Basecamp Podcast: New operator Geoff Homer and GM Molly Gilleece have big plans for Blue Hills

Geoff Homer was granted the license to operate Blue Hills Ski Area in Canton, Mass., for the next five years. (Blue Hills)

A fresh set of eyes can go a long way toward making improvements. For Blue Hills Ski Area in Canton, Mass., Geoff Homer is that set of eyes.

Homer, who ran Shawnee Peak (now Pleasant Mountain) with his father before they sold the mid-sized Bridgton, Maine, mountain to Boyne Resorts in 2021, was granted a five-year lease to operate the ski area in the Blue Hills Reservation by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation over the summer.

Big Blue, where so many skiers started their love of sliding on snow, is getting a boost, with Homer introducing snowtubing to the hill, purchasing two groomers and upgrading the snowmaking system before the season gets going.

Along with general manager Molly Gilleece, Homer stopped by the New England Ski Journal studio to join co-hosts Mike Specian and Keith Pearson on the Basecamp podcast to discuss Blue Hills’ future.

(Keith Pearson is the editor of the New England Ski Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].)

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Highlights

What is your vision of Blue Hills?

Our vision as a team is to make Blue Hills the best that it can be with what we have. We’re very fortunate that the location of Blue Hills is just fantastic to introduce literally millions of people to the sport.

We’re fortunate to have a great partner in DCR, who’s the firm owner of the ski area. But you asked me what the vision is, and we’ve got quite a bit going on right now. We are completely reimagining and reviving the experience over there. All of the facilities have been upgraded, cosmetically, structurally. We’ve doubled our snowmaking capacity. We are putting in all new energy-efficient snow guns, we have a completely brand-new rental fleet, new tuning equipment, a new point-of-sale system, new website, our new logo, you name it. We’re trying to pull all this off in three months, and I think we’re doing OK. – Geoff Homer

What makes Blue Hills special?

I think Blue Hills is so special for a lot of reasons. Blue Hills has a lot of historical value in the ski industry, so that is a big part of Blue Hills. The accessibility of Blue Hills having such an awesome place to learn skiing so close to an urban area — we’re actually the closest ski area to any major city in the U.S., which is a Blue Hills fun fact.

It’s just such a special place. Being able to see so many people try the sport for the first time and then convert them into lifelong skiers and riders is such a great opportunity there. – Molly Gilleece

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