Deirdre Riley begins tenure as Crotched Mountain general manager

Deirdre Riley started in her new role at Crotched Mountain general manager on Nov. 25. (Attitash Mountain)

Monday marked the first day on the job for Deirdre Riley, who takes over as the general manager at Vail-owned Crotched Mountain in Bennington, N.H.

She spent the last four-plus years as the senior mountain operations manager at Attitash. She also has had stops at Stowe, Canyons, Park City and Crested Butte.

“My time at Attitash Mountain has been some of the best in my 25 years in the ski industry,” Riley said in a statement. “I am so grateful to the Attitash team, our guests and community for all they have shown me during my time at Attitash. I am over the moon to be joining the Crotched team and have a lot to learn about the day into night skiing and riding, Midnight Madness, and the stellar team and community that calls this mountain home. I so am excited to start my next chapter at Crotched.”

Crotched Mountain has 25 trails and 5 lifts over 100 acres with 1,000 vertical feet. It has night skiing until 9 p.m., and will be open until midnight on Jan. 18, Feb. 1, Feb. 22 and March 8.

During Deirdre’s time at Attitash, she built strong relationships with the team and the community by actively participating in various resort and community events, including White Mountains Pride Fest, Seek the Peak, Oktoberfest and the inaugural SheShred’s women’s clinic and panel, according to Vail Resorts.

“With nearly 25 years in the ski industry, Deirdre brings a wealth of experience to her new role as GM of Crotched and has demonstrated a remarkable ability to develop high-performing leadership teams, create strategic long-term plans, and build connections with community members,” Okemo vice president and general manager Bruce Schmidt, who also oversees operations at Crotched Mountain and Mount Sunapee, said in a statement. “She is known for her dedication to fostering growth among her team members and advocating for and providing inclusive access programming for young skiers and riders. We are excited to see the impact she’ll have on Crotched Mountain, the team and the community.”

Riley joined Attitash in September 2020, and Vail said she was crucial role in connecting Attitash with the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly through her engaging videos that highlighted projects around the mountain, was essential to the resort’s resilience.

She was at Attitash during a massive upgrade to the resort with the Mountaineer, a high-speed detachable quad, which opened last season and cut the ride time to the summit by more than half of the previous triple chair. She was also there for the Progression Quad, which opened at the start of the 2022-23 season.

Riley takes over at Crotched Mountain for Susan Donnelly, who became the Mount Sunapee GM in early October.