House Rebels Against Bill That Would Have Ended Free Senior Skiing.
Credit: Cannon Mountain
Senior resident skiers can breath a sigh of relief after NH legislators agreed to drop a plan that would have ended free skiing for seniors.
House and Senate representatives had agreed to a plan where resident NH seniors would begin to pay $5 a day for lift tickets, increasing by $5 a year until it reached one-third the regular adult rate. But one (unidentified) representative said he (or she) could not support a bill that “would push granny over a cliff.” In a final vote, the idea was defeated.
The effort started as a way to balance the budget for the state’s park system which is supposed to be self-supporting. However, making ends meet has been difficult and funding needed maintenance and upgrades has been proving difficult.
Several representatives said the amount of revenue from the $5 a day plan was minuscule.
So free skiing for resident senior skiers lives on. At least for one more year.
It’s only free for us on weekdays and we usually buy food and bring grandkids etc. I suspect it attracts a lot of business to Cannon during the week that they would not otherwise have.
Gunnar is spot-on. Food, bevs, tips, retail sales, etc