Ascutney Mountain Resort

Infobox ski area
name = Ascutney Mountain Resort

picture =
caption =
location = Brownsville, Vermont, US
nearest_city =
lat_d =
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top_elevation = 2520 ft (768 m)
base_elevation = 720 ft (219 m)
skiable_area = 200 acres (.81 km²)
number_trails = 57
longest_run = 2.5 mi (4 km)
liftsystem = 5 chairs, 1 surface lifts
terrainparks = 1
snowfall = 16.7 ft (5.1 m)
external_link = [http://www.ascutney.com/ Ascutney Mountain Resort] |

Ascutney Mountain Resort is a ski area located on the western side of Mount Ascutney in Brownsville, Vermont. It opened in the winter of 1946 under the ownership of Catharine Cushman. Since 1993, it has been owned by Steven and Susan Plausteiner.

History

The Mt. Ascutney Ski Club cut the first trail at Ascutney in 1938. Skiers initially had to hike up the mountain to be able to ski down the trail, now known as Screaming Eagle. In 1946, Catharine Cushman, with the help of others, began to develop real estate on the mountain, in essence opening Ascutney as a ski area. It wasn't until the second year, 1947, that two rope tows were installed to take skiers up the mountain. The first groomer was bought in 1947, while snowmaking was installed ten years later, when the ski area was owned by John Howland.

More recently, when Summit Ventures owned Ascutney, they invested $80 million into operating the resort, but had to file for bankruptcy in 1990. After three years of closure, the current owners, Steven and Susan Plausteiner, from New York City, bought Ascutney for over one million dollars. Improvements under the Plausteiners include snowmaking coverage being expanded to 95% of the skiable area and installation of a high-speed detachable quad chairlift in 2000 from the bottom of the mountain to a new, higher peak.

Mountain statistics

Elevation

*Base: 1,144 ft (348 m)
*Summit: 3,344 ft (1019 m)
*Vertical drop: 2,200 ft (670 m)

Trails

*Skiable area: 200 acres (0.81 km²)
**Glades: 50 acres (0.20 km²)
*57 trails
**14 novice - 24.5%
**22 intermediate - 38.5%
**21 advanced and expert - 37%
*Longest trail - 2.5 miles (4 km)

Lifts

*6 total
**1 high-speed detachable quad chair
**3 triple chairs
**1 double chair
**1 surface lift

External links

* [http://www.ascutney.com/ Ascutney Mountain Resort official site]