It was a long time coming but Rob Peterson of Plymouth Mountain was ready.

Peterson was the first person to ride the chairlift just after 9 a.m. Friday, official opening day for Tenney Mountain Ski Area a dozen years after it last operated for a full season.

Peterson, who skied Tenney with his brother in the 1980s, was among the small crowd ready to celebrate the rebirth of Plymouth’s local snowsports mountain.

Tenney isn’t the only mountain trying to relaunch this winter. Granite Gorge in Roxbury reopened its tubing runs in January, two years after it shut.

Tenney was built in 1960 by Sam Hall, a World War II veteran of the fabled 10th Mountain Division, a skiing unit of the U.S. Army, and thrived for a quarter century but then suffered years of turmoil under four owners before shutting in 2010.

Massachusetts businessman Michael Bouchard bought it in 2015, then sold it last year to another Massachusetts businessman, Steven Kelly. Between them they spent millions on upgrades and Kelly has plans for much more in years to come, although they’ve been slowed by the pandemic.

This year’s reopening, coming as it does more than halfway through a disappointing snow season, is designed mostly to build excitement and perhaps spur some season-pass purchases for next year.

For details, see www.skitenney.com.

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