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.

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.

I introduced myself, and we briefly covered the large swath of everything; owning a ski resort, weather, snowmaking, events and turn out. We agreed to catch up later, they had work to do and I needed to get riding.

I booted up and headed for the double chairs, the Hadley and the Kennedy. For the first time in a while, the sun was out and the skies were bluebird. Despite a very full parking lot, I rode right on the Hadley double and made my way up. I immediately noticed the large patch of trees that had been cleared under the lift and made a mental note to ask Jake about it later.

Up top things were firm but the sun was its doing work. The groomers had laid down some nice corduroy and I was content to cruise the greens and blues as things softened. I was surprised at the amount of snow in the trees and thought that if things kept progressing, I might test a glade. A terrain park was set up at the bottom with a few rails and jump. The kids were already going big, but I needed a few more laps before I could hit anything.

I took a break up top on one of the benches, and heard someone call my name. It was Tyler who I had met last year at Snow Ridge. Good timing as I needed someone to shoot. He was having a Daddy/Daughter Day but obliged me with some action shots. After a few runs I thanked him and headed to some steeper terrain. The sun had been shining on Challenge and Royal, and by now they were absolutely rippable. I even dipped into Gladed Wench where coverage was solid but still a bit crunchy. After that workout I headed into the lodge for a quick break and to talk to Jake.

Brooke pointed me to the magic carpet where Jake was covering for a liftie on lunch break. The carpet and bunny slope were popping, with kids of all ages getting lessons as their parents watched. There were mini-games set up with multiple courses and some kind of easter egg hunt on the mountain. Jake was exactly as prescribed, running the carpet and talking with patrons as they hopped on.

The first thing I had to know about was the tree clearing. What started as a liftline cleanup became a new run and a longterm plan. The trees were encroaching the lifts and were starting to rot out. They started with the necessary clearing but it became apparent there was something more here, maybe this could be a new trail. Jake took an informal poll: would longtime pass owners and patrons approve?

The answer was yes; so the team began working on clearing out the rest of the dying trees. In fact the community was so excited a group of younger patrons volunteered to clear the trees, completely unprompted. The result is the Red Carpet. A steep, all natural run, laden with cliffs and boulders for Royal Mountain’s Royalty to show off their skills to the overhead chairs. Longterm, Jake would love to add snowmaking to the trail and use it to bolster his existing snowmaking by running a new pipe.

There are other of exciting things happening in the short term. Royal mountain had just hosted a slew of snowmobile races and coming up they will be hosting a rail jam. Last year they hosted their first ever pond skim, with Jake as the first one in the water.

They plan on doing the skim again this spring and something tells me Jake will be at the front of the line. I wasn’t the only one who wanted Jake’s attention, his daughter came over to let him know she was done at the bunny hill and ready to hit the big mountain. I thanked Jake for his time and let him return to his responsibilities.

Royal Mountain is a rare type of place in the current ski industry. Brooke, an owner, became a member of the ski patrol to covers lunch break for the team. Parents are now watching their kids learn to ski on the same slopes they learned on. Community feedback is appreciated and even sought after. I can’t wait to come back when we get a little more natural snow, maybe you’ll see me taking the walk down the Red Carpet.