Mount Snow

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title: "Mount Snow" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["buildings-and-structures-in-windham-county,-vermont", "geography-of-windham-county,-vermont", "landforms-of-windham-county,-vermont", "mountains-of-vermont", "peak-resorts", "ski-areas-and-resorts-in-vermont", "tourist-attractions-in-windham-county,-vermont"] description: "Ski resort in Vermont, United States" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Snow" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Ski resort in Vermont, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox ski area"]

Field	Value
name	Mount Snow
logo	[[File:Mount Snow Logo.svg
picture	MountSnowWinter.jpg
caption	Winter view of Mount Snow.
location	Dover, Windham County, Vermont, USA
coordinates
status	Operating
owner	Vail Resorts
top_elevation	3600 feet
base_elevation	1900 feet
skiable_area	601 acre
number_trails	86
longest_run	Long John (3.1 mi)
liftsystem	19 lifts
terrainparks	10
snowfall	150 in
snowmaking	83%
nightskiing	No, only tubing
external_link
::

|name= Mount Snow |logo=[[File:Mount Snow Logo.svg|200px]] |picture=MountSnowWinter.jpg |caption=Winter view of Mount Snow. |location=Dover, Windham County, Vermont, USA |nearest_city= |coordinates= |status= Operating |owner= Vail Resorts |top_elevation= 3600 feet |base_elevation= 1900 feet |skiable_area=601 acre |number_trails=86 |longest_run=Long John (3.1 mi) |liftsystem=19 lifts |terrainparks=10 |snowfall=150 in |snowmaking=83% |nightskiing=No, only tubing |external_link= ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/MountSnowSummer.jpg" caption="Mount Snow summer"] ::

Mount Snow (previously known as Mount Pisgah) is a mountain and ski resort in southern Vermont located in the Green Mountains. It is Vermont's southernmost big mountain, and therefore, closest to many Northeast metropolitan areas.

In September 2019, Mount Snow joined Vail Resorts' portfolio of 37 resorts and its Epic Pass, along with all other 16 resorts owned by Peak Resorts

Mount Snow is home to Carinthia Parks, which debuted in the 2008–2009 season. Carinthia is home to ten terrain parks, with both natural and man-made features and a superpipe. Mount Snow was co-host of the first Extreme Games in 1995 and host of the X Games in 2000 and 2001. Carinthia at Mount Snow claimed home to the second stop of the first annual winter Dew Tour as well as many other events including the Freeski Open and Carinthia Classic.

In the summer of 2011, Mount Snow installed a brand new Leitner-Poma high-speed detachable six-pack bubble chair. This lift transports skiers to the top of the mountain in seven minutes. The bubble shields skiers and riders from wind and snow and keeps them warm. If it is a warm skiing day riders can choose to leave the bubble up. As of 2022, Mount Snow has two high-speed detachable lifts from the base to the 3600-foot summit and a total of six high-speed detachable chairlifts, one leaving from the Carinthia Base Area, one leaving from the Sunbrook base area and four leaving from the Main Base Area.

Statistics

Summit Elevation: 3600 ft

Vertical Drop: 1700 ft

Skiable area: 600 acre

Annual Average Snowfall: 158 inches

Trails: 86

Lifts: 19: 1 High-Speed Six-Pack Bubble, 1 High-Speed Six-Pack, 4 High-Speed Quads, 5 Triples, 2 Doubles, 5 Conveyors, 1 Rope Tow

Snowmaking: 83%

Total Snowguns: 917, of which 250 are fan guns. Mount Snow has the most fan guns of any resort in North America.

Terrain Park Acres: 100

Gladed Tree Acreage: 124

Tubing: Yes

Night Skiing: No

History

Entrepreneur Walt Schoenknecht, who ran the Mohawk Mountain Ski Area in Connecticut, visited Vermont in 1946 in search of an area to open a new ski resort. He climbed to the summit of Mount Pisgah, a Southern Vermont peak originally named after the Biblical Mount Pisgah. Despite Schoenknecht's hike being in October, the mountain had over a foot of snow. Schoenknecht, who wanted an area with more snowfall than further south but still accessible to New England's metropolitan areas, and with varying terrain over different faces, saw Mount Pisgah as perfect. In 1953, he purchased land at the foot of Mount Pisgah owned by a farmer named Reuben Snow, who would become the namesake for Schoenknecht's ski area and later the government-recognized name for the peak.

In December 1954, Mount Snow opened to the public with five trails on the lower portion of the mountain, serviced by a rope tow and two double chairlifts. The lifts, named Little Beaver and Exhibition (later renamed to Standard), were chain-driven conveyor lifts built by Ramsey. Their unique design allowed them to carry significantly more skiers uphill than other ski lifts of traditional design. A total of six of these lifts were constructed over Mount Snow's first five seasons. Along with the original two were Summit (1955), Mixing Bowl (1956), Sap Bucket (1957), and South Bowl (1958). The last of these lifts to be removed was Mixing Bowl in 1997.

Complaints over the chain lifts being loud and occasionally dripping grease on riders led to the mountain beginning construction of traditionally designed chairlifts, beginning with the Beaver and Sundance doubles, built by Carlevaro & Savio in 1960. The Sundance chair came along with the opening of the Sundance base lodge. Around this time Mount Snow began advertising itself as "World's Largest, Most Exciting Ski Resort." Walt Shoenknecht, who once said, "a skier won't let you stand still...you must provide something new, something tremendously exciting every year to get him back," designed many unique and expensive features. This led to some referring to him as the "Walt Disney" of Vermont. Extravagant features included a Carlevaro & Savio tram from the nearby Snow Lake Lodge known as the Air Car, an outdoor heated pool, and a large fountain geyser in Snow Lake, which would form a small ski hill that would at times last past the end of the ski season.

For the 1959-1960 season, Mount Snow opened the North Face, an area of the mountain dedicated to expert terrain. The North Face double, a traditionally designed lift, opened in 1963 to service the area. The lift was later upgraded to a triple chair in 1987 and renamed to Outpost in the early 2000s.

In 1965, Mount Snow opened the G1, a Carlevaro & Savio bubble double chair. Closer to a bubble chair than a gondola, it was built as a skis-on gondola due to Walt Schoenknecht not wanting to take his skis off due to back problems. A second gondola of the same design, the G2, was built for the 1969-1970 season.

In 1969, the Sunbrook area opened, a trail complex on the southern side of the mountain. It was serviced by a Carlevaro & Savio double chair named Sunbrook.

Financial struggles began to arise in the early 1970s due to low-snow seasons and increasing expenses. In 1971, Mount Snow merged with the Davos Corporation. Bankruptcy in 1975 led to a 1977 purchase by the Sherburne Corp., ran by the owner of Killington Ski Resort further north in Vermont. It was later rolled into S-K-I Ltd. (Sherburne-Killington-Investments) in 1984.

After the 1977 purchase, many featured deemed unnecessary were removed, including the Air Car, pool, and fountain. By this time, Mount Snow had built only double chairlifts, including the Carlevaro & Savio Snowdance double (1961, later renamed to Standard) and the Canyon (1971) and Ski School (1972, later renamed to Lower Sundance and then Seasons) doubles, both built by Hall Ski-Lift, along with the previously mentioned chairs. In 1978, under new ownership, Mount Snow constructed the Summit Triple (later renamed to Summit Local), its first triple chair, built by Yan Lift. In the 1982-1983 season, Challenger, a Yan triple, was added to the North Face. Two years later, the Sundance, Little Beaver, and Beaver double chairs were replaced by the Sundance and Beaver Yan triple chairs. In 1985, the G2 gondola was replaced by another Yan triple, Ego Alley.

In 1986, Mount Snow purchased Carinthia, a ski area directly next to Mount Snow on the same mountain. The trails were quickly connected. Carinthia had opened in the 1960-1961 season, built by Walter Stugger, who named the area after the Austrian state of Carinthia. Carinthia had numerous land disputes with Mount Snow throughout its time as an independent area. At the time of its sale, Carinthia had two ski lifts and a rope tow. Ski Baba, a Borvig-built double chair, was built in 1979, and Carinthia, another double chair, was installed by Riblet in 1983. In 1987, Mount Snow replaced the rope tow with a Yan double chair named Fairway (later renamed to Old Ironsides for a short time and then to Heavy Metal).

In 1987, Mount Snow joined many of its competitors in installing a high-speed detachable chairlift, the Yankee Clipper quad, which was built by Yan. It replaced the aging G1 gondola lift.

In 1990, the Sunbrook area was greatly expanded. The original Sunbrook double chair, which was renamed to Beartrap a few years before, received minor upgrades. CTEC (now under Doppelmayr USA) installed the Sunbrook quad chair to service the newly expanded terrain.

In 1991, Mount Snow began a three-year lease of the Haystack Mountain Ski Area, a ski area a short distance away. They later purchased the resort entirely in 1994 for $4.35 million. Plans to connect Mount Snow and Haystack with trails and lifts via the Deerfield Ridge never came into fruition. Haystack was sold in 2005 and closed to the public, becoming a private ski area under the name of the Hermitage Club.

Un Blanco Gulch, the first snowboard park in the east, opened in 1992 on Mount Snow's main base. The park featured jumps, a half-pipe, quarter hits, spines, wedges, banked turns, and a buried van. It was built by Tyler Doucette under the supervision of Chris Bluto. In the 2008-2009 season, all terrain parks on the mountain were moved to Carinthia, which became an area servicing only park trails, known as Carinthia Parks at Mount Snow. In 2000, Mount Snow hosted the 4th Annual Winter X-Games. The Games returned to Mount Snow the following year.

In 1996, LBO Resort Enterprises purchased Mount Snow along with numerous other ski areas and was renamed to the American Skiing Company. The same year, Mount Snow installed its second high-speed detachable lift, the Canyon Express quad built by Poma, replacing both the Standard and Canyon fixed-grip double chairs. Along with the new lift, Poma heavily modified the Yankee Clipper lift. Accidents involving Yan detachables had killed three people between Sierra-at-Tahoe and Whistler Blackcomb due to poor grip mechanisms.

In 1997, the Carinthia Riblet double was replaced by another Poma high-speed quad, the Nitro Express. The opening of the Grand Summit Hotel the same year led to the Beaver chair being relocated as Tumbleweed as the Sundance base and the moving of the Ego Alley chair's base terminal to slightly further uphill to make room for the new building. The Yankee Clipper, renamed to Clipper for the 1996-1997 season, was again renamed to its current name of the Grand Summit Express.

Mount Snow's most recently built fixed-grip chair, the Discovery Shuttle, was installed in 1998. The lift, a Yan triple chair, was purchased from another resort, as Yan had gone bankrupt two years earlier after their detachable accidents.

In February 2007, Mount Snow was bought by Peak Resorts.

In 2011, Mount Snow replaced the aging Summit Local fixed-grip triple with the Bluebird Express, New England's first high-speed detachable six-pack bubble. The lift was installed by Leitner-Poma, who also renovated the Grand Summit Express the same year with terminal upgrades and new chairs.

On September 24, 2019, Peak Resorts, along with Mount Snow, was purchased by Vail Resorts, joining Vail's portfolio of 37 resorts and its Epic Pass.

Mount Snow's most recent chairlift changes occurred in 2022. The Sunbrook quad was replaced by a high-speed quad, the Sunbrook Express. The Sundance Express, a high-speed six-pack, replaced both the Tumbleweed and Sundance fixed-grip triples. Both lifts were installed by Doppelmayr..

Mount Snow's Kelly Clark, bronze medalist of 2014 Olympic Women's half-pipe, won the first American gold medal of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in women's half-pipe. She is a graduate of the Mount Snow Academy and the first athlete from Mount Snow to win an Olympic gold medal. Another Mount Snow Academy graduate, Devin Logan, won the silver medal of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in the Olympic debut of slopestyle. Eliza Outtrim, who placed 6th in women's moguls, also attended MSA.

In January 2009, Mount Snow hosted the winter Dew Tour. It was the first action sports tour for winter sports and is owned and operated by Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports. Many of the top athletes in action sports from around the world participated in the Winter Dew Tour. Athletes such as Shaun White, Hannah Teter, Tanner Hall, Andreas Wiig, Gretchen Bleiler, Simon Dumont, Sarah Burke, and Travis Rice all vied for the Dew Cup, awarded at season's end.

Climate

|location = Mount Snow Peak 42.9601 N, 72.9241 W, Elevation: 3432 ft (1991–2020 normals) |single line = y

|Jan high F = 24.4 |Feb high F = 26.4 |Mar high F = 33.6 |Apr high F = 45.6 |May high F = 57.8 |Jun high F = 66.0 |Jul high F = 70.3 |Aug high F = 69.2 |Sep high F = 63.4 |Oct high F = 51.5 |Nov high F = 39.3 |Dec high F = 29.6

|Jan mean F = 16.1 |Feb mean F = 17.2 |Mar mean F = 24.4 |Apr mean F = 35.9 |May mean F = 47.4 |Jun mean F = 56.0 |Jul mean F = 60.5 |Aug mean F = 59.3 |Sep mean F = 53.5 |Oct mean F = 42.1 |Nov mean F = 31.5 |Dec mean F = 22.0

|Jan low F = 7.7 |Feb low F = 8.0 |Mar low F = 15.2 |Apr low F = 26.2 |May low F = 37.1 |Jun low F = 46.1 |Jul low F = 50.7 |Aug low F = 49.3 |Sep low F = 43.6 |Oct low F = 32.6 |Nov low F = 23.7 |Dec low F = 14.4

|precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 5.54 |Feb precipitation inch = 4.43 |Mar precipitation inch = 5.18 |Apr precipitation inch = 5.37 |May precipitation inch = 5.17 |Jun precipitation inch = 5.89 |Jul precipitation inch = 5.02 |Aug precipitation inch = 5.53 |Sep precipitation inch = 5.33 |Oct precipitation inch = 6.25 |Nov precipitation inch = 5.19 |Dec precipitation inch = 6.56

|source=PRISM Climate Group{{cite web |url= https://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ |title= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |publisher= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |access-date= October 22, 2023 |quote= To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button.}}

Lifts and trails

Trails

Number of Trails: 86

• [[File:Ski trail rating symbol-green circle.svg|13px]] 16% Novice
• [[File:Ski trail rating symbol-blue square.svg|13px]] 66% More Difficult
• [[File:Ski trail rating symbol-black diamond.svg|13px]] 17% Most Difficult
• [[File:Ski trail rating symbol-double black diamond.svg|13px]] 1% Expert

Mount Snow is made up of four separate mountain areas: Main Face, North Face, Sunbrook, and Carinthia. The Main Face can be divided into smaller areas named for its main chairlifts, most notably the Sundance base area, which features a lodge and two chairlifts, the Sundance Express and Seasons. At the base of Main Face is the Launch Pad, a learning area adjacent to the ski school's Discovery Center serviced by a triple chairlift, Discovery Shuttle. The North Face, fittingly located to the north of Main Face, is home to some of Mount Snow's most advanced terrain, including its only double-black diamond, Ripcord. Opposite of the North Face on the southern face of the mountain, is Sunbrook, which offers scenic intermediate-level trails. Carinthia, which has its own base lodge, is home to the biggest terrain park in the east; with 11 terrain parks, 125+ features, a mini-pipe and a superpipe with 18-foot walls. The parks range from expert to beginner-level features.

Lift system

Mount Snow has 19 lifts. This includes six detachable chairlifts, seven fixed-grip chairlifts, and six surface lifts.

Main Face: ::data[format=table] | Number | Lift Name | Type | Builder | Built | Length (feet) | Ride Time | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 4 | Covered Bridge | Magic Carpet | | | | 2 mins | | 5 | Mercury | Magic Carpet | | | | 1 min | | 7 | Sundance Express | High-Speed Six | Doppelmayr | 2022 | 6397 | 6.5 mins | | 9 | Canyon Express | High-Speed Quad | Poma | 1996 | 5506 | 4.5 mins | | 11 | Grand Summit Express | High-Speed Quad | Yan/Poma/Leitner-Poma | 1987 | 7320 | 7.5 mins | | 12 | Ego Alley | Triple | Yan | 1985 | 4806 | 9 mins | | 16 | Seasons | Double | Hall | 1972 | 485 | 3 mins | | 17 | Bluebird Express | High-Speed Six Bubble | Leitner-Poma | 2011 | 7236 | 7.2 mins | | 24 | Voyager | Rope Tow | | | | 1 min | | 25 | Gemini | Magic Carpet | | | | 1 min | | 27 | Apollo | Magic Carpet | | | | 1 min | | 28 | Discovery Shuttle | Triple | Yan | 1998 | 350 | 1.2 min | ::

Carinthia Lifts: ::data[format=table] | Number | Lift Name | Type | Builder | Built | Length (feet) | Ride Time | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Grommet | Magic Carpet | | | | 2 mins | | 2 | Nitro Express | High-Speed Quad | Poma | 1997 | 5029 | 5.6 mins | | 3 | Heavy Metal | Triple | Yan | 1987 | 3239 | 7.2 mins | ::

North Face: ::data[format=table] | Number | Lift Name | Type | Builder | Built | Length (feet) | Ride Time | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 10 | Outpost | Triple | Carlevaro & Savio/Yan/CTEC | 1963 | 3939 | 8 mins | | 18 | Challenger | Triple | Yan | 1982 | 3700 | 7 mins | ::

Sunbrook: ::data[format=table] | Number | Lift Name | Type | Builder | Built | Length (feet) | Ride Time | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 14 | Beartrap | Double | Carlevaro & Savio/Yan | 1969 | 977 | 2 mins | | 19 | Sunbrook Express | High-Speed Quad | Doppelmayr | 2022 | 4396 | 4.5 mins | ::

Year-round services

Mount Snow has a variety of dining and retail options. Naturespa in the Grand Summit Resort Hotel offers an array of spa services and Mount Snow has a variety of lodging properties. Mount Snow Realty is also available for buying and selling homes in and around the valley.

Recent capital projects

In the fall of 2017, Mount Snow completed a $30m snowmaking expansion and upgrade project of replacing miles of snowmaking pipe across the mountain to maximize the 645 new low-energy fan guns and built a new 120 million gallon snowmaking pond, called West Lake. The winter of 2018/2019 also saw the completion of the $22M Carinthia Base Lodge in the Carinthia Base Area, which broke ground in June 2017.

Summer operations

Mount Snow is one of the first ski resorts in the nation to offer lift service mountain biking. Mount Snow Bike Park is open for downhill mountain biking, golfing is at Mount Snow Golf Club, and hiking and scenic chairlift rides. Outdoor Exploration Camp provides kids and teens with daily activities and adventures.

References

References

1. "Epic Season Pass | Epic Season Pass".
2. "Upcoming Events | Carinthia Parks at Mount Snow".
3. "The Mountain".
4. "The Mountain".
5. "Mount Pisgah Becomes Mount Snow".
6. "Mount Snow History".
7. "Remembering the 'Walt Disney of Vermont'". [[Stowe Reporter]].
8. "Mt Snow skilift pictures".
9. "Carinthia History".
10. "Deerfield Ridge at Mount Snow".
11. "Carinthia".
12. "The Yan Detachable Quad: Skiing’s Most Dangerous Lift".
13. "Mount Snow ski maps".
14. "Mt. Snow, VT".
15. Kilgore, Adam. (12 February 2018). "U.S. snowboarder Kelly Clark backs into halfpipe finals, among those she inspires". [[The Washington Post]].
16. (November 2021)
17. "Discovery Shuttle - Mt. Snow, VT".
18. "Newschoolers Park Poll 2018 - Top Five East Coast Parks".
19. (5 December 2015). "Mt. Snow, VT".
20. "Dining".
21. "Retail".
22. "Naturespa".
23. "Your Stay".
24. "Meet our Real Estate Agents | Mount Snow Realty".
25. "Mountain Biking".
26. "Golf".
27. "Scenic Chairlift Rides".
28. "Outdoor Exploration Camp".

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