Temple Mountain Ski Area was a downhill, or
alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
,
ski area
A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort.
...
that operated from 1938 until 2001 on
Temple Mountain in the U.S. state of
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
. During peak operation, the ski area featured a quad
chairlift
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. Th ...
, a double chairlift, and multiple
T-bars and
rope tows. Like many other small ski areas in the country, it closed due to poor weather, rising costs and changing recreational habits.
Its entrance was located on
New Hampshire Route 101
New Hampshire Route 101 (NH 101) is a state-maintained highway in southern New Hampshire extending from Keene to Hampton Beach. It is the major east–west highway in the southern portion of the state.
The western terminus of NH 101 is in Keene ...
, straddling the border of the towns of
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
and
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
.
The site, of which about was used for the ski area, closed after the 2000–01 season. John and Connie Kieley of Temple Highlands LLC purchased the ski area in 2003. The quad chairlift was sold to
Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Massachusetts, while the double was sold to SkyTrans Manufacturing and was later used as a ride at the
Milwaukee Zoo.
In December 2007, the State of New Hampshire, with some federal funds, purchased the for a reported $1 million, creating the Temple Mountain State Reservation.
[Nashua Telegraph, Aug. 14, 2008: "New land preserve is a temple to nature"]
References
External links
{{coord, 42, 50, 48, N, 71, 53, 07, W, type:landmark, display=title
Temple Mountain- New England Lost Ski Areas Project
Temple Mountain History- NewEnglandSkiHistory.com
Friends of the Wapack
Defunct ski areas and resorts in New Hampshire
Protected areas of Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
Nature reserves in New Hampshire
Temple, New Hampshire