Hunter Mountain (ski area) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hunter Mountain
Snowboarder at Hunter Mountain
Location	Hunter, New York, U.S.
Nearest city	Kingston, New York, U.S.
Coordinates	42°12′01″N 74°13′49″W / 42.200278°N 74.230278°W / 42.200278; -74.230278
Vertical	1,600 feet (490 m)
Top elevation	3,200 ft (975 m)
Base elevation	1,600 ft (488 m)
Skiable area	320 acres (130 ha)
Runs	67, beginner 25%, intermediate 30%, advanced 30%, expert 15%
Longest run	2 mi (3.2 km)
Lift system	13 chairlifts; 1 Carpet Lift; 1 Pony Lift
Lift capacity	19,390 passengers/hr
Terrain parks	4
Snowfall	120 in (305 cm) annual average
Snowmaking	Yes
Night skiing	No
Website	https://www.huntermtn.com

Hunter Mountain is a popular ski resort in Greene County, New York. It's about a three-hour drive northwest of New York City. This resort is known for its impressive 1,600-foot (488 m) vertical drop, which is the difference between the highest and lowest points you can ski.

Since it first opened in the late 1950s, Hunter Mountain has used lots of snowmaking equipment. This helps make sure there's always enough snow for skiing and snowboarding, even when natural snowfall is low.

Besides skiing, the resort also offers snow tubing, which is a fun way to slide down hills. Hunter Mountain has four special areas called terrain parks. These parks are designed for freestyle skiing and snowboarding tricks. The resort often hosts exciting events for these sports during the ski season.

The Story of Hunter Mountain

How Hunter Mountain Began

In the mid-1950s, some local business people, like Orville and Israel Slutzky, wanted to help their area. The economy was struggling after big events like the Great Depression and World War II. They saw that skiing was becoming very popular. So, they thought about turning Hunter Mountain into a ski resort.

They tried to get the state to build a ski area, but it didn't work. Then, they contacted a sports editor named Denise McCluggage. They told her they would give away land to anyone who would build a ski area called Hunter Mountain. Her article caught the eye of a group of people from Broadway shows.

This group formed the Hunter Mountain Development Corp. They were the first to run Hunter Mountain. James Hammerstein, whose father was the famous Oscar Hammerstein II, led the group. Many Hollywood and Broadway stars were part of it. The Slutzky brothers provided most of the land and did the construction. Work on the ski area began in the summer of 1959. The group had two main rules: the resort had to be called "Hunter Mountain Ski Bowl" and it needed snowmaking. Snowmaking was a new and exciting technology back then.

Opening Day and Early Years

Hunter Mountain first opened its slopes on January 9, 1960. The "B" Lift was ready for skiers. The "A" Lift, which goes to the top, was finished later. The old Starr Hotel served as the first main building for skiers. When the first operating company faced financial trouble, the Slutzky brothers took over in 1961.

In the summer of 1962, the "A" lift was completed, opening up more skiing to the mountain's summit. Over the next few years, new trails were created. More snowmaking equipment was also added. For a few summers, starting in 1963, Hunter even offered summer skiing on plastic chips! Night skiing also began in the winter of 1963 but stopped in 1972.

Hunter Mountain

Big Changes and New Features

In the summer of 1964, construction started on the main building you see today. It opened on December 12, 1964. This new lodge had a large dining room, a swimming pool, and other facilities. The "D" Lift, the first triple chairlift at Hunter Mountain, opened in December 1967. That same winter, Hunter Mountain became the first ski area in the world to have snowmaking from the very top of the mountain all the way to the bottom. New trails were also developed on the "East Side" of the mountain.

In 1969, trails on "Hunter West" were built, and the "Z" Lift opened for that area. The Summit Lodge, a building at the top of the mountain, was also built that summer. Hunter Mountain started its first summer festival in July 1975. These festivals grew bigger each year. By 1980, Hunter Mountain was the first ski area in the world to have snowmaking on 100 percent of its trails!

Modern Upgrades and Ownership Changes

Many improvements continued through the years. In 1987, the SnowLite Express Quad chairlift was built. New additions were also made to the base lodge. In 1989, Hunter became the first ski area in the U.S. to use an automated snowmaking system. This system could be controlled from a distance.

In 2010, the old AA- Snowlite Express lift was replaced with a new, faster six-person chairlift called the Kaatskill Flyer. More snow guns were added too. In 2011, another big change happened: a new high-speed quad lift, the Zephyr Express, was installed on the west side. This replaced two older lifts.

Orville Slutzky, one of the original founders, passed away in 2013. Hunter Mountain remained family-owned for a few more years. In late 2015, Peak Resorts bought Hunter Mountain, ending over 50 years of family ownership.

In 2018, Hunter Mountain announced a big expansion called the Hunter North Expansion. This added 9 new runs and a new high-speed six-person chairlift. It increased the skiable area by 33 percent! This was the largest ski resort expansion on the east coast of the United States in over 15 years. With two six-person chairlifts, Hunter Mountain became the only resort in New York State with two such lifts.

In 2019, Vail Resorts bought Peak Resorts, which meant Hunter Mountain became part of the Vail Resorts family. This allowed Hunter to accept Epic Passes for the 2019–20 season.

Most recently, in 2024, Vail Resorts made more big improvements. They replaced the "B Lift" with a new, faster six-person lift called the "Broadway Express." They also added 141 new automated snow guns to make snowmaking even better.

Lifts at Hunter Mountain

Hunter Mountain has 10 chairlifts and 2 magic carpets to take skiers and snowboarders up the mountain. Here's a look at some of them:

Snowmaking at Hunter Mountain

Hunter Mountain is famous for its snowmaking abilities.

• 1967: Hunter became the first place in the world to make snow from the very top of the mountain all the way to the bottom.
• 1980: It was the first ski area to have snowmaking on 100% of its trails.
• 2006: Over 1,100 snowguns (machines that make snow) were installed. Many are on tall towers. This helps the snow freeze better as it falls. Hunter has enough air and water to run half of its snowmaking machines at once, even when conditions aren't perfect.
• 2014: A new pumping system was added to help with snowmaking.
• 2015: Automated snowmaking was added to several trails, allowing snow to be made from top to bottom automatically. Before this, only one trail had automated snowmaking. A new air compressor also replaced an older system.
• 2024: Hunter Mountain added 141 more automated snow guns.

Grooming the Slopes

Grooming is when special machines smooth out the snow on the trails. This makes for a better and safer skiing experience. Hunter Mountain uses a fleet of grooming machines. These include LMC 4700s and Pisten Bully Edges for regular grooming. They also have a PB300 Winch Cat for grooming very steep slopes. For the Empire Park and Half Pipe, they use a Pisten Bully Park Bully and Pipe Magician. There's also an LMC 3900 used in the Snowtubing park.

Each grooming machine has special flexible roto-tillers. These tools create a very smooth and consistent snow surface. The idea for these flexible tillers actually started at Hunter Mountain! They worked with LMC to create them, and now these tillers are used all over the world. Hunter Mountain still uses some of the very first flexible snow tillers ever made.