Gunstock Area Commissioners Jade Wood and Doug Lambert, far left and far right, present a check for Gunstock Mountain Resort’s annual contribution to the Belknap County budget, this year totaling more than $351,000. Also pictured are Commissioners Glen Waring, second from left; Peter Spanos, center; and Stephen Hodges, second from right. (Courtesy photo)

Gunstock Area Commission Chair Doug Lambert and Vice Chair Jade Wood presented the county’s cut of Gunstock Mountain Resort’s annual earnings to the Belknap County Commissioners at their meeting Monday evening. The check, according to comments by Lambert, represents the highest annual payment the mountain has made to the county.

Per state law, the county-owned ski resort must put 1.75% of its yearly gross operating income into county coffers each year after completion and approval of its annual audit. For the 2022-23 fiscal year, Gunstock paid the county $351,901.21 — up from about $320,000 the prior year and from about $220,000 the year before.

The increase demonstrates continued growth for the ski mountain, even in a fiscal year sparse on snowfall and marked by the dramatic shutdown in the summer of 2022.

“This represents the culmination of a community-wide effort to make sure that Gunstock was restored to full operations in time for the winter season,” Wood told commissioners at the check presentation. “This exact amount is very reflective of what we all came through in order to secure such a success at the mountain.”

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