Catamount Ski Area

Infobox ski area
name = Catamount Ski Area

picture =
caption =
location = Hillsdale, New York, US
nearest_city = Great Barrington, Massachusetts (7.5 Miles), Poughkeepsie, New York (53 Miles), New York, New York (129 Miles), New Haven, Connecticut (83 Miles)
top_elevation = convert|2000|ft|m|abbr=on
vertical_descent = convert|1000|ft|m|abbr=on
skiable_area = convert|119|acre|km2
number_trails = 32
longest_run = 2.5 mi (7 km)
liftsystem = 4 chairs, 2 surface lifts, 1 Quad, 1 Triple, 2 Doubles
terrain_parks = 4
snowfall = 75"
external_link = [http://www.catamountski.com/ Catamount Ski Area] |

Catamount Ski Area is a ski resort located on Mount Fray of the Taconic Mountains in Hillsdale, New York and South Egremont, Massachusetts. It is one of the few remaining family-owned ski areas in New England.

History

Catamount first opened for business in 1939 with three rope tows. Decades later, Bill Gilbert and Don Edwards took over management, purchasing Catamount in 1974. Since the change in ownership, many trails and lifts have been added. In addition, snowmaking coverage has been increased from 25% to 98%. [cite news | url=http://www.catamountski.com/mountain/history.cfm | title=A History of Catamount | date=February 9, 2007 ]

In 2006, the summit double chairlift was replaced with a fixed grip quad chairlift.

Mountain statistics

Elevation

*Vertical drop: convert|1000|ft|m|abbr=on

Trails

*Skiable area: convert|119|acre|km2
*32:*10 novice - 40%:*10 intermediate - 27%:*12 advanced and expert - 33%
*Longest trail - convert|2.5|mi|km Ridge Run to Upper and Lower Promenade

98% of the acrerage of the trails are covered by snowmaking.

Trail Map

*(m) - trail with moguls most of the time when conditions provide
*(t) - terrain park with various jumps and features including rails and halfpipes
*(n) - no snowmaking

Lifts

*6 total:*1 quad chairs:*1 triple chairs:*2 double chairs:*2 surface lifts

Lodges

*Main Base Lodge: located at the base of the ski area
*Taconic Lodge: temporary lodge located at the bottom of the mountain near the Ridge Quad.

Condominum development

In the coming years, a 126 condominum complex is planned. In addition to the condominiums, additional retail, dining, and recreational facilities are expected to be constructed.

Related links

[http://www.catamountski.com Catamount Ski Area]

[http://www.onthesnow.com/MA/104/skireport.html On The Snow - Catamount Ski Area Reviews]

[http://skiing.about.com/od/newyorkskiresorts/p/catamount.htm Catamount at About.com]

[http://www.snocountry.com/snowclient/displayinfox.php?skiarea=Catamount&permcode=413005&from=profile&state=MA Catamount at SnowCountry.com]

References