Powder Ridge Ski Area

Powder Ridge Ski Area
View downhill from the Middlefield ski slope at sunset in Powder Ridge Mountain Park and Resort.
Location	Besek Mountain
Nearest city	Middlefield, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°30′07″N 72°44′14″W / 41.502006°N 72.737172°W / 41.502006; -72.737172Coordinates: 41°30′07″N 72°44′14″W / 41.502006°N 72.737172°W / 41.502006; -72.737172
Vertical	550 ft (170 m)
Skiable area	80 acres (32 ha)
Runs	19
Snowfall	60 inches (150 cm)
Website	http://powderridgepark.com/

Powder Ridge Ski Area is a relatively small ski area located in Middlefield, Connecticut. It began operations on January 22, 1961,the day JFK was inaugurated. It closed in 2007, and has reopened as Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort as of December, 2013. It is located on Besek Mountain. Powder Ridge Park is affiliated with the Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park in the Portland Brownstone Quarries in nearby Portland, Connecticut.

Powder Ridge began operations in 1959 under the name of Powder Hill. It was started by brothers Louis and Herman Zemel, who had already operated a successful appliance store in New Haven, CT. It initially operated with only surface lifts, but constructed three new double chairs between 1963 and 1965. In 1970, the area changed its name to Powder Ridge; during the year, it was planned to host the Powder Ridge Rock Festival, which was later cancelled. The planners of the festival skipped town with the money, but thousands of young adults showed up at the ski area expecting a second Woodstock. Melanie is the only performer who showed up and sang anyway.

1972, after resolution of local opposition and legal action, Powder Ridge embarked on a major expansion, which included the construction of the first quad chair in New England, dubbed the "747 lift." It was thus named for the slope it rode over, the 747, known to be one of the area's more difficult runs.

The Zemel brothers also started a business called Fan Jet that produced and sold snow making equipment. However, this enterprise was shut down after a patent infringement lawsuit in the mid 1980's.

When Louis Zemel died in 1981, his half of the business went to his children. His son and daughter in law took over the day to day management of the ski area and snow making business.

Powder Ridge operated in the off-season by running a pool club that offered an Olympic sized swimming pool, kiddie pool, and tennis courts for members. The restaurant also hosted corporate outings, family outings, and the like in the summer to supplement the winter business.

In the 1980's the ski area had a beginner slope that was 1/4 mile long, the Middlefield slope, running the full 1/2 mile length of the mountain and was perennially the first slope to open and the last to close each season, the Glade, which was a narrower run than the others and open less frequently, due to the lack of snow making, the 747, which sometimes had moguls near the top and was considered the more Difficult run, and finally, the Dinosaur, presumably named for the small park of dinosaur foot prints at one of the ski area's entrances.