Ski Mount Sundown: Fun Filled Adventure for Those Who Dare

Located in nearby New Hartford, Connecticut, Ski Sundown has been a popular ski destination for Connecticut residents as long as I can remember. I use to get excited about heading out to Ski Sundown as a child because of the beautiful ski conditions, trail diversity, night skiing and close proximity to my house and you can do the same, trust me.

For forty years, since its inception back in 1969, Ski Sundown has been dedicated to providing ideal ski conditions and an experience and thrill like no other. Having a number of amenities to make your stay fun and exciting, Ski Sundown offers all the benefits that you would expect with a larger ski area.

For the kiddies, Sundown offers vacation and weekend programs, ski rental, alpine and snowboard activities, mountain explorer program for the 11-15 age range, "Club Sundown" and Junior Ski Instructor Development course for good measure. So the kids have a variety of activities to keep them going and many of these programs are based on skill and the child's age.

Adults have their share of benefits as well. In addition to ski rental and various learn to ski programs, Sundown also offers the once-a-week program where skiers can ski once a week for the season at a reduced rate. Mid-week clinics are a great way to build confidence, improve their skills and meet new faces. For the female skier, "women in motion" and "Womens Evening Club" are available to rejuvenate, meet new people, connect and have a nice "Girls Night Out"!

A special program at Ski Sundown is also offered to those with physical, cognitive or developmental disabilities. Called Adaptive Lessons, this program offers disabled individuals a number of categories for training those possessing hearing or visual impairment, the use of two, three or four track skiers, bi-skiing and individuals with other developmental disabilities the ability to experience alpine skiing or snowboarding, no matter what learning style or ability they may possess. Ski Sundown is also affiliated with http://www.stride.org/, a non-profit organization that is associated with adaptive skiing and recreation for those with disabilities.

As for the mountain itself, Ski Sundown offers 15 trails, 14 of them available for night skiing as well. Of the 15 trails, 9 of these are categorized as easy or novice trails, 3 intermediate and 3 expert trails are also available. To get you to the top of the mountain and the 15 trails, Ski Sundown has 5 lifts: 1 conveyor, 3 triples and a double chair lift. The lift capacity associated with these lifts is 8,040 skiers per hour, so your wait time to get on a lift and decrease your amount of time skiing will be short for the most part.

The vertical drop associated with Ski Sundown is 625 feet, and the elevation is 1,075 at the top of the mountain and 450 at the base lodge area above sea level. All 15 trails are accompanied by snow making and their are also two terrain parks(stinger and sensation) for the adventuresome snowboarders out there.

Gunbarrel and Stinger are awesome for those experts out there as these trails offer speed, moguls, alot of times, and steepness. Nor' Easter and Canyon Run are popular with those intermediate skiers, or those novice skiers seeking a little more challenge and excitement. For the novice skiers, Big Bend and Sensation are a good place to start in the beginner area. These trails are short, wide open and not very long. If you want to upgrade and take a step up in your advancement you can take the chair lift to the top of the mountain and ski down, a personal favorite of mine, Tom's Treat, which is the longest trail by far at one mile in length. Papoose and Panhandle are also novice trails that branch off and revert back to Tom's Treat as another way down the mountain.

Ski Sundown also has a National Ski Patrol, First Aid facility, lounge, cafeteria, rental shop, ski shop and even a slow skiing area. Various lessons and ski packages exist as do events over the course of the ski season at Ski Sundown, so check in with the Ski Sundown website for all the news and gossip, not to mention the ski conditions and trails/lifts open on any given day!

Tips up and up to the top, have fun and be safe, ski under control at Ski Sundown!

http://www.skisundown.com/trails/