Royal Mountain Opens 2025

I’ve noticed a pattern among the family-owned independent resorts here in New York. Often I find a female owner running the business behind the ticket desk, while a male owner is off dealing with operations. Royal mountain was no exception last Sunday on opening day. Brooke Tennis was all smiles as she handed me my ticket, telling me she was surprised by the turn out.

Jake Tennis manages the crowd

The parking lot was filling up fast. I strapped in and pushed down to the Hadley Chair to start the season. I thought I was running late as I saw the first wave of skiers ripping down the mountain. Royal prides itself on tight operations and if they can spin the lift a little early, why not? I rode right on to my first chairlift.

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Riding the Royal Powder Carpet

There are two wolves inside me. One wants to grow snow riding. Add stoke. Support locally owned mountains that are lifebloods in their communities. The other wants to throw all that out the window on a powder day.

first chair

Royal Mountain, overlooked by some, has been getting widespread attention with recent weather events. Royal is less than an hour down the road from me, and I’ve make it a habit to ride there every season. In April 2022 I caught a late spring storm and last year Jake Tennis gave us the scoop on the new trail The Red Carpet.

When I pulled up last Saturday I was hyped to see a great little mountain getting the attention it deserves.

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Royal Mountain: Roll Out the Red Carpet

Royal Mountain may look like a ski slope, but for those who know, it’s more of an establishment. Like so many locally owned ski resorts it’s an integral part of the community. Its walls are adorned with plaques, posters and trinkets of its people and past. It’s all part of the rich history the resort is steeped in going back to its inception in 1955.

Royal Mountain memory wall

Three owners laters, and following the footsteps of the famous Jim Blaise, the Tennis’s are blazing a new trail forward, literally and figuratively. I found Brooke and Jake Tennis behind the ticket desk shortly after opening on Saturday. She was slinging tickets and he was giving an operations update.

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