Big Tupper Ski Area

An all-volunteer workforce has resurrected this classic ski area

Volunteers wanted – lift operators, ski patrollers and more This is a low-frills (not no-frills) operation: Ski rentals, a ski school, lodge and other typical amenities available. The ski area is owned by a private developer, who is allowing Tupper Lakers to open it each winter.

At a glance

Hometown ski areas are a tough business – the Northeast is littered with empty slopes – so when Big Tupper closed in 1999, its prospects were bleak.
But a group of volunteers with ARISE, a band of local supporters, teamed up to resurrect the area a decade later.
Now its three lifts are spinning again.
There’s no snowmaking, so the area is at the mercy of Mother Nature; 1,100 vertical feet await skiers.