Mittersill Racing Trail Clearing to Start Next Week
Taxpayer funding for infrastructure related to future phases of the semi-private racing complex was approved in June.
Saturday, August 23, 2014, NewEnglandSkiIndustry.com
A group of Franconia Ski Club members, World Cup Supply employees, and a USSA representative were given a ride on the Mittersill chairlift this week, as they descended the ski trails in prior to the start of clearing. According to World Cup Supply, clearing will commence next week.
Once an independent ski area, Mittersill was acquired by the State of New Hampshire via a land swap finalized in 2008. Initially pitched to taxpayers as a backcountry area, the state installed a $2.7 million double chairlift at Mittersill in 2010. The backcountry nature further evolved in early 2011, when the state started grooming the trails with snowcats.
In 2012, plans to transform Mittersill into a semi-private racing facility emerged. The $3 million project is expected to include a dramatically wider Baron's Run for Super G events and a massive super slope for other events in the vicinity of the former T-Bar lines. According to Cannon management, Baron's Run would be closed to the public for racing and training up to 15% of the time, while the super slope would be closed to the public for racing and training up to 50% of the time.
When pitched to taxpayers, the state claimed the Franconia Ski Club would fund the entire project and that the state would only have to pay operational expenses. This changed on June 4, 2014, New Hampshire Governor and Executive Council approved Cannon's request for $750,000 in new state debt to fund Cannon infrastructure improvements in anticipation of snowmaking projects at the race complex at Mittersill.
