By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

JACKSON – Black Mountain’s new owner and general manager Erik Mogensen said he has decided against a cooperative ownership model for the state’s oldest ski area and will maintain ownership and also move his Colorado-based Entabeni data system company, which provides software for ski areas around the world and his wildly popular Indy Pass to the 603.

Mogensen had originally said he was not planning to stay but wanted to do what he could to make sure the 91-year-old ski area did not fade into the landscape like so many small ski areas have in the past.

The 38-year-old entrepreneur moved from Colorado in 2024 to help the previous owner find a buyer, after reading about their plans to make that season their last.

He moved from Granby, Colo. to Jackson and began to build on the idea of a cooperative ownership, subject to federal approval and invested over $6.5 million in infrastructure needs for the small mountain but wanted to keep the small mountain feel.

On Christmas Day, less than three months ago, he told InDepthNH.org his plan was to move back to Colorado as soon as his goals were met and he could get it into cooperative ownership. The model was similar to one that has been a success at Mad River Glen, Vt.

He said when he bought it he knew the mountain would need significant increase in revenue to survive and in the first year attained that, in part, due to the development of an alternative to the large ski areas, focusing on developing a culture of skiing as a community center that was family friendly. Crock pots were welcome in the lodge for families, ticket prices were dropped and through word of mouth, people came.

One of the changes that helped propel that success, he said, was development of a mid-mountain cabin that served champagne and cheese fondue, somewhat like Aspen’s Cloud 9 cabin in Colorado which has become wildly popular.

But not happy with the changes and the new crowds and the growth issues were a number of members of the community and its government.

The town selectboard, at the urging of the police chief – who called for a state liquor commission investigation that found no actionable offenses – sought to remove the liquor license from the Alpine Cabin and voted to seek that action from the state.

That prompted a federal lawsuit by Mogensen that ended quickly with a settlement without financial loss to the town.

Then the snow came. And so did the crowds. Again.

The acrimony and growing pains between town and business have in some ways subsided due in large part to public support for Black Mountain, he said.

In a letter as general manager Thursday morning, Mogensen described the changes in his plans and a status report.

“With still a significant amount of the season still in front of us, Black Mountain has already surpassed last year’s total revenue. More importantly to me, more people have skied here as of today than over the entirety of last season. While records going back 90 years are imperfect, it is hard to believe this has been anything other than Black Mountain’s best season ever,” he said.

“Something magical happened that had little to do with snowfall and everything to do with a new ‘vibe’ that has been created here,” he wrote.

The idea behind a cooperative ownership structure was to align passionate participation with ownership, Mogensen said.

“It quickly became clear to me that different levels of participation were needed, and over the last year I tackled the problem by creating the Black Mountain Community Corporation composed of Class A, Class B, and Class C shares.

“Class A shares were priced at $250,000 and B Shares at $25,000 with corresponding governance and equity. A and B shares transacted under Regulation D, while we applied for a Regulation A exemption for the C shares priced at $5,000. All 15 Class A were sold and funded quickly. Over a 1/3 of B shares were sold with no public offer under Reg D. We have over 2,600 people looking to purchase what would be 2000 Class C shares under the future Reg A. These first shareholders are a remarkable group of people that deeply believe in what we were trying to build at Black Mountain and beyond. The model is solid,” he said.

“I now have clarity on what I want my life to be like, and the difference I hope to make through Entabeni and Indy Pass for skiing and outdoor recreation. It has shown me that I need to make a long-term life decision to buy Black Mountain, now for a second time.

“Accordingly, Entabeni Systems and Indy Ski Pass will exit our Colorado headquarters. We will move all operations to New Hampshire and the Mount Washington Valley. We will be the long-term custodian and again 100 percent owner of Black Mountain.

“I am grateful that every single shareholder not only consented, but also allowed me to purchase back their stock at par to their original purchase price. This direction change is only possible because of their trust and belief that the best path forward for a sustainable and vibrant Black Mountain is under the stewardship of Entabeni, Indy Pass and myself,” he wrote.

“I have built a company whose relentless sole goal is to keep skiing independent and affordable. Our headquarters in Colorado is the home of an incredible group of people who work tirelessly for Entabeni Systems and the Indy Pass to that end. To make the Black Mountain project work, many of them picked up their lives and moved to Jackson, New Hampshire. In many ways putting their personal lives on hold to help solve the macro problem skiing is facing. It was a crazy idea to split the company in half, move back East to a ski area none of us had ever been to. Needless to say we all miss Colorado and the life we built there,” he wrote.

The upside for Indy Pass has been equally profound, he said.

“Black Mountain has given me a significantly better understanding as to how to positively shape this irreplaceable product for partners and consumers alike. I have always believed in spending 90 percent of my time and effort understanding a problem and 10 percent actually fixing the problem. Black Mountain forced that way of thinking to a level I never thought possible,” Mogensen said.

“All of my experiences over the last 18 months have allowed me to truly reconcile why I made the abrupt decision to purchase Black Mountain in the first place.”

Black Mountain will become a laboratory and incubator “where we will aggressively try to solve some of the biggest challenges facing independent ski areas. Aging infrastructure, rising costs, and big money competition demand critical thinking and fresh solutions.  Our world class team will permanently relocate, building their own lives in the Mount Washington Valley. I look forward to building my life and a family in this incredible place I will now call home,”  Mogensen said.