Thunder Ridge Ski Area

Thunder Ridge
Thunder Ridge Trail Map
Location	Patterson, New York
Nearest city	Patterson, New York
Vertical	600 ft.
Top elevation	1270 ft. [?]
Skiable area	90 acres (360,000 m2)
Runs	21 48% easiest 19% more difficult 33% most difficult
Lift system	3 chairlifts, 4 magic carpets
Terrain parks	Yes: Fawn Meadow, and Little Thunder (March Only)
Snowmaking	Yes, 90% coverage
Night skiing	Yes
Website	http://www.thunderridgeski.com/

Thunder Ridge is a small ski area located in Patterson, NY. Because it is located just 75 minutes from New York City, the mountain attracts skiers and snowboarders from across the New York area. While it does not receive a lot of snowfall, Thunder Ridge does have snowmaking capabilities which can cover 90% of the mountain. Because it is open at night, Thunder Ridge is a haven for high school ski racing. The mountain hosts part of Hudson Valley League racing.^[1] In 2014 the area came under management of the Putnam County National Bank after the previous managers retired.^[2]

Under previous ownership the mountain was known as Birch Hill (1957–1968), Big Birch (1968–1995), Thunder Ridge Ski Area (1995–present).

Trails

Thunder Ridge Ski area has 21 trails. 9 of which are accessible from the Triple Chair, 6 from the double chair, 2 from both chairs, and 4 bunny hills. It has 7 Black Diamonds 4 Blue Squares and 10 Green Circles.

Accessible from Triple Chair

Name	Rating
Lovers Lane
Fawn Meadow
Santa Fe
Evergreen
Sunset Run
Competition
Fools Delight
The Face
Blackberry Pass

Accessible From Double Chair

Name	Rating
Bull's Run
Don's Drop
Deer Pasture
Wildcat
Timber Wolf
Eagle's Lair

Accessible from Both Chairs

Name	Rating
Sissy Schuss
The Road

Bunny Hills

Name	Rating
Little Thunder
Fun Run
You Can Do It!
Movin Up

Lifts

Thunder Ridge currently has 3 chairlifts and 4 magic carpets. Sometime in the late 1950s and early 1960s, a T-Bar opened at Thunder Ridge, then called Birch Hill. This lift serviced the main part of the ski area. Numerous Tows were also installed on the mountain. Sometime in the 1960s, a Borvig Double Chairlift was installed. This lift was the longest lift in the ski area and went to the summit of Birch Hill. This is the oldest chairlift that still operates at Thunder Ridge. In about 1967, a short Double Chairlift was installed. This lift is the shortest chairlift in the ski area and was later superseded by a Conveyor lift (Magic Carpet lift) in the 2000s. In 1986, a Borvig Triple Chairlift was installed at the ski area, now called Big Birch, to supersede and eventually replace the T-Bar lift. The T-Bar was left to run backup but stopped spinning years later. It currently sits abandoned to this day. In the early 2000s, 4 Magic Carpet lifts were installed on Thunder Ridge to replace the Tows. Remnants of the tows can still be seen to this day.

References

External links

• Thunder Ridge Ski Area-Official Website

Coordinates: 41°30′26″N 73°34′52″W / 41.50722°N 73.58111°W / 41.50722; -73.58111