Industry News
Hunter Mountain ski resort in the Catskills, NY, was closed yesterday because several ski patrollers had to take off work due to covid-19 precautions.
In a Facebook post by the Vail Resorts owned resort, the ski area said employees and guests’ safety are their top priority. They always ensure that they have sufficient safety personnel available for mountain operations before opening. In yesterday’s case, they did not.
Hunter Mountain will not be opening today, Jan. 5. The safety of our employees and guests is our top priority and we will always ensure that we have sufficient safety personnel available for mountain operations prior to opening. Unfortunately, this morning at Hunter Mountain, a number of ski patrollers excluded out of work relating to COVID-19 and as such we will not be opening the mountain. Guests who arrived to the resort but were unable to ski or ride are being provided with a complementary lift ticket coupon for use on another day. We will be assessing our ability to operate tomorrow, Jan. 6, and will share that information as soon as possible later today. We sincerely apologize to our guests for the inconvenience.
– Hunter Mountain Facebook post
Several commenters on the post, who showed up hoping to enjoy a new 4-inch snowfall, were unhappy with the resort’s lack of communication, many having traveled hours to be there. A number of commenters also questioned the resort’s covid reason, instead sharing unsubstantiated rumors of striking patrollers unhappy with their benefits following the Vail Resorts takeover. Other replies downplayed this, including some from resort employees.
In another Facebook post later in the day, the resort confirmed that they would also be closed today, Wednesday 6th January, and are looking into the rest of the week.
Hunter Mountain is a ski resort located in Greene County, New York, about three hours northwest of New York City in Hunter, New York. It features a 1,600-foot (488Â m) vertical drop.
From its inception in the late 1950s, the management of Hunter Mountain has employed extensive snowmaking facilities. Hunter was the first ski destination in the state of New York to install snow-making, the first in the world with top-to-bottom snow-making, and the first in the world to have 100-percent snow-making coverage of the mountain.
The resort offers snow tubing as well as skiing. Hunter Mountain also features four terrain parks and holds freestyle events throughout the ski season.
In July 2019, Peak Resorts was acquired by Vail Resorts. The transaction closed on September 24, 2019, and Hunter Mountain began accepting Epic Passes for the 2019-20 season. The 2020-21 season saw RFID gates from SKIDATA and more Vail Resort-like features.
