Oak Hill, the rise of land above Storrs Pond, has played a central role among Hanover skiers since it opened in the early 1930s. Dartmouth College built and operated the ski area, with its modest 350 vertical feet, for alpine skiers. In 1935, the college installed a J-bar, one of the first overhead cable lifts in the United States. Oak Hill remained both the college’s and the community’s local ski area until the 1950s when the Dartmouth Skiway opened. Thus started its transformation into what’s now the Oak Hill Outdoor Center, a Nordic skiing gem.

The Oak Hill Outdoor Center is quickly becoming one of the region’s standout cross-country skiing facilities thanks to a new competition loop with snowmaking and other amenities, all added within the last two winters. Getting to that point took much longer.

Margaret Caldwell and three other volunteers after a long but productive day prepping Oak Hill for snow. Photo by Bill Young.

 

 

The Dartmouth Dilemma

For decades, Oak Hill has been the Dartmouth Nordic Ski Team’s home trail system, but the team had two challenges. The trails did not meet modern national and international competition standards, and it frequently suffered from lack of snow.

“This project started over a decade ago,” says John Morton of Morton Trails, the former Olympian and Dartmouth head Nordic coach who designed the new competition loop. “About 15 years ago, college cross-country ski racing expanded to include the sprint race. Different events are spread out through the winter, mixing skating and classic distances, relays, and sprints. For their Carnival races, one year a college might get a 15 km Classic and a skate relay. The next year it might be a skate sprint and something else.”

According to John, Dartmouth didn’t have a sprint course, which has become an integral part of the sport. What’s more, as American Nordic racers started doing better internationally—many of them from Dartmouth—the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS), the international governing body of skiing and snowboarding that sanctions college racing, decided to not recognize results on nonhomologated courses, not only at Oak Hill but also at other sites that regularly hosted elite races like Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, Jackson Ski Touring Center, and Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe.

“To meet these international standards, at Oak Hill, we made many sections wider, especially on the climbs,” explains John. “Three skiers need to skate side by side, unobstructed, which is about 30 feet wide.”

Currently, the new competition loop at Oak Hill, which opened last winter, is 3.3 km long and entirely covered with machine-made snow. “When you ski it, it strikes you as wide for a cross-country ski trail,” says John. “There’s lots of climbing, but there are options for cut-offs. It was built on what was there. Nordic trails are not like tennis courts or baseball diamonds, which are always the same. Every ski trail has its own character.”

The Nordic coaches and the athletes at Dartmouth are certainly excited for the upgrades at Oak Hill, especially the ability to make snow. “It’s a huge deal for the cross-country ski team,” says Cami Thompson, Dartmouth’s director of skiing and the women’s head Nordic coach. Cami and the other Dartmouth coaches used to drive the team regularly to Craftsbury, Vermont, and other regional Nordic ski centers to find snow. “Before, it was like showing up for a soccer game but they hadn’t cut the grass in 10 days,” relates Cami. “Now, we can plan a workout and know we can do it, versus seeing what the conditions are and then needing to find a different spot. It makes a big difference! We don’t have to cobble workouts together like in the past.”

Reliable snow also helps with recruitment. Dart-mouth competes for top athletes against schools that offer athletic scholarships, but Dartmouth can only offer scholarships based on financial need. Before the upgrades at Oak Hill, the longstanding enticement was the opportunity for athletes to go to national and international competitions outside the NCAA circuit. Now Dartmouth can offer skiing less than two miles from campus. The rest of the Hanover community has this benefit, too.

A Community Asset

Though the Dartmouth Ski Team has wished for snowmaking at Oak Hill for many years, it was Peter Milliken, a former competitive Nordic skier at Williams College, Ford Sayre Ski Club coach, and a parent of two Nordic skiers, who ultimately brought the numerous stakeholders, including Dartmouth College, Hanover Improvement Society, Hanover school system, Ford Sayre, and the newly formed Friends of Oak Hill to the table and got the funding together.

“There was so much interest in the community [in cross-country skiing] and an amazing group of volunteer and part-time coaches at Ford Sayre, but the number-one threat was lack of snow,” recalls Peter. “We asked Dartmouth College to collaborate on improving Oak Hill, to do it together and make it a community-led operation. That led to a feasibility study cofunded by the community and Dartmouth. At first, it was unclear why Dartmouth would yield this asset to us, but the feasibility study allowed us to get to know each other and gain credibility.
It also showed how much community enthusiasm there is.”

Dartmouth owned some of the land for the proposed trail improvements, and some of it was owned by the Hanover Improvement Society (HIS). The HIS also controlled the water for the snow guns, which needed to come from Storrs Pond. According to Jeffery Graham, HIS general manager, the decision to participate was easy once the community support became apparent.

Then COVID hit shortly after the feasibility study was completed, delaying the project. Finally, in April 2022, Peter spearheaded the formation of the Friends of Oak Hill, doing business as Oak Hill Outdoors Center, with Matt Rightmire, another local cross-country skier. Peter is currently the president, and Matt is the treasurer of Friends of Oak Hill. There is also a board of directors. The college agreed to work with this community-led nonprofit organization to share in the $6 million cost to develop the terrain, snowmaking, lights, and other needs.

For last winter, the competition trail was completed and snowmaking was installed, just in time. 2024 was one of the worst snow years on record. In March, when Great Glen near Gorham was unable to host the New Hampshire High School Nordic Skiing Championships due to lack of snow, Oak Hill stepped up. “Hanover used to be a snow desert,” says Peter. “It’s low, in the Connecticut River Valley, and snowstorms tend to go around us. The community has come together to see this resource flourish.”

The community is still supporting Oak Hill. Last September, 150 volunteers showed up to rake, seed, and smooth out the stadium area, the large field at the base of Oak Hill. “There were people ages 5 to 85,” says Peter. “It was so cool to see so many people spend time to make Oak Hill better.”

This winter, Dartmouth has contributed its Nordic ski assets, including rental gear that is free to skiers, buildings, and grooming equipment. Lessons will be offered again. Other improvements include a new warming hut, a shed to shelter the grooming equipment, a new cut-off trail called High Road, so skiers can avoid the biggest downhill and uphill sections of the competition loop, and lighting. “Now people with day jobs have a place to ski in a central location,” says Peter. “A new slice of the community will be able to ski on a regular basis, including Matt and me. We didn’t get out much last year, but we’ve promised ourselves to get out five days per week this winter. The lights are going to help!”

“This is a game-changer not only for Dartmouth but also for high school cross-country skiers, Ford Sayre, and people in the community who enjoy Nordic skiing,” says John.

“Oak Hill is challenging, but it’s also fun to ski,” agrees Cami. “Before, our courses were hard and narrow. Now tons of skiers can ski at once without a problem. The energy is so positive, not just in the winter. People are out there, mountain biking, hiking, and walking their dogs the rest of the year.”

The Oak Hill Outdoor Center is a shining example of how many independent entities can work together for a common goal that serves a wide variety of needs. “Skiing is an important part of the culture of this place,” says Peter. “It’s unique. We’ve got world-class racers and kids who simply want to get competent on skis.” Regardless of why each skier heads to Oak Hill this winter, one thing’s for sure. There will be snow and many smiles. 

Oak Hill Outdoor Center

59 Oak Hill Drive

Hanover, NH

oakhilloutdoorcenter.org