Indy Pass adds Hickory Ski Center

GRANBY, COLORADO – Today Indy Pass announced they are working with Unofficial Networks to provide financial assistance to Hickory Ski Center in Warrensburg NY. The goal is to help Hickory secure the insurance needed to run lifts for the first time in eight years.

Hickory Hill was founded by veterans of the 10th Mountain Division in 1946 and has been part of the community since that time. Faced with rising costs for lift inspection and insurance, the ski area faces an uncertain future. Recently Hickory laid out the numbers and the challenge inspired Tim Konrad, publisher of Unofficial Networks.

“My family spends much of the winter in the Adirondacks, and I have been touring at Hickory since 2015. Over the years, I’ve been keeping close tabs on their struggle to reopen lifts, and when I learned how far they had come and how close they were to achieving their goal, I knew we had to do something. I called Erik at Indy Pass to discuss how we could offer our support.”

Now, Indy Pass parent company Entabeni and Unofficial are stepping in to help with the last remaining hurdle to overcome: securing liability insurance for operations this season.

Sue Catana, Hickory Hill manager and daughter of founders Fran and Hans Winbauer, has been the point person for the larger effort to bring Hickory back as a gathering place for the community.  The next step is to spin lifts at Hickory once again.

“We have been working with our Hickory skiing community to help overcome the financial obstacles that could prevent the opening of the lifts at Hickory. The emergence of Tim and Erik with their lifeline has put us in a position to operate this season with lift certification, and hopefully for many more to come,” said Sue Catana, Hickory manager and daughter of founders Fran and Hans Winbauer.

Similar to Indy’s involvement with Black Mountain, the team will consult with Hickory management to help them move toward a more sustainable operation, balancing demand, capacity and price.

Hickory Ski Center will join the Indy Pass for the 2023/24 season. In addition, season passes go on sale today at skihickory.com. Hickory pass holders will be eligible for Indy Addon Pass pricing.

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Last night on a conference call with Erik Mogensen of Entabeni and Doug Fish of Indy Pass, we spoke about the numbers and motivation for this deal.  Erik grew up in Tonawanda NY. He learned to ski at a young age, and eventually became an instructor. His whole family skied and taught skiing. For him, it was a blue collar life. In Buffalo NY, in the 1990s, skiing was accessible to a family of modest means.

Over the last 20 years that has changed. The cost of skiing for the first time, for a day or a weekend, is generally steep. Erik believes that eventually independent ski hills are the key to attracting new skiers and riders.

Erik thinks independent ski areas will survive in New York and across North America. In fact, he’s betting on it. “If you can ski in Pennsylvania, you can ski in Warrensburg NY.”  Underlying that statement is an assumption; you’re going to need capital investment.  There are certainly ways to make that happen, but the challenge is to move forward while continuing to operate as an independent.

The plan for this year is to limit Indy Pass and the general public to 60 tickets a day, 30 each, with remaining capacity reserved for Hickory passholders. It’s generally agreed at Hickory; 150 skiers is a comfortable maximum.

We pressed Erik on his commitment to Hickory. Entabeni is looking beyond this season, open to the possibility of continued support in the future. Success will require prioritizing sustainability, while being clear-eyed about Hickory’s uphill capacity, and mindful of preserving the experience.

Here we go. We’ll see you on the hill.

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NYSkiBlog is joining with The Indy Pass to bring exposure to independent mountains.
This piece is part of our effort. For more information visit the Indy Pass.

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