Montage Mountain is a

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

in Pennsylvania, located from downtown

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

. It is located about northwest of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. There are 26 trails, two terrain parks, and one of Pennsylvania's longest snow tubing areas. The mountain has a summit elevation of and a vertical drop of .

History

Ownership

From 1984 to 1991, Montage Mountain was owned and run by Montage, Inc, a non-profit corporation. The ski area was developed with a blend of public and private money. Public funding was provided by federal economic development funds and a county bond. In 1979, the land was purchased from Pennsylvania Gas & Water Co. for $14 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Construction began in January 1984 and was completed in time for the grand opening in December. Lackawanna County purchased the ski resort in 1991 for $14.7 million (equivalent to $ million in ). In 2006, Lackawanna County sold the ski area to Sno Mountain, LP, a Philadelphia-based investment group, for $5.1 million. The ski area was renamed Snö Mountain. Sno Mountain, LP filed a Chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy in 2012, claiming upwards of $24 million in debt. National Penn Bank purchased the property at auction for $4.6 million in March 2013. The original name, Montage Mountain, was restored in May 2013 when the area was sold to real estate company Jefferson-Werner for $5.1 million.

Terrain

Montage opened to the public in 1984 with seven trails and three fixed-grip triple chairlifts. An experts-only North Face complex was opened in 1987. North Face featured one black diamond trail (Cannonball) and two double-black diamond trails (Smoke and Boomer). A third double-black-diamond trail, White Lightning, was added in the late 1990s. North Face is served by a fixed-grip quad chairlift.

Skiing at Montage Mountain

Montage Mountain has 27 ski and snowboard trails, including White Lightning, the 2nd steepest trail in the Eastern United States. It has a mid-mountain lodge with a full service bar and restaurant open to the public during open seasons. Above the lodge are beginner and intermediate slopes. Below the lodge are advanced and expert slopes. This advanced area is locally known as North Face; it features the steepest skiing in Pennsylvania. Montage Mountain has two

terrain parks A terrain park or snow park is an outdoor recreation area containing terrain that allows skiers, snowboarders and snowbikers to perform tricks. Terrain parks have their roots in skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built re ...

with jumps, rails, and features ranging from beginner to expert. Montage also has a gladed ski trail.

Trails

Beginner trails (green) are the Learning Area, Limited (the bunny slope), Runaround, Easy Street, Highball, and Mainline. Intermediate trails (blue) are Spike, Switch, Whistler, Upper Runaway, Upper Fast Track, Snake, Nordic, Sidewinder, and the Glades. Advanced trails (black diamond) are Lower Fast Track, Lower Runaway, Rattler, and Cannonball. Expert trails (double-black diamond) are Smoke, Boomer and White Lightning. White Lightning is the signature slope of Montage Mountain.

Mountain Statistics

Montage Mountain rises from a base elevation of to a peak elevation of . The mountain has a vertical drop of , tied for third-highest in Pennsylvania.

Lifts

*5 fixed-grip

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. Th ...

s: :*Shuttle (triple) :*Short Haul (double) :*Iron Horse (triple) :*Long Haul (triple) :*Phoebe Snow (quad) *2

magic carpet lifts Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

:*One along the

snow tubing Tubing, also known as inner tubing, bumper tubing, towed tubing, or kite tubing, is a recreational activity where an individual rides on top of an inner tube, either on water, snow, or through the air. The tubes themselves are also known as "donu ...

tracks; :*One for beginning skiers.

Trails

The trail difficulty breakdown is: *35% beginner *30% intermediate *20% advanced *15% expert There is also a snow tubing area.

Summer

Montage Mountain Waterpark is located on ski area grounds. It features six water attractions including a lazy river,

wave pool A wave pool is a swimming pool in which there are artificially generated, large waves, similar to those of the ocean. Wave pools are often a major feature of water parks, both indoors and outdoors, as well as some leisure centres. History T ...

tornado (ProSlide ride) The Tornado is a water slide manufactured by ProSlide Technology. It requires riders to sit in a 2-6 seater round tube. Riders drop from inside a tunnel out into the ride's main element shaped like a funnel on its side. Riders oscillate from one s ...

, and

water slides A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of Playground slide, slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides re ...

. Dry attractions include batting cages, beach volleyball,

tetherball Tetherball is a game where two players use their hands to strike a volleyball which is suspended from a stationary metal pole by a rope or tether. The two players stand on opposite sides of the pole, and each tries to hit the ball one way; one ...

mini-golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

, and the ZipRider, a quad cable ride.

References

External links

Official Montage Mountain Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montage Mountain Ski areas and resorts in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Scranton, Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Scranton, Pennsylvania