A short drive down the road from Keene State College lies a small mountain called Granite Gorge. New England is abundant with ski resorts that vary in size and pricing, but Granite Gorge tailors its season to that of nearby college students. General Manager Keith Kreischer highlighted pricing and affordability as one of the main attractors of the mountain.
“You are not going to find a ski area in this country that offers $15 lift tickets for local college students. Not just college night (Thursday night), but for every midweek night from five to close,” said Kreischer.
Granite Gorge has 19 different trails that range from terrain parks to racing and beginner trails. If skiing or snowboarding is not something people are interested in, Granite Gorge also offers snow tubing.
One member of the outing club, sophomore Cooper Prophet, said he believes both the pricing and value of the mountain make it such a big attraction for students in the area.
“If you were to get into skiing or snowboarding, in order to get the most laps for the least amount of money it would be smart to get a season pass at Granite Gorge, it’s a hundred bucks. If you were to go to any big mountain it’s over a hundred dollars for a day pass. They also have really good hours because they go until about nine or ten,” said Prophet.
Apart from the normal days and nights at Granite Gorge Mountain Park, the mountain also offers events that draw in college students. College night has remained a tradition for the mountain, cutting the prices down on Thursday nights for KSC students to enjoy. Kreischer said he looks forward to the upcoming events for Granite Gorge that are scheduled for March.
“We are going to be doing a big college park jam, the tentative date being March 8. That’s going to be coming with Franklin Pierce University as well as Keene State and we are trying to get a bunch of local colleges together to jam out. It is an effort to build comradery and focus on progression,” said Kreischer. “On March 15 will be our annual Pond-Skim event. We build a big pool and you ski down and try to get across, it’s a lot of fun.”
Attracting large crowds of college students requires an area to provide food and drinks to all customers. Granite Gorge has a restaurant called the Roxbury Bar & Grill, which Kreischer said is just as affordable and enjoyable as the mountain itself.
“We have a really affordable restaurant, and we just redid the menu. We now have a bunch of spring specials and a customized drink menu. Those who are over 21 can enjoy that as well as what the mountain has to offer,” said Kreischer.
The resort is located at 341 NH-9, Roxbury, N.H., and their hours and conditions can be found on their website.
Jacob Enscoe can be contacted at
jenscoe@kscequinox.com
