Henniker, NH (Friday, July 14, 2006) - New Hampshire's Pats Peak ski area has announced its capital improvement plan for the 2006-07 winter season, including snowmaking upgrades, increased night lighting, a new 500-foot carpet lift, and a completely reconfigured beginner's area.

Skiers and snowboarders arriving at Pats Peak next winter will also find new rental equipment, new outdoor employee uniforms, additional seasonal lockers, improved ordering system for pub service, and major renovation to the main cafeteria.

Despite already having 100% snowmaking coverage, the Hurricane trail at Pats Peak will next season be home to the only fully automatic SMI fan guns in all of New England. Snowmaking pipelines will charge automatically and guns will turn on and off as temperatures permit. With the addition of night lighting on the Hurricane trail, it will be open day and night, giving Pats Peak 20 out of 22 trails open for night skiing.

Additionally, some trees have been removed from the Vortex trail and snowmaking pipe has been installed. Management at Pats Peak is also adding two high capacity water pumps to increase snowmaking capacity.

This summer, Pats Peak will retire its Bluster J-Bar and replace it with a new 500-foot SunKid Wonder Carpet Lift will whisk skiers and riders to the top of the beginner slopes in under 4 minutes. The Beginner's Area will be completely reconfigured including the relocation of the existing carpet lift closer to the side of the trail, opening up more terrain for beginners to learn on.

The Rental Shop will be outfitted with 200 new sets of skis and bindings, 200 pairs of poles, 50 snowboards and 300 snowboard boots and bindings. To give the mountain a “new look”, the ski & snowboard instructors, along with lift operators, will be sporting new black with blue trim uniform jackets.

Conneston Construction of Laconia, N.H. is completing a multi-million dollar renovation of the main base facilities at Pats Peak. This year the main cafeteria will be transformed into an entirely new area. Guests will find the new cafeteria user-friendly, offering various food stations and additional food and drink options. The kitchen and prep areas will also be newly designed to provide the kitchen staff with more space and updated equipment.

"We continue our capital improvements every year to provide the best possible guest experience here at Pats Peak," says Kris Blomback, general manager of Pats Peak. "Every change, subtle or dramatic, is targeted to make the guest’s experience better. We are fortunate to have committed ownership that continues to re-invest wisely and in a timely manner allowing us to offer the very best product and service."