Copple Crown Ski Area

Copple Crown was a semi-private to private mountain that operated for about a decade from the mid 1960's to the mid 1970's. Town & Country Homes, from Reading, Massachusetts, built both the mountain and a housing development. The ski area was used primarily by these homeowners and their guests.

An original plan of the mountain, from Dave Hilton.

The skiing was fairly decent for an area this size, 7 trails and slopes on a 400 to 500 foot drop. The terrain wound its way down the mountain on a variety of trails for all ability levels. Night skiing helped extend the skiing day.

Thanks to Joan Balser, NELSAP has a trail map from Copple Crown, circa early 1970's.
The main lift line was a T-bar, with two smaller rope tow learning areas on the lower right.
The trail to the left of the T-bar had numerous tree islands and likely provided interesting skiing.
Another trail passed further to the left and ended up near the base lodge.

Here's a topo map he ski area, found thanks to Tim Carpenter.

The mountain closed during the late 1970's, due to poor weather and high insurance rates. Today, the area has completely grown up and the trails are hardly visible. According to The Colorado Skier, the summit T-bar terminal remains.

Year	Lifts	Trails	Other Info	Source
1966	T-bar and rope tow	Unknown	Vertical drop 500 feet	America's Ski Book
1968	Same	4, novice thru expert. 3 slopes.	Year round vacation mountain, night skiing, professional instruction, ski jump, ski shop, snow-catting, toboganning, ice skating	Ski Guide
1969	Same	Same	Instuction, patrol, snow packers, night skiing	Eastern Ski Map

My dad bought our chalet in 1973, the year the mountain went bankrupt. (Town & Country head honcho took the money and ran) My brother broke his leg on his last run of the day, 1st day out for the season, after hitting powder on the intermediate slope. However, that was not the last year we skied there. In 1978 my dad, Henry Kolesinski and other home owners, gathered up enough cash to open the ski area for a season. It turned out to be a very good year as we got hit with the blizzard of '78. Basically the only skiiers on the mountain were the homeowners and their crazy kids who needless-to-say, had a blast! My friend (Joan Balser's daughter) broke her leg on her last run of the day after hitting ice on the intermediate slope.

For a few years my dad made several attempts to purchase Copple Crown Mt for only $100K with a few other homeowners (all MA residents) but there were too many conflict of interests and the attempts failed. So Copple Crown skiing dies but the homeowners still truck up to their chalets every weekend to visit other NH ski areas (Gunstock, Black Mt, King Pine, etc...)

In the summer, we kids spent many evenings at the "top" of Copple Crown (there was still approx. 300ft that was undeveloped) a place where we believed was the best view in NH. We would climb the old t-bar lift that had the big round metal circle we could sit on, have a few beers and watch an unbelievable sunset. Or we would sit on the dilapidating porch of the chalet that was constructed next to the t-bar at the top of the mountain for warming up. On a clear day you could see the snow covered Mt Washington while viewing the spectacular Lake Winnipesaukee, Lake Wentworth and Rust Pond. That's what I loved best about skiing Copple Crown. As small as it was, the view was gorgeous and I would stop and take it all in as much as possible.

I always wished an investor would bring the old mountain back to life, if not as a ski area, then a cross-country or snowmobile trail recreation area that could of been tied in with the Perry Hollow Golf Area that was developed at the base of Copple Crown Mt in 1990. That too ran into problems with the developer running out of cash after only the 1st nine holes (PGA designed) and a beautiful cedar club house were completed. An investor eventually did come in and complete the back nine holes.

A view of the area today, very grown in, though the lift line is clear. Notice how a few slopes are also slightly less grown in.

Sandy Luppino: I was just looking at the page for Copple Crown and noticed a line asking for email with information about this area. The interesting thing about Copple Crown is that it is now a golf course!!!! Perry Hollow Golf and Country Club was built back in the late 80s (I believe - don't quote me on that!) and has an 18 hole course built on the mountain. It's fairly steep as you might imagine. :) I played it once in the heat of summer with no cart and it was pretty tough!! :). I never skied Copple Crown myself, but my oldest brother took lessons there. Wolfeboro has a small ski area called Abenaki which has one rope tow, a main hill, 2 trails and a bunny hill. It has always been free to residents and that is where we 'lived' in the winter. I am going to forward my whole family the nelsap URL. I know they are going to be as thrilled as I am to find it.

Tom and Kiki: Found your website intriguing, especially since we live on top of the left part of the main ski trail (or what used to be that trail). Believe it or not, part of the trails are still in existence and would provide excellent "glade" skiing. My wife and I just moved here and plan to both ski and toboggan the hill.

Her brother, Bob Pratt: Your page on Copple Crown was of particular interest to me. At Abenaki [a still open area in Wolfeboro on Rte 109A], I was on the Ski Patrol as a Junior member while I was in High School. I distinctly remember being asked to patrol at Copple crown in the 1977-1979 time frame. Although my memory is fading of such times, I definitely recall this, and it was after 1976, which seems to be when your research says it closed. I think what may have happened is that the area was closed, but may have opened for a short time in the 1978-79 season, perhaps just for a special event or maybe just for the residents, or perhaps they tried to make another go of it, but it did not work out.

John Schoenrock: While a student at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, I can remember skiing at Copple Crown during the winter of 1966-1967. I believe it would be the first year it was open. If memory serves, we got season passes for $ 20.00, and were able to ski every day there was snow. The school had an old yellow bus in which we would leave our skiis stacked like brush in the rear. I can remember trying to untangle them at the ski area. Being the only skiers there, I can remember some of the better skiers skiing the T Bar line using the reat of us as gates. There was also a ski jump there which was basically carved out of the hill, and was located way over on the skiers right.

Directions to Copple Crown, provided by The Colorado Skier:

Located about 4 miles south of Wolfeboro on the Middleton Road. Drive east on a road by the "Copple Crown" sign. The base lodge is now a Rec Center with pool and tennis courts. Private property - no trespassing. You can drive to the top of the mountain where the upper T-bar terminal still remains. The lift line and trails are completely grown in.

An ad that appeared in the 1969 Eastern Ski Map