BLANDFORD – This week, Blandford Ski Area posted on its website (SkiBlandford.com) a message to its valued customers, announcing that its opening would be delayed until the beginning of February.
The Broadway chair lift was still offline Tuesday, with parts on order.
The message read in part: “When we first purchased Ski Blandford in late fall, we realized we would face many challenges getting the resort in proper operating condition to ensure a safe environment for our guests. Rather than disappointing our loyal customers by cautiously closing for the 17/18 season…, we made the decision to forge ahead 100% to open for 17/18. As we have worked diligently day and night since that decision was made, many previously unknown operational issues have continued to arise. With our commitment to safety taking precedent over all else, we are humbled to admit the unforeseen issues have delayed our opening, despite our best efforts. We will be closed for the month of January regardless of weather conditions.”
Ron Crozier, who was hired in October as general manager for Ski Blandford, said they’ve been doing a lot of work on snowmaking and the lift systems. He said they found some things wrong with them still, mostly routine maintenance not done properly. Parts for the lifts are on order with lead time, and they continue to do line work, concentrating on the Broadway chair lift, one of three at Ski Blandford.
Ski Blandford General Manager Ron Crozier.
Crozier said with the ownership of Butternut completing the purchase of the ski area on Sept. 1, it didn’t give them a lot of time. He said they had hoped to get up and running by the Christmas holiday, but found things they didn’t like.
“Some of the difficulties we’ve found; we need to take time, and make sure we’re safe,” Crozier said. He said safety is paramount, and they wouldn’t put the public on something that was not completely safe. “It is all about their safety for us, it truly is,” he added.
Crozier said he hopes the parts arrive so they can make an announcement the first of February, but there is still a lot of work to be done prior to that time.
In the meantime, season pass holders can ski for free at Butternut and Otis Ridge until Blandford is able to open. As the website states: “As a courtesy to our loyal season pass holders, we have arranged for FREE skiing and riding at Ski Butternut and Otis Ridge until Ski Blandford is able to open (Please bring valid ID to the business office to redeem free pass). Many of our customers have enjoyed this complimentary offer so far, and we encourage everyone to visit both Otis Ridge and Ski Butternut frequently.”
Crozier said sales have been strong for the $199 season pass this year. “We were really encouraged by them. Certainly, we’re disappointed we couldn’t open for the holidays for our guests,” he said.
While the ski area has not opened to the public, they have done some on-hill training with the ski school. “No lifts, just the base area,” Crozier said.
The pre-season lift evacuation and refresher training for the ski patrol was also held at the beginning of the season. Ski patrol member Robert Garriepy, the police chief in Huntington said he hasn’t put on his skis since. He said he wasn’t going to drive to Butternut, adding that the beauty of Blandford is that it’s so close, and if he were going to drive, he’d take a couple of days and go north.
Garriepy did acknowledge that Crozier had done a “phenomenal job” making sure that everybody and anybody could ski at Butternut or Otis if they wanted to. “He’s a super nice guy. The right guy in the right place,” he said.
Crozier previously worked for Butternut from 1999 to 2004. In October, he said the position of general manager was like “coming home.” When he worked for the ski area the last time, he lived in East Otis. This time, he commuted briefly from Pennsylvania to start, then bought the same house he and his wife formerly owned, and moved back to East Otis. He said his wife’s family is from the Otis area.
Crozier said that at one point he had a crew of about 20 working in Blandford. He said now that the buildings and picnic tables have all been painted, they’ve scaled back. “Now, it’s more just the hill guys to get the lifts ready.”
“Watch our website. As we move closer to the first of February, hopefully we’ll have a nice announcement instead of postponements,” Crozier said.
