BENNINGTON, NH ??” Crotched Mountain Ski & Ride, New England’s newest ski area, opened Saturday top-to-bottom for the 2004-05 season. Lifts started turning at noon to the delight of skiers and riders who have been waiting all summer to start making turns.

Crotched Mountain was constructed last year and features a state-of-the-art snowmaking system with the highest rated production capacity in New England. With the system running in top condition during the nights leading up to Saturday, mountain crews were successful at laying down a consistent surface for opening day.

“I’m really excited that we could make this much snow, in this short period, with these challenging temperatures and be open top to bottom”, said Margrit Kagi, Management.

Opening day conditions:

• Top-to-bottom, 2″ ??“ 20″ base, fresh man-made snow
• 2 trails open, more opening throughout the day
• 1 lift, summit quad (possibility of 2 later in the day)
• Night skiing open until 9pm
• Intermediate & Expert skiing only!

Crotched Mountain was constructed last year with a $10m investment. State-of-the-art snowmaking, 5 lifts serving 875′ vertical and a spacious 40,000 sq.ft. base lodge. The ski area is owned and operated by Peak Resorts. Online: http://www.peakresorts.com, http://www.crotchedmountain.com.