SAM Magazine—L’Anse-Saint-Jean, Quebec, and Enfield, N.H., Dec. 31, 2024—Two community-owned ski areas have forged a unique partnership. Starting this winter, season pass holders from Mont Edouard in Quebec and Whaleback Mountain in New Hampshire have unlimited reciprocal access at no additional cost.

“As community-owned ski areas, we share the same values and mission: to make

skiing accessible while fostering a sense of community,” said Mont Edouard general manager Marc-André Busque. “This alliance is a significant step forward in promoting collaboration between independent resorts.”

Busque told SAM that the relationship came about after he and members of his team watched the Teton Gravity Research film “Mountains Not for Profit,” which features Whaleback. “We were truly inspired and moved by the Whaleback story and decided to reach out via email for this partnership,” he said, noting that Mont Edouard and Whaleback face similar challenges, “but we keep fighting for our respective communities because we understand the socioeconomic importance of ski areas located in small villages and municipalities.”

Whaleback is owned and operated by the nonprofit Upper Valley Snow Sports Foundation (UVSSF), which took over in 2013 after the ski area’s previous owners entered foreclosure. Mont Edouard’s assets (groomers, snow guns, chairlifts, land, etc.) are owned by the municipality of L'Anse-Saint-Jean, and it is operated by the nonprofit L'Anse-Saint-Jean Development Corporation.

The partnership includes “operational collaborations,” which Busque said will likely include the sharing of knowledge between the two teams, as well as getting their respective ticket offices aligned to make the reciprocal arrangement work. The ski areas run on different ticketing technologies, so “there are some logistics challenges that we are working on right now,” he said.

Busque sees this as the potential start of a collective of community mountains. “My dream would be to have a season's pass that allows you to ski in a dozen similar mountains that share values such as slow tourism, sustainable development, and that are pillars for their respective county/region,” he said.

While offering a limited number of free or discounted visits to other ski areas has long been a benefit that many independently owned resorts provide to their season pass holders, unlimited reciprocity is unusual. Mont Edouard appears to be more open to the idea. In April, the ski area reached a similar agreement with Mount Bohemia, Mich.—which, like Mont Edouard, offers a variety of advanced terrain, including inbounds backcountry—for the 2024-25 season that offers pass holders unlimited reciprocal visits. 

Both partnerships require pass holders to be residents of their respective countries to take advantage of the reciprocal benefit (for example, a Canadian can’t buy a Mount Bohemia pass and ski at Mont Edouard for free).