Over the past several decades, DCSki has operated as an independent source of information about skiing in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond. Since the mid-1990s, the site has published nearly 2,000 original stories, built an extensive collection of objective resort profiles, preserved the history of 126 lost ski areas in our Lost Areas section, and hosted a forum community that remains knowledgeable, passionate, and respectful.

From the beginning, DCSki has been funded primarily through advertising, supplemented by reader donations. In the early years, many local ski areas were independent operations, and several supported DCSki through sponsorships. Over time, that environment has changed. Advertising budgets have shifted heavily to large social media platforms, and the ski industry has consolidated under multinational corporations that generally work through ad agencies focused on those platforms rather than independent sites.

More recently, independent publishers have faced another challenge: large-scale AI scraping. Some bots now request tens of thousands of pages per day from DCSki, incorporating our original reporting and forum content into their models. While DCSki content is sometimes credited, there is no revenue-sharing mechanism. When readers visit DCSki directly, advertising provides at least some support. When content is consumed elsewhere, it does not.

DCSki has always been run as a sole proprietorship. Advertising revenue and donations have been reinvested to cover hosting, software, development, and other fixed operating expenses, which have increased with inflation. I plan to continue operating DCSki for years to come and to preserve the decades of stories and forum posts that remain fully available online. To make that sustainable, the site will need to rely more on reader support.

DCSki will remain free and open to everyone. However, readers who choose to contribute receive a few optional benefits. Supporters receive a badge next to their forum username and may select their advertising preference: show all ads, show only non-intrusive local ads, or remove ads entirely. These benefits last 12 months from the time of donation.

There is no minimum donation required to receive these benefits. Even $5 is appreciated. The average contribution over the past few years has been $32. Donations are not tax-deductible.

If you would like to help support DCSki’s continued operation, you can learn more or make a contribution here:

If you have a DCSki Message Forum account, you may include your forum username in the note field on the PayPal page so your account can be updated to reflect Supporter status.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed in the past and to all who participate in and read DCSki. Your involvement is what has made the site what it is.