| I visited Mt.
Storm on 9/13/03 and met Steve Herman, the son of the owners. Steve's
parents bought the ski area in 1975, at a time when it was not operating.
The area had been in operation since the 1950's. The Herman's reopened and
operated the area until 1987 when the lodge burned due to arson. Steve's
brother died in the fire. The arsonist was never found and the insurance
was never collected. Due to the high cost of insurance and renovations
needed, the area remains closed today.
The area has 3 main slopes with
interconnecting trails. It sits on 52 acres which they still own.
The ski area faces north, so it holds the snow longer. It is 240'
vertical feet.
When the Herman's operated the area Steve used to manage and
maintain it. He also used to make snow. They had a 50HP electric
pump and 7 snow making guns giving an output of 2000 CFM. Steve
installed $3000 in Metal Halide lights for night skiing which were
only used for two years until it closed. You can see the area from
the highway and everyone thought it looked beautiful at night when
the lights were on and they were making snow. Steve still keeps the
grass mowed on the slope.
Mt. Storm has a T-Bar which is still fully intact with its T's on. A
Borvig double chairlift was installed to access new terrain which
had not been lift serviced. The lift was hardly used (if at all) and
it was later sold to another ski area out of state, possibly in
Maine. The lifts were 480 volts and 3 transformers were used to
power the area. A Mighty Mite handle tow was sold to Thunder Ridge,
where it still operates today. Rope tows and towers from an old Poma
lift also still remain. The Appalachian Trail was moved from nearby
to cross over the top of Mt. Storm.
Area
Statistics: According to a White Book listing Mt. Storm had a 600 ft.
vertical drop and was served by 1 chair, 1 t-bar and
2 tows. It was open 7 days a week and had night skiing on Friday and
Saturday. Instruction was available and the area had snowmaking.
|
An aerial view of the ski area, just
off Route 84. |
