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MENTONE, AL – FEBRUARY 24, 2017: Gary Jones performs maintenance at Cloudmont Ski Resort. Jones, 58, was born in nearby Fort Payne and helped his family open Cloudmont in 1971 while still a teenager. "We made the first snow on Christmas night,” Jones said. "It was pretty cool.” Today, using 9 snow machines and 4 air water guns, Jones is able to cover parts of his property up to 15 feet of snow. Yet due to increasingly warm winters, ski resorts like Cloudmont are closing early across the region, leaving business owners grasping at other revenue streams. "This year we had five days of skiing,” Jones said. "So yeah, the business tough. Every time we make snow it’s $1,500 per night in electricity. It gets expensive.” Jones blames the warming weather for dwindling seasons and revenue. "This year it hit zero only one night, and then the next night it was up to 70. It just doesn't stay cold like it used to. It's crazy. But we just have to put up with it.” Jones also runs a small golf course on his property and is preparing to invest in zip lines and summer AstroTurf to offset lost revenue. "We were hoping this year would be a good year for skiing so we could invest with our own money. Looks like we're going to have to borrow.”
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© Bob Miller 2018
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MENTONE, AL – FEBRUARY 24, 2017: Gary Jones performs maintenance at Cloudmont Ski Resort. Jones, 58, was born in nearby Fort Payne and helped his family open Cloudmont in 1971 while still a teenager. "We made the first snow on Christmas night,” Jones said. "It was pretty cool.” Today, using 9 snow machines and 4 air water guns, Jones is able to cover parts of his property up to 15 feet of snow. Yet due to increasingly warm winters, ski resorts like Cloudmont are closing early across the region, leaving business owners grasping at other revenue streams. "This year we had five days of skiing,” Jones said. "So yeah, the business tough. Every time we make snow it’s $1,500 per night in electricity. It gets expensive.” Jones blames the warming weather for dwindling seasons and revenue. "This year it hit zero only one night, and then the next night it was up to 70. It just doesn't stay cold like it used to. It's crazy. But we just have to put up with it.” Jones also runs a small golf course on his property and is preparing to invest in zip lines and summer AstroTurf to offset lost revenue. "We were hoping this year would be a good year for skiing so we could invest with our own money. Looks like we're going to have to borrow.”