Steamboat Spring, Colo., native Jace Wirth joined Cannon Mountain last year as the new general manager for the state-owned New Hampshire ski area in Franconia Notch. The former ski racer arrived in the Granite State with 13 years of industry experience, including tenure at ski resorts in Colorado and China.
Wirth was recently a guest on NH Business Review’s “Down to Business” podcast. This Q&A was culled from that interview.
What was your journey like to New Hampshire? What got you here?
I originally grew up in Steamboat Springs. My old man was in the business, and I spent a lot of time being pulled out of ski patrol for skiing too fast. I just always knew I wanted to be in the business.
When my racing career was done, I got involved with coaching, ski instructing, etc. I also started off with a media company in which we did a lot of marketing and sales for some of the big resorts, particularly out West. I really just wanted to get directly involved in ski area management, and that’s pretty much taken me to where I am now.
I’ve been involved with a number of independent resorts. In some cases, they’ve been turnaround projects. I spent a couple of years out at a place called Secret Garden, which is a pretty awesome place out in Chongli, China, prepared for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. It was really just an incredible experience to work with some of the best and brightest in the industry around the world.
Most recently, I was the general manager of a place called Granby Ranch in Colorado. I took over there in 2020. I actually had my own resort operating company called Ridgeline Executive Group. We were contracted the new owner. That was really a great, successful turnaround project. That ultimately led me to here, Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch State Park.
My wife and I are both hardcore skiers. I’ve got two young sons. We were certainly looking for a place to raise our kids in a community that was like minded.
Steamboat Springs is one of the most popular ski destinations in North America. How can you sell Cannon Mountain to diehard skiers?
One of the biggest draws of Steamboat is certainly that it’s known as Ski Town USA, not only because of its Olympic history. It’s been producing quite a few Olympians in the past, and that was just type of the culture in which I was raised. Shannon Dunn, my nanny when I was a kid, for instance, was one of the first snowboard Olympic athletes. It’s just cool being around those types of people. Not only are they working at the mountain, they’re pursuing their athletic and competitive dreams elsewhere. What is true at Steamboat is there’s just this organic community passion for the place, and that’s reflected in what people’s experience when they get to Steamboat.
I find it’s very similar at Cannon. You’ve got a tremendous history. There are many firsts: the first tram in North America, the first paid ski patrol. You have some of the most historic ski trails cut here in New England. … You have the foundations of some of the industry’s titans, including Snow Engineering Group, now known as TSS Group, which was started just down here at Franconia. We have a tremendous partnership with Franconia Ski Club, which was actually one of the original operators of the mountain back in the ‘30s.
This is a place that is steeped in history and legacy. It’s why people come back year after year. They don’t necessarily have to say it out loud. You can feel it — that Cannon is a special place.
New Hampshire has a reputation of being known for advanced skiers. What should those less-experienced skiers expect at Cannon?
The state of New Hampshire and its ski resorts offer a diversity of experiences. It’s actually pretty remarkable to see how much different the skiing is at Cannon compared to Bretton Woods, compared to mighty McIntyre and mighty Pat’s Peak.
That also ties well into what Cannon can do. Certainly, it’s a mountain that is known for its steep terrain, for its varied terrain. It’s a place that’s a little bit, I’ve heard the term, edgier at times. There might be some days where it’s certainly a little bit cold and windy, but at the same time, we also have some of the best beginner terrain in the state.
Our Tucker Brook area is serviced by three different lifts. It’s isolated from the main mountain. We sell a beginner area–focused product where folks new to the sport can start in a progression, start off on a trail which is immediately accessible from the base area, access a handle tow, which we’ve run more often this year into a little progression park and then an array of about 10 trails on our Tucker Brook chair. It’s been a big focus of ours at the operation this winter to cater more to folks who are new to the sport.
