The unfortunate reality is that it is hard to run a ski resort with a 450 vertical drop and a maximum elevation of 1550 feet in the Catskills. There must be a lot of snowmaking, especially as winters become more unreliable, and that is extremely expensive.
The main population center is the NYC metro area, and the resort is 30 minutes farther than Mountain Creek, which is larger and relatively affordable. Even there, Mountain Creek with all of its size bled money for years before Snow Operating got it back on track. If families are seeking a smaller, more intimate experience, Campgaw is an hour closer as well. It is really only more convenient for residents of Orange and Sullivan Counties, which combines to a respectable ~450k people. However, Mt. Peter is decently well-run, similar in size, and closer to the population center of the much more populous Orange County, so people just tend to go there if they want a more intimate experience. Otherwise, Mountain Creek, Hunter, Windham, and Belleayre all provide a bigger mountain experience within a reasonable drive.
Maybe someone will come in, buy the resort, and revitalize it like Magic or Saddleback. However, this place will definitely need a lot of love to have a chance at being successful. Orange County is growing as people seek more affordable options farther and farther from NYC, but it may not bring enough skiers to save the mountain.
The lettering system is not really how they always referred to the lifts. The t-bars, rope tows, and lifts were all lettered A-H from looker’s left over to looker’s right. As lifts were removed over the years, the lettering was adjusted. As a result, the lifts listed as F & G were known as C & B, respectively, in their last years of operation, and the lift listed as D was known as C for a couple of years. They were just really referred to as Double, Triple, T-Bar, etc.
At one point, the mountain had two double lifts, two t-bars, and two Poma platters (in addition to two rope tows that would not have made it onto Liftblog). The Triple replaced one of the Poma platters in the late 90s, everything else was eventually removed without replacement. However, the lifts listed as D & E are still standing.
Utah Lost Ski Area ProjectJanuary 19, 2022 / 1:17 pm
Do you have a source that says the Poma triple was relocated from another mountain? While it doesn’t show up on trail maps until the mid 90s, sometimes the trail maps aren’t properly dated. A 1988 Poma triple shows up in the installation surveys under holiday valley, but the installation surveys have a track record of assigning lifts to resorts of a similar name. Holiday Valley at that time was building lifts from VonRoll and it wouldn’t make sense for them to have a one off Poma installation. Even if that were the case, I have yet to find it on an old trail map for Holiday Valley. The vertical of the 1988 Poma triple also makes more sense for the vertical of Holliday Mountain rather than Holiday Valley.
1988 seems right based on memory. I last skied there in the early 90s and it was installed a few years before that. My impression at the time was that it was new, and not relocated.
There were two of them at one time. The one on Roman Candle was removed when the triple was installed (believed to be 1988 based on the above comments). The one to the left of the New Year’s Eve was still there in the 90s, and I believe was removed sometime in the 2000s. See E and H on https://files.skimap.org/7q5lbxjje4p23ap34i6jjjiqv274
Thankfully for Holiday Mountain, it was recently sold to a new owner, Mike Taylor, who intends to reopen the lost terrain served by both double chairs. The plan for this winter is to reopen the “E” double chair and its terrain for skiing, which since Covid has been shuttered. The following summer, the E lift will be replaced with a Borvig quad from Massanutten, VA. Around that time, following major drainage and erosion work around the soon-to-be-former “D” lift, that terrain will reopen for the first time in 20 years.
Again- that is to be determined, unless they have already tested the E-Lift or are making plans to get it operational and up to safety standards. No one is posting about that part yet.
Lift Blog 
Why the abandonment of terrain and lifts?
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The unfortunate reality is that it is hard to run a ski resort with a 450 vertical drop and a maximum elevation of 1550 feet in the Catskills. There must be a lot of snowmaking, especially as winters become more unreliable, and that is extremely expensive.
The main population center is the NYC metro area, and the resort is 30 minutes farther than Mountain Creek, which is larger and relatively affordable. Even there, Mountain Creek with all of its size bled money for years before Snow Operating got it back on track. If families are seeking a smaller, more intimate experience, Campgaw is an hour closer as well. It is really only more convenient for residents of Orange and Sullivan Counties, which combines to a respectable ~450k people. However, Mt. Peter is decently well-run, similar in size, and closer to the population center of the much more populous Orange County, so people just tend to go there if they want a more intimate experience. Otherwise, Mountain Creek, Hunter, Windham, and Belleayre all provide a bigger mountain experience within a reasonable drive.
Maybe someone will come in, buy the resort, and revitalize it like Magic or Saddleback. However, this place will definitely need a lot of love to have a chance at being successful. Orange County is growing as people seek more affordable options farther and farther from NYC, but it may not bring enough skiers to save the mountain.
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The lettering system is not really how they always referred to the lifts. The t-bars, rope tows, and lifts were all lettered A-H from looker’s left over to looker’s right. As lifts were removed over the years, the lettering was adjusted. As a result, the lifts listed as F & G were known as C & B, respectively, in their last years of operation, and the lift listed as D was known as C for a couple of years. They were just really referred to as Double, Triple, T-Bar, etc.
At one point, the mountain had two double lifts, two t-bars, and two Poma platters (in addition to two rope tows that would not have made it onto Liftblog). The Triple replaced one of the Poma platters in the late 90s, everything else was eventually removed without replacement. However, the lifts listed as D & E are still standing.
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Do you have a source that says the Poma triple was relocated from another mountain? While it doesn’t show up on trail maps until the mid 90s, sometimes the trail maps aren’t properly dated. A 1988 Poma triple shows up in the installation surveys under holiday valley, but the installation surveys have a track record of assigning lifts to resorts of a similar name. Holiday Valley at that time was building lifts from VonRoll and it wouldn’t make sense for them to have a one off Poma installation. Even if that were the case, I have yet to find it on an old trail map for Holiday Valley. The vertical of the 1988 Poma triple also makes more sense for the vertical of Holliday Mountain rather than Holiday Valley.
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I think you solved the mystery. Thanks!
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1988 seems right based on memory. I last skied there in the early 90s and it was installed a few years before that. My impression at the time was that it was new, and not relocated.
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What happened to the 1969 platter? Where was it?
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There were two of them at one time. The one on Roman Candle was removed when the triple was installed (believed to be 1988 based on the above comments). The one to the left of the New Year’s Eve was still there in the 90s, and I believe was removed sometime in the 2000s. See E and H on https://files.skimap.org/7q5lbxjje4p23ap34i6jjjiqv274
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May need to change lift E Double from removed to operating. Per the video you posted they plan to have it operate this coming season one last time.
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That’s to be determined. When it was last used, it was in bad shape. Lots of issues from what a friend who lived nearby told me.
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Thankfully for Holiday Mountain, it was recently sold to a new owner, Mike Taylor, who intends to reopen the lost terrain served by both double chairs. The plan for this winter is to reopen the “E” double chair and its terrain for skiing, which since Covid has been shuttered. The following summer, the E lift will be replaced with a Borvig quad from Massanutten, VA. Around that time, following major drainage and erosion work around the soon-to-be-former “D” lift, that terrain will reopen for the first time in 20 years.
A good read that goes more in-depth about the new ownership and plans: https://www.stormskiing.com/p/long-declining-holiday-mountain-ny
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Again- that is to be determined, unless they have already tested the E-Lift or are making plans to get it operational and up to safety standards. No one is posting about that part yet.
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