Blue Mountain Ski Area

Blue Mountain
Location	Lower Towamensing Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania
Nearest city	Palmerton, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°49′20″N 75°30′48″W / 40.82222°N 75.51333°W / 40.82222; -75.51333 (Blue Mountain)
Vertical	1,082 ft (330 m)
Top elevation	1,540 ft (470 m)
Base elevation	458 ft (140 m)
Skiable area	164 acres (0.66 km2)
Runs	39 total 15 easier 4 more difficult 11 most difficult 4 extremely difficult 5 terrain park
Longest run	6,400 ft (2,000 m)
Lift system	13 lifts: 3 double chairlifts 1 triple chairlift 1 high-speed quad 1 high-speed six-pack 4 surface lifts 3 rope tows
Lift capacity	13,500 skiers/hr
Snowfall	33 in (0.84 m)
Snowmaking	100%
Night skiing	100%
Website	http://www.skibluemt.com/

Blue Mountain resort is located near Palmerton, Pennsylvania, on Blue Mountain in the northern part of the Lehigh Valley, in Pennsylvania. Blue Mountain services the Allentown, Philadelphia, New York City, and Wilmington urban areas, as well as Carbon County, Schuylkill County, and the Hazleton area.

History

The resort was opened by Ray Tuthill^[1] in 1977 as Little Gap Ski Area;^[2] he re-established it as Blue Mountain in 1989.^[3] A new logo was needed for the new name. Ideas were submitted from across the nation but the final selection of the characteristic skier in the word "mountain", was created by local designer, Carol Stickles. The resort celebrated its 30th anniversary during the 2007-08 season.^[4]

In 2002 and 2003 Blue Mountain added two advanced runs and a teaching hill with two beginner slopes, fed by a triple chairlift and a conveyor lift. In 2006 the resort added eastern Pennsylvania's first high-speed six-pack chairlift.^[5]

In summer 2008 the resort implemented a $3.1 million upgrade for the 2008-2009 ski season. It included improvements to the resort's snowmaking equipment, a newly built dining facility, and the addition of a new intermediate trail between Razor's Edge and Paradise named Dreamweaver.^[6]

In 2009 Blue Mountain became the first PA ski resort and second resort in the country to have a BigAirBag which can be used to practice aerial maneuvers. As of the 2016-17 ski season the bigairbag is no longer in use. Blue Mountain added another PA ski resort first in 2011. They have partnered up with the United States Luge Association and will now be a US Luge Training and Recruitment site. Blue will have the only east coast Natural US luge track open to the public.

The Mountain

Blue Mountain has a summit elevation of 1,407 feet (429 m) and vertical elevation change of 1,087 ft (331 m), the biggest vertical drop of any ski resort in Pennsylvania.^[2] The Summit is accessed by a High Speed Quad and a Six Person lift along with 3 double chairs. A beginner trail and an intermediate trail run down the outer, eastern side of the north-facing slope; 4 expert runs follow the chairlifts to the bottom, and an access trail connects the summit to the western half of the resort.

Aerial View of Blue Mountain Ski Area

Three double chairlifts rise up the western side of the resort, accessing mixed Novice Intermediate and Expert terrain. The main resort lodge, located at the top of the mountain is accessible by car. A dedicated beginner section adjacent to the lodge is served by a double chair and two surface lifts. A beginner trail, Burma Road, connects to the beginner section at the bottom of the hill. A second lodge and the resort's snow tubing facility are also located at the bottom of the mountain near the Valley Lodge.

The resort has a total of 40q slopes. The trails offer a decent variety for all abilities of skiers and snowboarders. Blue Mountain has Glade Trails, Beginner-Expert, various Terrain park difficulties, and training slopes. The mountain has many high efficiency snow guns and annually add to the snow making capacity. Blue Mountain also uses Lift Line Ticket Scanners Via RFID Scanners at every lift for less wait. The mountain offers 39 snow tubing trails each 1,000+ feet long. They are the only mountain in PA that offers Family tubes, as well as single tubes with both day and night snow tubing.

There are 6 Terrain Parks which include Sidewinder Park, Terrain Run, Lower Sidewinder, Come Around Park & Central Park. The longest trail is 6,400 feet (2,000 m) in length; the mountain has 164 acres (0.66 km²) of skiing terrain. Although it receives an average of only 33 inches (840 mm) of natural snowfall per year, resort staff supplement it with 100% snow making coverage.

The resort hosts an alpine ski race team consisting of more than 125 USSA competitors and 75 developmental competitors. Its ski patrol is featured in the truTV reality series Ski Patrol.^[7] which aired in 2008/2009 Season.

To enhance the use of the ski hills facilities during non-winter months, the current CEO and daughter of founder Ray Tuthill has expanded the mountains operations to include mountain biking, a suspended rope expedition course, Slopeslide Pub and Grill, a world class disc golf course, a wedding venue, adventure camp, and Laser Tag. Blue Mountain also plays host to various other festivals throughout the course of the summer including Blue's Brew Fest and Oktoberfest, as well as an endurance Spartan Race. Blue Mountain has become a year round resort as opposed to a seasonal business.

Trails and Lifts

Trails

Trail Name	Length	Difficulty
Burma Road	4500'
Connector	670'
Easy Out	800'
Explorer Hill	255'
Finish Line	2224'
Homestretch	1700'
Little Gap	430'
Paradise	4176'
Pioneer Pass	400'
School Hill	500'
Shuttle	900'
Sky Top	400'
Valley School East	1200'
Valley School West	1200'
Vista	1300'
Dreamweaver	2500'
Lazy Mile	5000'
Switchback	3900'
Tut's Lane	1400'
Barney's Bumps	1140'
Blue Baumer Glade	520'
The Chute	700'
Crossover	400'
Lower Main St	1650'
Midway	900'
Razorback	550'
Sleepy Hollow Glade	400'
Upper Main St	1650'
Widow Maker	1300'
X-ing	690'
Challenge	3000'
Falls	350'
Nightmare	900'
Razor's Edge	3300'
Central Park	400'
Come Around Park	1700'
Lower Sidewinder Park	1740'
Sidewinder Park	3175'
Terrain Run Park	1200'
Yeti Park

Lifts

References

External links

• Blue Mountain Resort Official Web Site.