JACKSON, N.H. (AP) — Thomas Brennick, who has been skiing since he was 4 years old, now enjoys bringing his two grandchildren to Black Mountain in New Hampshire. From the Summit Double chairlift, he reflects on the experience, stating, “It’s back to the old days. It’s just good, old-time skiing at its best.”

However, behind this nostalgic skiing experience, Black Mountain has introduced a high-tech system aimed at boosting efficiency at the state’s oldest ski area. While small, independent ski resorts struggle to match the infrastructure and buying power of larger conglomerates like Vail, which owns several ski areas including Attitash Mountain Resort, entrepreneur Erik Mogensen believes technology can serve as “a really great equalizer.”

Mogensen acquired Black Mountain in 2022 and is utilizing it as a testing ground for his consultancy, Entabeni Systems. This company focuses on modernizing ski operations by taking lift ticket sales, lesson bookings, and equipment rentals online. It also gathers extensive data to guide decisions on operations, including snow production and managing visitor traffic.

“A lot of general managers will go out and look at how many rows of cars are parked, and that’s kind of how they tell how busy they are,” Mogensen explained. “We really want to look at that transactional data down to the deepest level.” This approach involves analyzing data on everything from the optimal time to sell hot dogs in the lodge to how many runs a season pass holder makes per visit.

Mogensen acknowledges that larger operators can scale operations and perform bulk purchases that smaller resorts cannot. Still, he sees an advantage in agility: “We can decide to change the way we groom very quickly or change the way we open trails or change our food and beverage menu in the middle of a day.”

With a mission to keep skiing accessible, Mogensen founded Entabeni Systems in 2015 and acquired the Indy Pass in 2023, which provides skiers with the opportunity to visit 230 independent ski areas, including Black Mountain. This pass represents a competing option against the Epic and Ikon multi-resort passes offered by larger companies.

Black Mountain has been a long-time member of Indy Pass. Upon learning of its potential closure, Mogensen recalled fond memories of his hometown ski area and decided to purchase Black Mountain, with hopes of ultimately transforming it into a co-op. Many resorts associated with Indy Pass are also clients of his company, including Beaver Mountain in Utah, a family-owned operation.

Kristy Seeholzer, whose family has owned Beaver Mountain since its founding, noted that Entabeni has improved ticketing and season pass systems. This advancement has led to the introduction of lower-priced passes for skiers who prefer weekdays over weekends. However, she expressed some frustration with the software, finding it sometimes challenging and slow.

On the other hand, some skiers, like Sam Shirley, 25, who worked as a ski instructor in Maine, find the increased reliance on technology complicates the skiing experience. "As a customer, it’s made things more complicated,” he stated. Shirley misses the spontaneous trips he used to enjoy, citing issues with ski areas favoring advance ticket purchases and requirements for detailed personal information just to access a lift ticket.

Many ski areas are adopting advanced technologies, including RFID chips embedded in lift tickets to track skier movements. Vail Resorts utilizes data to monitor lift lines and improve staffing, leading to shorter wait times. John Plack, Vail's director of communications, noted that the company's data-driven approach has enabled better understanding of guest preferences, enhancing the overall skiing experience.

However, the improvements at larger resorts come with a price. A one-day lift ticket at Keystone Resort in Colorado was priced at $292 last week, while a season pass went for $418. These passes provide a stable revenue source, helping Vail invest significantly in snowmaking operations.

Despite the advantages of scale, Mogensen defends the value of smaller resorts. At Black Mountain, lift tickets range from $59 to $99 each day, with season passes around $450. He argues that skiing should not be viewed as a luxury experience but rather as a community-centered activity. Brennick, who has already noticed positive changes since ownership shifted, remarked, “I can see the change. They’re making a lot of snow and it shows.”