Blue Mountain Resort

Blue Mountain
Location	Lower Towamensing Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania
Nearest major city	Palmerton, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°49′20″N 75°30′48″W / 40.82222°N 75.51333°W / 40.82222; -75.51333
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 5 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 7 surface lifts
Lift capacity	13,500 skiers/hr
Snowfall	33 in (0.84 m)
Snowmaking	100%
Night skiing	100%
Website	https://www.skibluemt.com/

Blue Mountain Resort is a ski resort located near Palmerton, Pennsylvania, on Blue Mountain in the northern part of the Lehigh Valley, in Pennsylvania. Blue Mountain serves the Allentown, Philadelphia, New York City, and Wilmington urban areas, as well as Carbon County, Schuylkill County, and the Hazleton area. As of May 2021, KSL Resorts, which owns Camelback Resort, is now managing Blue Mountain Resort.^[1]

History[]

The resort was opened by Ray Tuthill^[2] in 1977 as Little Gap Ski Area;^[3] he re-established it as Blue Mountain in 1989.^[4] With a new logo needed for the new name, Tuthill asked people from across the nation to submit ideas. 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.^[5] In 2007, Barbara Green became the President and CEO of Blue Mountain, when she took over the resorts from her father and founder, Ray Tuthill. ^[6]

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.^[7]

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.^[8]

In 2009, Blue Mountain became the first Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania ski resort first in 2011. During their Winter Fest, Blue Mountain partners with the United States Luge Association and creates a natural luge.^[9]

In 2019, Blue Mountain resort expanded its RFID access. Also for the 2019-2020 season, Blue Mountain opened their 40th trail, appropriately named, "Coming Soon." It currently has no snow making on it. It is an ungroomed trail that features seven skiable acres and is only open when there is enough natural snow.^[10]

The Mountain[]

Blue Mountain has a summit elevation of 1,407 feet (429 m) and a vertical drop of 1,087 ft (331 m), the biggest vertical drop of any ski resort in Pennsylvania.^[3] The summit is accessed by a high-speed quad, a six-person lift, or three double chairs. A beginner trail and an intermediate trail run down the outer, eastern side of the north-facing slope. Four 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 road. A dedicated beginner section adjacent to the lodge is served by a double chair and one surface lift. 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 39 slopes. Blue Mountain has glade trails, beginner through expert, various terrain park installations, and training slopes. Blue Mountain uses RFID ticket scanners at every lift. The mountain offers 39 snow tubing trails, each over 1,000 feet (300 m) long.^{[citation needed]} They are the only mountain in PA that offers family-size tubes as well as single tubes, with both day and night snow tubing.^{[citation needed]}

There are five terrain parks, which include Terrain Run, Lower Sidewinder, Come Around Park, and Central Park. The longest trail is 6,400 feet (2,000 m) in length; the mountain has 164 acres (0.3 sq mi; 0.7 km²) of skiable terrain. Although it receives an average of only 33 inches (840 mm) of natural snowfall per year, natural snow is supplemented with 100% snowmaking coverage.

The resort hosts an alpine ski race team consisting of more than 125 USSA competitors and 75 developmental competitors.^{[citation needed]} Its ski patrol is featured in the reality series Ski Patrol.^[11] which aired on truTV in the 2008-2009 season.

In addition to a substantial ski race team, the mountain also boasts a large staff of ski and snowboard instructors. Ski and Snowboard lessons are broken into four different categories: Family and Friends Beginner Lessons, Private Lessons, Explorers Children's Lessons, and 4 Week Children's Winter Adventure Camp. ^[12]

Trails and Lifts[]

Trails[]

Trail Name	Length	Difficulty
Burma Road	4500'
Connector	670'
Easy Out	800'
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'
Sidewinder	3175'
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'
Coming Soon	2640'
Challenge	3000'
Falls	350'
Nightmare	900'
Razor's Edge	3300'
Central Park	400'
Come Around Park	1700'
Lower Sidewinder Park	1740'
Terrain Run Park	1200'
Yeti Park

Lifts[]

Climate[]

Valley Lodge at night with snow making machines on

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Blue Mountain Ski Resort has a Warm-summer Humid continental climate (Dfb). Dfb climates are characterized by at least one month having an average mean temperature ≤ 32.0 °F (0.0 °C), at least four months with an average mean temperature ≥ 50.0 °F (10.0 °C), all months with an average mean temperature ≤ 71.6 °F (22.0 °C) and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days are slightly humid at Blue Mountain Ski Resort, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with heat index values > 98 °F (37 °C). Since 1981, the highest air temperature was 100.5 °F (38.1 °C) on 07/22/2011, and the highest daily average mean dew point was 73.8 °F (23.2 °C) on 08/01/2006. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was 5.25 inches (133 mm) on 09/30/2010. During the winter months, the average annual extreme minimum air temperature is −7.0 °F (−21.7 °C).^[14] Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was −17.9 °F (−27.7 °C) on 01/21/1994. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values < −19 °F (−28 °C). Ice storms and large snowstorms depositing ≥ 12 inches (30 cm) of snow occur once every couple of years.

Ecology[]

According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Blue Mountain Ski Resort would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian Oak (104) with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern Hardwood Forest (23).^[16] The plant hardiness zone is 6a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of −7.0 °F (−21.7 °C).^[14] The spring bloom typically begins around April 22nd and fall color usually peaks before October 20th.

References[]

External links[]

• Blue Mountain Ski Resort Official Site