Gunstock Adventure Park is closed indefinitely, employees of the New Hampshire institution announced Thursday.
While they didn't say why the Gilford park, which features a zipline tour, ski lift rides and more, had closed, Gov. Chris Sununu said the management team resigned en masse and blamed local officials' "inability and unwillingness to work collaboratively with" them.
A note on the Gunstock Mountain Resort Facebook page, signed by employees, said it was "closed until further notice. We truly apologize for any inconvenience or letdown this may cause our guests. Please know that we are just as bummed as you are and hope to see you soon."
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A shorter note was posted to the Gunstock website. NBC10 Boston has reached out to administrators at Gunstock to ask what prompted the closure.
Gunstock General Manager Tom Day told The Laconia Daily Sun that the mass resignation, which he characterized as the "nuclear option," was made because the Gunstock Area Commission was moving to take greater day-to-day control of the resort, which is a financially independent organization under the commission's management.
Sununu's letter called Gunstock Mountain Resort, which contains the adventure park, "one of the jewels of the lakes region," and tore into some of the commissioners as having lost the trust of Belknap County citizens.
"These individuals have made bad decisions, and until they are removed from their positions and replaced with good people who recognize the wonderful asset that Gunstock is, the County will continue to suffer," Sununu said.
A former ski resort CEO, Sununu vouched for Gunstock's management team and said he'd called Day to say that he and his team could always come work at the New Hampshire Parks Department.
"Their loss is immeasurable for Gunstock and we all hope that this crisis can be avoided," he wrote.
