RAGGED MOUNTAIN CHANGES SKI INDUSTRY BUSINESS MODEL TO ATTRACT NEW SKIERS

Program offers affordable season passes and a Free Learn to Ski & Ride Program

DANBURY, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Ragged Mountain Resort has changed its business model and in doing so has made a clear statement that it wants skiing and snowboarding to be accessible to the majority of New Englanders through a program called MISSION: AFFORDABLE. Ryan Schramm, General Manager at Ragged Mountain, explained the logic behind the change in strategy, “There is a cost barrier for many people in getting into the sports of skiing and snowboarding and in staying with the sports as their families grow.” Over the past decade, the ski industry has seen the price of skiing increase significantly with prices of over $100 for a single adult day lift ticket at some resorts. “At that level, skiing and riding is no longer a sport many people in New England can enjoy. We want to change that,” Schramm proclaimed.

MISSION: AFFORDABLE is comprised of two main offers. The first component is the lowest priced season pass price available at a full service resort in New England. Until September 15th, a full season pass to Ragged Mountain is $299, compared to full season pass prices ranging from $579 to over $1,000 at other ski resorts in the region. For comparison purposes, a “full season pass” means the pass is useable every day the mountain is open throughout the 2016 / 17 season. In other words, there are no “black-out dates” when the pass cannot be used as is common with other lower priced season passes. After September 15th, the price of a Mission: Affordable season pass at Ragged Mountain will increase to $349 and that price will be available until the 31st of October. Starting November 1st, the season pass price will be $449. Season passes can be purchased by either visiting the Ragged Mountain website, or calling the resort.

The second component of the MISSION: AFFORDABLE program is designed to help introduce people who have never tried skiing or snowboarding to the sports by offering a three lesson Free Learn to Ski or Ride program. Named after one of Ragged’s first ski instructors, the Bebe Wood’s Free Learn to Ski & Ride program presented by Rossignol is designed to help people learn to ski or snowboard over the course of three lessons at no cost to them. Ragged Mountain will provide three lessons and the corresponding lift tickets during the lesson and the rental of ski or snowboard equipment at no cost to the participant. Ragged Mountain is the only resort in the country to offer a lesson program for free all season long.

“The goal of our new Bebe Wood’s Free Learn to Ski & Ride program is to break down the barriers of cost, equipment, and learning and therefore introduce tons of new folks to the joys of controlled sliding on snow,” noted Terry Gregg, Ragged Mountain’s Ski School Director. “We have partnered with Rossignol who is gracious enough to be backing Ragged Mountain in this exciting endeavor, and in exchange we will be featuring all new Rossignol equipment. Plus, with our terrain based, graduated ‘learn at your own pace’ process, we foresee this program being revolutionary for the industry in terms of converting more young families, couples, and individuals in to the sport.” To ensure an adequate student to instructor ratio, participants must register in advance on www.learntoskifree.com.

To help recruit more first timers to skiing and snowboarding, Ragged Mountain is offering a $25 credit towards next year’s season pass to anyone who refers a new participant to the Free Learn to Ski & Ride program once the three lessons are completed. “Most people are introduced to the sport of skiing by a friend or family member,” Ben Hall, Ragged Mountain’s Marketing Manager acknowledged, “So we want to give experienced skiers and riders a little extra incentive to bring more people into our sport and to our ski area. And, Ragged Mountain is just happy to bring skiing and riding back to its days of glory in New England, when a family of four could afford to spend the weekend at the ski resort enjoying the fresh winter mountain air.”

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ABOUT RAGGED MOUNTAIN RESORT
Located in Danbury, New Hampshire just 98 miles from downtown Boston, Ragged Mountain Resort is situated on 2,100 acres in the beautiful White Mountains. Ragged Mountain has 57 named ski trails, miles of hiking trails on-site, and extensive plans for further expansion. Ragged Mountain was purchased in 2007 by Salt Lake City based developer Pacific Group. Since the purchase of Ragged Mountain, Pacific Group has invested more than $20 million in improvements and expansion with the ultimate goal of developing a year round resort with residential and second home properties. Improvements to date include a new detachable high speed quad up Spear Peak in 2014, building 3 new slope-side Cardigan Cabins, and purchasing the New Hampshire Mountain Inn located only minutes from the mountain.

For more information on Ragged Mountain, please visit www.raggedmountainresort.com

ABOUT PACIFIC GROUP
Over the past 25 years, Salt Lake City based Pacific Group and its affiliates have been instrumental in the development and/or construction at numerous leading mountain resort properties including Whistler in British Columbia, Mammoth Mountain and Squaw Valley in California, Copper Mountain in Colorado, and Solitude Resort in Utah. Additionally, Pacific Group has been active in commercial real estate acquisition, development, and construction with over 1,000 successfully completed projects. These projects include some of the top resort properties in North America plus student housing, commercial office buildings, retail stores and centers, industrial business parks, multi-family urban condominium properties, and master planned resort communities. An affiliate of Pacific Group, Pacific Group Resorts, Inc., manages Ragged Mountain and also owns and operates Wisp Resort in Maryland, Wintergreen Resort in Virginia, and Mount Washington Alpine Resort in British Columbia, Canada.

For more information on Pacific Group, please visit www.pgc.us