Powder Mills Park, one of 19 county parks in Monroe County, has cabins, picnic areas, volleyball courts, hiking trails, a fish hatchery and a ski slope.
The Little Powder Horn beginner ski hill was opened in 1966 complete with snowmaking equipment, but the adjacent Big Powder Horn area was in operation with a 30-meter ski jump long before that.
In recent years, only Little Powder Horn has been operating, but the snowmaking system died about 10 years ago. Depending on natural snow, the number of operating days and interest in skiing at the Park was dramatically reduced.
Through all of its existence, ski lesson programs were the backbone of Powder Mills Park ski operation. Until 1979, the Genesee Valley ski school conducted the lesson programs at the Park and had a ski school training agreement with the Bristol Mountain ski school.
By 1986, it was apparent to the management of Bristol Mountain that the Rochester community still needed the slopes of Powder Mills Park. It was the ultimate metropolitan feeder ski area.
We felt that Powder Mills Park was the right hill in the right location for people to begin their ski life and should be rejuvenated. Could we afford to provide a quality ski experience at an affordable price? The objective would be to operate at a break-even point and provide a basic learn-to-ski program.
County officials agreed that the need was there and sent out letters for bids from interested parties and local ski areas. Bristol Mountain provided the only response and negotiated a long-term agreement to operate the ski slope under county supervision.
Bristol Mountain crews went to work. An underground snowmaking system was installed on the 300-foot-slope along with five Ratnik air and water hydrants and five Ratnik Baby Giant snowguns. One of the county’s air compressors was rebuilt while the other one was replaced with a 1964-vintage Joy 1200 from Bristol Mountain.
A new rope was installed on the tow and a small ski rental shop was set up in the Powder Horn Lodge. A marketing plan was developed along with learn-to-ski programs and open ski times — all with the county’s supervision, revisions and approval.
The most important objectives for both the county and Bristol Mountain were to provide a low cost learn-to-ski program and a quality experience while maintaining the county park family atmosphere. Quad chairs and sit-down restaurants were not in the plans.
Because of space limitations on the ski slope, it was determined that a maximum of 70 students was capacity for a quality experience. Registration would be Little League style with sign ups on the second Saturday in November from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Powder Mills Park.
Brochures were distributed in town recreation offices, county libraries, ski shops, and sporting goods stores. Newspapers carried stories about the ski lessons and included sign-up times in community calenders. The total marketing budget was $900, which included brochure printing and two newspaper ads.
On registration day, at 8:45 a.m., more than 200 people were in line for the registration and 650 people (mostly kids) were signed up for the Powder Mills Park Learn-to-Ski Program. Mail-in sign-ups and walk-in sign-ups were accepted after the November registration day, and the first year 1,200 people — children and adults — participated in the Powder Mills Park program with over 6,000 skier visits.
On December 26, 1988, a grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony was held. The county executive along with Monroe County Park officials and Bristol Mountain managers were present. Three television stations covered the event on a perfect weather day and the new “Mom and Pop” ski slope was launched.
The price for a five-week lesson program that includes four 1¼ hour lessons at Powder Mills Park and an afternoon at Bristol Mountain is $35 for children and $40 for adults. Ski rentals for the program are an additional $20. Open ski sessions (similar to open skate at a municipal skating rink) are held when lesson programs are not in progress on Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and school holidays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cost of open skiing is $3 from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and $5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and a season pass is $29.
Last season, Powder Mills Park had 72 operating days. The last day of operation was March 22 and not for lack of snow, but because the park opens for other events on March 22 and the Powder Horn Lodge is used for other outings.
Why does Bristol Mountain do something that can not possibly make money? “Powder Mills Park is the ideal learning ski hill,” said Dan Fuller, Bristol’s President and general manager. “It’s unintimidating, parents can watch the kids, the cost is low and it’s literally right in their back yard. Powder Mills Park is a skier incubator and when they hatch, these new skiers will find their way to the slopes of Western New York ski areas and eventually New England and the western resorts.”
