ANDOVER – Producing five Olympians throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, Proctor Academy’s niche as one of the few independent schools with a privately owned and operated ski facility on its campus continues to draw talented snow sports athletes to the region. With warming winters, an investment in adaptability and efficiency sits at the heart of the Proctor Ski Area’s future strategy. 

The Impact of the Proctor Ski Area
Nestled at the base of Ragged Mountain in the Blackwater River valley, the steep hills on the land on which Proctor Academy sits have long enticed young people to strap pieces of wood to their feet and slide with increasing speed downhill.

Known as the School on Skis throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Proctor students and faculty cleared trees to build the school’s first on-campus ski area behind the football field before identifying the north-facing slope of Parson’s Hill (formerly the Blackwater Ski Area and now the Proctor Ski Area) as an ideal on-campus ski venue in the 1960s.

Over the past fifty years, significant investment by the school and generous donors amplified the impact of the renamed Proctor Ski Area. Top-to-bottom lights, high-efficiency snowmaking capacity on both Nordic and alpine trails, a freestyle ski terrain park, and enhanced grooming equipment have empowered retiring Proctor Ski Area Manager Garry George ‘78 and his crew to create the single best snow surface for training and racing in New England.

Proctor’s snow sport athletes and coaches have the opportunity to be a part of something larger than just Proctor. The Proctor Ski Area, a U.S. Ski & Snowboard Gold-certified Club and High-Performance Center, has become a beacon for snow sports in New Hampshire.

It caters to some of the best college alpine teams in the region seeking training time on the hill throughout the winter, including regular training by the Dartmouth Ski Team and Boston College Ski Team, while also serving as a home base to the Andover Outing Club, local youth snow sports programs, and local high school Nordic teams.

It is this broad commitment to snow sports that simultaneously energizes Proctor and challenges the school and ski area to continue to evolve.

A Transition in Leadership: Gratitude for Garry George
As long-time ski area manager Garry George ‘78 retires this summer after more than 40 years of service to Proctor, new Proctor Ski Area Manager Steele Henderson and Assistant Ski Area Manager Mac MacDuffie step into their roles. They are both excited and acknowledge the mentorship Garry has provided over their last three years on the ski area crew.

Henderson notes, “Garry’s leadership has been such an example for us. He is always here to help and answer questions, and he leads by example through his presence. It has been his ability to quietly lead us toward his vision for what the Proctor Ski Area could become over the last three decades that has gotten us to this place.”

MacDuffie adds, “Garry has done a great job over the last few years preparing us for this transition. Last season, he essentially let us run the operations while gently redirecting and guiding us when we needed it. We are grateful for the opportunity to be the new stewards of this remarkable place.”

Proctor Alpine Program Director Jason “Moot” Nelson comments, “Garry George has been the steward of the Proctor Ski Area for over 40 years. It has been a pleasure to witness what is possible with a great leader and a crew of professionals when hard work, thoughtfulness, and patience go into that effort.”

Investing in an Adaptable, Efficient Future
The summer of 2024 has been busy for Henderson and MacDuffie as they oversee significant upgrades to the Proctor Ski Area. The upgrades will increase the efficiency of their snowmaking operations and enhance the athlete/coach experience. Recent winters have indicated a trend toward later arrival of natural snow in New England, increasing the importance of snowmaking operations for ski areas and training venues.

This summer, Proctor has invested $250,000 in new snowmaking pipes on the alpine trails, installing over 1,100 feet of six-inch pipe and 3,400 feet of four-inch pipe, reworking all valve housings, and installing a fourth air compressor site that will increase snow-making capacity at marginal temperatures by 33%, according to HKD. Additional investment in improving the water intake and installing a new communication line for the t-bar have been essential projects that will pay dividends for the Proctor Ski Area moving forward.

When combined with recent improvements in Proctor’s ski jumps and investment from the Andover Outing Club (metal inlays and re-profiling the landing), this summer’s upgrades to the Proctor Ski Area will have a significant impact on the efficiency with which the ski area crew can prepare and manage the facility this coming winter.

Last season, the Proctor Ski Area opened on its earliest date on record, but this was not because of favorable weather.

Henderson notes, “We know that winters are changing, and we are evolving to ensure our ski area can provide top-notch snow surfaces to local athletes and coaches even when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate. We are energized by these new investments in snow-making efficiency and are excited to keep adapting the ski area to new challenges as we seek to meet the needs of our customers.”

Nelson adds, “Without a doubt, this investment enables us to be more efficient with the temperature windows for making snow. Adding volume to our water lines and an additional compressor will allow us to optimize our efforts. Those efforts don’t go unnoticed by us as coaches.”

He continues, “This will have a big impact on our opening date moving forward. Proctor teams, in addition to ski teams from around the state as well as the Eastern Region, can benefit from our early-season conditions. Everyone can continue to expect the Proctor Ski Area to provide its high-quality snow surface a little bit earlier next season!”