Small Mountain Missions - Tenney

February 16, 2026Darkside Snowboards

Story & Photos // Jake Sullivan
February 16, 2026

The last few winters have gone by fast.

One minute we’re riding the early-season park at Killington, and the next we’re heading to Loon for Last Call, wondering where the season went. And like a scene out of Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day, I always find myself having the same conversation in the Bunyan Room after the event: “Next year we’ve got to get out of Killington more. We need to ride some other spots around New England.”

And every year, those plans get pushed to “next season.”

It’s easy to fall into a routine while snowboarding in the Northeast. Despite having more resorts per square mile than anywhere else in the world, getting away from your home mountain gets harder every year. Winters feel shorter. Snowfall seems less consistent. Lift tickets keep getting more expensive. If you work in the snowboard industry, throw in holiday rushes, demos, trade shows, and events, and the season is over before you know it.

On top of it all, the rise of corporate multi-mountain passes keeps most of us battling the crowds at the same handful of resorts year after year.

All of this combined has led to serious isolation for many of the smaller mountains scattered across New England. Sure, there are the major hubs like Sugarbush, Killington, and Loon, but everything in between is usually passed over by most. But despite sitting in the shadow of the bigger resorts, these small mountains have built strong local scenes — and a lot of the time, they’re doing things better than the larger, flashier spots.

So in an attempt to break our usual routine, we decided to step outside our bubble and are bringing you a new Darkside series - Small Mountain Missions.

It’s a simple concept: day trips with a crew to various small mountains around New England, linking up with friends from the area when possible. Tap into the local scene to get a feel for the unique experience each place offers. All while hopefully filming a couple of tricks along the way.

With that said, we give you the first Mission….Tenney Mountain!

Nick Garcia boosting.

According to NELSAP, there are over 600 “lost” or abandoned ski resorts in New England.

Tenney Mountain in Plymouth, NH, has appeared and disappeared from that list several times over the past decade. Originally opened in 1965, it first closed in 2010. Since then, it has gone on and off again, and as of now has been operating continuously since 2023.

The idea of “if you build it, they will come” was my first thought after seeing footage from there this winter. A sunny park built well with both classic and unique features. Nothing huge, but enough to get some tricks. Most importantly, it’s serviced by one of Will Mayo’s Towpro rope tows.

Was this real? Did someone in New England finally understand this is what we need? We had to see for ourselves. And it did not disappoint.

Koa Gonet. Frontboard tap.

While it seems many larger resorts are struggling to properly build and maintain bigger parks, Tenney knew what they had to work with and just did it right. And a huge part of that is due to the rope. It’s hands down the best way to ride a snowboard park. It creates this skatepark vibe: you stay warm, get tons of reps in, and the progression explodes.

Gian Turiello. 50-50 finger chopper.

We arrived around 10 am on a sunny Thursday morning in early February and had the park all to ourselves until about 4 pm when classes were getting out at nearby Plymouth State University. The rope allows you to get dozens of laps in an hour, and with lights on in the park until 9 pm on weekends, the locals have a super fun, tight-knit scene that’s about as close to somewhere like Trollhaugen as we can get on the East Coast.

John Garoutte. Nosebone tap.