). Mount Sunapee receives about 100 inches (254 cm) of snow each year.