From the Durham Patch.

Nine months after buying Middlefield’s ski area, Powder Ridge Mountain Park owner Sean Hayes is looking ahead to opening in late fall. …

And despite unforeseen roadblocks from mother nature and the predictable land use delays that come with buying a 225-acre property, Hayes maintains that he’s on schedule to open Powder Ridge on Thanksgiving weekend, more than a year before a December 31, 2014 deadline imposed by the sales agreement approved at referendum last year.

“We did as much as we could really before the winter set in, then went on hold. We were hoping that we would hit the ground running in the spring but approvals are taking longer than we thought,” Hayes said last week during a walk of the property.

Read the full story.

We are at the Blackbird from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Browse the website for additional information on the park, as it answers most of the frequently asked questions you get. But if you have any other questions, contact us via email.

Directions

The Blackbird Tavern is located at 6 Way Road, Middlefield, Conn. It’s at the corner of Route 147 and Way Road, less than one mile from Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort.

You’ll be able to find prices under Admission in the main navigation menu. Here is our standard lift ticket fees and season pass information.

For extreme enthusiasts, highlights include the boarder cross and ski cross, a mix between all mountain free riding, racing and freestyle. Four lanes wide, this track pits boarder to boarder and skier to skier complete with starting gates, timers, and bibs. Slalom racers will find challenging runs where they wind their way down trails with multiple gates in this fast paced, agility laden sport.

Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort will offer tubing for all level of adventurists. Extremists can follow two tracks skirting the outer edge of the mountain with a total drop of 500’ while the more subdued can enjoy a fun filled ride down the family track.

Free style skiers and advanced boarders can enjoy a terrain park on multiple trails offering natural themed features including log-style rails and jumps cascading down the entire length of the mountain.

The mountain’s terrain park will also include separate mountain biker trails with cyclo cross, cross country, free ride, downhill and up and down racing.

The parks renovated 20,000 square foot lodge will house a lower level with retail, cafeteria, restrooms and changing rooms. The more upscale upper level premiers Fire @ the Ridge, a full service restaurant and bar where guests can relax by the fire with food and drink. Large flat screened monitors situated throughout the restaurant let you monitor your group member’s activities on the mountain. Banquet and conference rooms will be available on the upper level perfect for a hill top wedding or teambuilding corporate event. Rent a Private “Family Room” by the day, half day, or overnight and you and your guests have your own private family room complete with fireplace, flat screen TV, sleeper sofas, bathing and dressing facilities.

The 5,800 square foot rental building will house group events, lessons and team building activities. An advanced rental center features repair services, an exclusive trade up program and annual ski and board swap.

Powder Ridge Mountain Park and Resort is Connecticut’s first and only year round mountain adventure sports park and resort featuring boarder and ski cross, slalom racing, extreme tubing, family skiing, boarding and tubing, mountain bike trails plus full lodge, restaurant, bar and retail shops.

Powder Ridge Mountain Park and Resort is located at 99 Powder Hill Road, Middlefield, Conn,, less than 30 minutes from Hartford or New Haven. Group discounts will be available. School and corporate team building programs offered.

For more information, register for news with information about the park’s grand opening.

We’re working hard to bring Powder Ridge Mountain Park and Resort in Middlefield back to life for the 2013/2014 winter season, and now is the time to start thinking about registering your school’s club or race team. If you’ve never had a ski club or race team, no worries. Powder Ridge will work with you to make it happen, and if you’ve previously had a club or team at The Ridge, we’re looking forward to having you back!

Get started now! Program coordinators at schools can fill out this registration form to get started. Once you have registered your group, we’ll send you our Powder Ridge Tool Kit with signage and other information.

Between Jan. 2, 2014 and March 31, 2014, you’ll be able to select a three week or five week program for your group, with three days or five days of winter fun respectively.

Powder Ridge offers a Program Protection Plan at the time of purchase.Powder Ridge will reimburse the cost of your program on a prorated basis in the event of injury or sickness which prevents you from completing the program. Refund requests must be received prior to end of your program. Injury or illness must be confirmed by a letter from a licensed physician. The cost for the Protection Policy is 5% of subtotal. If you decline the Protection Policy and should be unable to complete the program for any reason, you will not be entitled to a refund.

Enjoy food cooking demonstrations and delicious food samples in the Apple Barrel. Visit with Siberian Husky sled dogs, and watch the best ice carvers in New England create dazzling ice sculptures before your eyes.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, the Powder Ridge team will bring snowboarding and snow tubing fun to the Apple Barrel grounds at Lyman Orchard. We’ll have a snow castle for people to ride, and we’ll have snowboards and ski’s for all ages to try. Tubing will be available too!

Burton Snowboards will be visiting Winterfest both days – with snowboards and gear – and you’ll have the opportunity at noon each day to participate in a RIDGE challenge. Know how to play HORSE? If you do, snowboarders and skiers can play HORSE, challenging other men and women as they trade basketball shots for riding the rails. Can’t match and land a successful jump by the preceding athlete? You pick up a letter. You’re OUT when you’ve spelled RIDGE. The game starts at noon on both Saturday and Sunday and pre-registration is not required. Bring your own board or skis to participate and win prizes!

We have a silent auction sponsored by Excel Fitness in West Hartford. They have donated a one month membership & three tanning sessions, a $275 value.

As a special bonus, all 12-month dual pass holders receive a 20% discount on all regularly priced food items, merchandise and rental fees at both parks through March 24, 2014. Can be used for private rental areas and gazebos at Brownstone Park, as well as day rooms at Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort.

The 12-Month Pass includes unlimited visits to Brownstone Park – access depends on the pass level you choose – and unlimited lift access to Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort with access to skiing, snowboarding, tubing and mountain biking through May 24, 2014. The pass does not include access to special events, concerts or other activities.

Where can I buy these passes?
You need to click here. You’ll be redirected to the Brownstone Park site where you can purchase the passes.

When will Powder Ridge Mountain Park & Resort open?
The resurrection began in Sept. 2012, and we are planning to have the lifts open to mountain enthusiasts in Dec. 2013/Jan. 2014.

But remember, we’re aiming to have the Mountain Bike trails open in June 2013, and getting the lifts moving is an important step as we move towards this goal!

Here are a couple of videos of the lifts moving to wet your appetite.

httpvh://youtu.be/bAd2c1ygZJ0

httpvh://youtu.be/TQVDwas1u2o

These are the inventory tag numbers that have sold today at the swap.

• 1425
• 1444
• 1300
• 1477
• 1403
• 1454
• 1498

All other items that did not sell must be picked up tomorrow (Sunday) between 10 a.m. – noon. Items remaining after noon will be donated.

Many bikers visited with us on Oct. 23 to discuss preliminary plans for mountain bike trails at Powder Ridge we hope to open next June (Summer 2013). All are invited to Powder Ridge on Nov. 4 to walk around and provide their input. Although many of the trails have been cleared of brush, they are not ready for riding so you’ll need to leave your bikes at home or on the car rack.

During the meeting, attendees expressed an interest in having a dedicated Facebook page specifically for Mountain Bike activities and plans at Powder Ridge. Although our main website will have all of the information, we have recently created a Powder Ridge Bikers community on Facebook. To stay up-to-date, “Like” the new community and ensure you also “Like” the main Powder Ridge Park Facebook page too.

We have also launched our email registration application at PowderRidgePark.com, so ensure you sign up for that to gain access to exclusive specials we’ll be offering.