The long-established Mt. Aggie dry ski slope at Texas A&M University in America has been damaged in a windstorm, and the university is now fundraising for a new surface for the slope.

Mt. Aggie, located on the university’s West Campus, was established more than five decades ago. Established in 1971, it is believed to be North America’s longest surviving dry slope.

However the slope has been unusable since last November when a windstorm seriously damaged the surface,

“The surface was ripped up and when we tried to repair it, we found extensive damage to the substructure,” Frank Thomas, associate department head for kinesiology and sport management and chair of the Physical Education Activity Program (PEAP), told local media adding, “It was damaged to a level that made it nonrepairable.”

The hope is to completely renovate the entire structure at an estimated cost of $800,000, which  includes demolishing all the substructure, replacing the plywood with cement, reshaping the mountain and adding all new surface material.

The university has started a ‘Mt. Aggie Excellence Fund’ and hope that former students with fond memories of Mt Aggie will be among the donors.