What should I check before buying a small ski hill?

The lifts, the snowmaking and the grooming equipment carry the business, and a winter can be made or lost by the weather. Most of what you need is in the records and in a careful walk of the hill with someone who knows the equipment.

Lifts and snowmaking

Ask for the age and make of every lift, the maintenance logs and the reports from any outside inspection. Do the same for snowmaking pumps, lines and guns. Bring a qualified mechanical inspector rather than relying on the seller’s word. Ask your lawyer whether any safety sign-off applies where the hill is located.

Season-pass sales and early commitments

If passes are sold before the snow falls, cash may already be in the account for a season you have not yet run. Ask how many passes are sold, what the terms say about closures and refunds, and where the money is held. Your accountant can tell you how it should be treated at closing.

The weather years in the books

Ask for several winters of opening and closing dates, days of operation and snowfall, and compare them with the revenue. A hill that did well in a cold year may look different in a mild one. Ask what the seller did in poor years, such as cutting hours or running night skiing, and whether those choices cost goodwill.

Seasonal staff and patrol

A small hill depends on a returning crew of lift operators, instructors, groomers and patrol. Ask who returns each year, how they are paid and trained, and which roles are hard to fill. Meet the patrol lead and ask about training and incident records. See the formal valuation answer if you are weighing an appraisal.