New Giant Swing, Indoor Activity Center, Base Lodge Upgrades and Investments in Snow Making and Grooming Equipment

NORTH CONWAY, NH – Cranmore Mountain continues to make major financial investments in the resort with the addition of new activities, base lodge renovations, snow making and grooming improvements for the winter 2011-12 season.

This additional investment brings the 18-month total for the resort to over $7 million since it came under new ownership in June 2010.

Cranmore announced it will continue to operate its Giant Swing this winter alongside its popular snow-tubing park and mountain coaster. The swing opened in July as part of the resort’s Mountain Adventure Park. The three outdoor attractions, in addition to skiing and riding, will offer visitors to North Conway the greatest diversity of family activities in the region.

Cranmore is opening an indoor activity center, featuring a bungy trampoline, Spider Climb and slide and two bouncy houses. The attractions and activity center will all operate weekends and holidays. Special combination tickets will offer great value for families.

Cranmore’s snow surfaces will be better than ever with a substantial investment in new snow guns and snow grooming equipment. 40 new high-efficiency snowmaking tower guns will be added to their ever-growing arsenal. The snow guns are valued at $100,000. Snowmaking and grooming efforts will also be supported by a new Prinoth Bison Groomer. The new snow guns are added to the 150 purchased over the last two winters. The guns produce more snow at a higher temperature with less energy used, allowing for more snow on the slopes earlier in the season.

Cranmore is also investing in significant additions to its ski and snowboard rental fleet. Partnering with Rossignol, Cranmore is adding new inventory featuring the brand’s new “Rocker” technology. Rocker technology promises to help skiers turn with less effort, carve more easily and float better through deep snow. The mountain will also offer high-end demo skis from Rossignol in addition to the upgrades to its standard rental fleet.

New for this winter, Cranmore will offer the longest day ticket in Mt. Washington Valley, with the introduction of a 6pm close time on Saturdays and holidays from Christmas week until mid-March.

Skiers and riders can enjoy 9.5 hours of skiing at no additional cost. Cranmore will also introduce a “Half Day Anytime” four hour ticket, letting skiers and riders pick the hours of the day they want to recreate. Previously the half day ticket was only available from 12:30-4:30pm. This new ticket offers the greatest flexibility for those who can’t fit in a full day of skiing into their plans.

Another special ticket deal is the new 2-day online price of only $89. This ticket is available for any two days, including Saturdays, when purchased online in advance at www.cranmore.com (holiday weeks excluded).

In June, 2011, Cranmore moved its food and beverage operations to Centerplate, one of the largest hospitality companies in the world.

Centerplate currently operates food and beverage venues at 250 sports, entertainment and convention venues in North America. Centerplate will be investing over $250,000 in upgrades to Cranmore’s food venues.

The upgrades will include renovating the Eating House lodge to a full-service “sit-down” restaurant and bar, as well as the addition of the new “Kandahar Bar” on the top floor of its main base lodge. An additional cafeteria will be added on the lower level of the lodge.

The principals and operators of Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Brian Fairbank, Joseph O’Donnell and Tyler Fairbank, purchased the resort in June 2010 and immediately made major upgrades and improvements last year of over $6 million.

CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc. a Florida-based real estate investment trust (REIT) provided the capital.

They have now invested an additional $1 million in opening a summer attraction plus improvements for the winter ski season for a capital infusion of over $7 million in the last 18 months.

Among those improvements last year was the installation of a fixed-grip quad chairlift to replace the South Double. That chair was relocated to a new location near the Beginner Basin area (near the former North Chair line).

They also relocated and enlarged its tubing park.

The tubing park was relocated to accommodate a Mountain Coaster which opened in Nov. 2010.The centerpiece of last year’s capital campaign was the conversion of the former Arlberg base lodge into an exclusive Children’s Center. Its facilities are now reserved for kids enrolled in Cranmore’s Penguin and Adventure Camps. This year, the resort has initiated a “KidsRule” program with the highest industry standards for safety, instruction and staffing for children’s Snowsports. For more information, visit www.kidsrulecamps.com . The program is offered in conjunction with Jiminy Peak Resort in western Mass. and Bromley in Vermont.

Cranmore Mountain is located in the heart of North Conway Village, New Hampshire and can be contacted at 1-800-SUN-N-SKI and online at www.cranmore.com

Cranmore Mountain is located in the heart of North Conway Village in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, only 2.5 hours from the Boston area.. For more information on Cranmore Mountain and the latest news of special events, visit www.cranmore.com or call 1-800-SUN-N-SKI.