Gunstock Management Team Resigns, Indy and Mountain Collective Add Resorts and Suicide Six Changes its Name – Busy Summer

Summer typically is a time for change in the ski industry and this summer is turning out to be a doozy! Suicide Six changed its name. Indy Pass and Mountain Collective have added new properties and the entire management staff at New Hampshire’s Gunstock resigned. Let’s start with that last item.

It seems that escalating tensions between Gunstock staff and the Gunstock Area Commission, a five-member board appointed by the Belknap County Delegation to manage the ski area, precipitated the resignations. Gunstock has suspended operations. Big, bold letters on the resort’s home page screams Gunstock Adventure Park is Closed Until Further Notice. Needless to say, this is a highly unusual development for a ski area, especially one that has a robust summer business.

Tom Day, president and general manager was the first to resign. According to an article posted on saminfo.com, his resignation was followed shortly by the resignations of the entire senior leadership team: chief financial officer Cathy White; director of resort services Robin Rowe; facilities operation director Patrick McGonangle; director of human resources Rebecca LaPense; snow sports director Peter Weber; and director of marketing Kristen Lodge. Longtime commissioner Gary Kiedaisch also resigned at the meeting.

Seating the staff in the audience instead of their seats at the “speaker’s table” apparently was the last straw. Staff considered it a power play to show who exactly was in charge.

The addition of Mt Hood Meadows in Oregon is a feather in Indy Pass creator Doug Fish’s cap. The resort has 2,150 skiable acres with 85 named runs served by 11 lifts. It is one of North America’s largest independent resorts. Indy has dubbed it the “crown jewel” of the pass’ western region partners. 

Indy Base Pass holders will have restricted access to Meadows, with blackouts on holidays and peak weekend, while Indy Plus Pass holders will have unrestricted access. Indy Pass and Indy XC Pass holders will also have access to Meadows’ 15 km of cross country trails. The Indy Base Pass is still available at pre-season pricing for $299 (adults). Indy’s monthly payment plan is also still available for any pass purchases made before Aug. 1.

Indy had previously announced that it hit the 100 venue milestone 100 resorts for winter 2022-23 with the addition of eight new partners—five alpine and three cross country—in the Upper Midwest, New England, and the Pacific Northwest. 

The Mountain Collective Pass has added Marmot Basin, Alberta, to its winter 2022-23 line up. Marmot Basin is the seventh Canadian resort to join the pass partnership. (Le Massif de Charlevoix in Quebec signed on in June.) Its addition brings the total number of Mountain Collective resort partners to 24 worldwide.

Suicide Six, one of the oldest ski areas in the United States and located in Vermont recently unveiled its new name: Saskadena 

Six. A new logo was also introduced. It looks like an upside down mountain. The ski area, which is operated by the Woodstock Inn & Resort, Vt., said earlier this year that it would retire its former name because of concerns over its insensitivity to mental health.