If snow continues to fall regularly for the remainder of the ski season, Dartmouth Skiway will have another profitable year.
Because of favorable weather conditions so far and recent facility upgrades, business at the Skiway is up 20 percent from last year, Skiway Manager Don Cutter said.
Last Saturday, the record for single day attendance was set when the Skiway sold 1,579 lift tickets. The previous record of 1,258 tickets was set on a day during the 1989-1990 season, according to Cutter.
"The increase is due to people's remembering good skiing last spring and the early snow this year," Cutter said.
Erica Greenwood '96, a ski instructor, said, "The skiing has been wonderful this year, and all the runs have been open at one time or another which is good for the Skiway."
Greenwood said there has been a significant increase in the number of people enrolled in ski classes.
The Skiway may turn a profit this year if the cold weather persists, said Matt McManness, executive officer for the Dean of the College Office.
"If the weather stays cold and if we get a few more storms we could have a very similar year to last year, which, I guess, is pretty good for the Skiway," he said.
Last year was the best financial year the Skiway had experienced in recent years, McManness said. The profit from last year was put into reserve, which will eventually be used to make capital improvements such as upgrading the Skiway lodge and the quality of snowmaking equipment, he said.The addition of a quad chair, a lift that seats four skiers, is another factor in the recent improvement in Skiway business, Cutter said.
"I think people are coming because we have a quad," he said. "I think it's made us a legitimate ski area."
He said he was happy with the decision to install a quad chair instead of a triple.
"The structure costs the same as a triple, but the quad takes fewer chairs to transport the same number of people and each chair, for the quad or triple costs $1100," Cutter said.
Andrew Zdrahal '97, who frequents the Skiway, said, "I think it's good because it attracts business, but the money they put into improving it could have been put into snow making equipment."
Sonia Schadinger '95, a ski instructor, said she appreciated the new chair lift. "You never have to wait in line and you get a lot of runs in," she said.
Cutter said the only difficulties the Skiway has had with the new chair have been with loading skiers onto the lift. "It just takes more coordination to get four people lined up," he said.
"It does kind of hit people at the top," Ingrid Brody '97, a ski patroller, said. "A lot of times we have to run out and pick people up when they fall off, and there are a lot more kids on in it so there's a lot more potential for falling."
But Brody said the new lift is a significant improvement over the previous double chair lift, which had chairs that slid down the cable into other chairs.
The season will probably extend through the end of March or the first part of April depending on weather and attendance, Cutter said.
As of Tuesday before yesterday's additional snowfall, the base was 80 inches - about twice the average base height for this time of year, Cutter said. At the end of last season the base was 74 inches.
The last season with such a substantial base was the 1986-1987 season when it reached 82 inches.
The official dedication of the new quad chair lift will be on Saturday at noon at the Skiway, which is located in Lyme.
