At the end of each ski day, skiers gathered at the base of the "liftline" to experience a very popular attraction. The mountain offered a 1,900 foot vertical descent to the valley floor. At the time, this was a unique feature not found at any ski area in the East. The SKI SPREE developed its own reputation which reinforced the total dynamics of Bearpen Mountain.

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In February, skiing enthusiast, Lloyd Lambert, came to the ski area. Ben showed him the many improvements he had made since the opening the year before. Lambert expressed his overall exhilaration and was especially impressed with the PLUNGE trail.

Later that season, Lloyd Lambert wrote a most favorable article on what he experienced that day.

By April 9th, ten feet of snow was recorded by the United States Weather Bureau. The public enjoyed the operation until May 6th; however, skiing actually lasted until May 20th on the upper level (3,600 feet to 3,000 feet elevation). This year's operation was a total success with an excellent profit derived.

  In its first two seasons, Bearpen Mountain offered 317 days of skiing with a more than 12 inch average snow depth making for the longest operation of any ski area in the East  during the same time period.

Summer 1956, Ben commissioned Slutzky Construction Company to create his designs with the use of their bulldozers. Orville and Israel Slutzky would later create Hunter Mountain Ski Area in 1960. They worked on a new trail named BEARPEN RUN and accomplished numerous modifications associated with tie-ins to existing trails. Ben worked with Art Christian digging holes for use of dynamite.

As the summer ended, the community was starting to understand that the ski area was becoming part of their lives. They were bonding in preparation for the season to come.

As was usually the case, the mountain saw its first snow in early November.

(Click on picture for more views of this time period)