Mount Snow history starts with a Connecticut ski operator, a farmer’s last name, and a very large idea. The resort that sits about 3 miles (roughly 7 minutes) from our front door opened on December 12, 1954, and the decades since have included a heated pool, a gondola, a bankruptcy, and several changes of ownership. Knowing the story makes a day on the mountain more interesting, and it explains a few oddities you will notice on the trail map.
Walt Schoenknecht and the Land Beneath Mount Pisgah
Walt Schoenknecht already ran Mohawk Mountain in Cornwall, Connecticut, when he began scouting Vermont for a bigger mountain. Mount Snow’s own history page credits him as the visionary founder, and accounts of the mountain’s early days say he first visited Vermont looking for a site in 1946. In 1953 he bought land at the foot of what was then called Mount Pisgah from a farmer named Reuben Snow, whose name the resort still carries.
Opening Day: December 12, 1954
The lower mountain opened to the public on December 12, 1954, and the upper mountain followed about a year later. Roughly 500 skiers turned out that first day. Early lifts used an unusual chain-driven design, and Wikipedia’s account of the resort counts six of them built in the first five years. Mount Snow still marks December 12 as Founders Day; the resort celebrated its 60th anniversary on that date in 2014, so the milestone is easy to plan a visit around. Schoenknecht had bought the land the year before for a reported $15,000, and within a few seasons had turned a quiet farm hillside into what boosters were already calling the premier winter playground of the East.
The Walt Disney of Skiing
Schoenknecht built for spectacle, and the press compared him to Walt Disney for it. Along with the ski terminal, he added an outdoor heated pool (reported at 96 degrees) and an indoor skating rink, a combination almost no other ski area offered in the 1950s, plus a fountain geyser at Snow Lake and an aerial “Air Car” tram. He was also an early believer in man-made snow: during a drought around 1949 to 1950 he worked with Larchmont Engineering on some of the first modern snow guns, the ancestor of the snowmaking that keeps the mountain open today.
His biggest idea never happened. In 1963 Schoenknecht floated a plan to set off an atomic bomb at the base of the North Face to blast out a bowl for expert skiing, pointing to a federal test blast that had left a crater about 1,200 feet across and 320 feet deep. The government would not hand a ski-area operator a nuclear device, so the scheme died on paper. Tamer milestones from his era stuck: a gondola in 1965 and the opening of the sun-facing Sunbrook area in 1969, still one of the four faces you can ski today.
Bankruptcy, New Owners, and Carinthia
The spending caught up with the mountain. Mount Snow filed for bankruptcy in 1975, and in 1977 the Sherburne Corporation, which ran Killington, bought it. Carinthia, a neighboring ski area that opened around 1960, joined Mount Snow in 1986, and that is why the resort now has four distinct mountain faces: Main Face, North Face, Sunbrook, and Carinthia. Peak Resorts bought the mountain in 2007, and Vail Resorts completed its acquisition on September 24, 2019, which is why Mount Snow now sits on the Epic Pass.
What Mount Snow Looks Like Today
Modern upgrades have been steady. In 2011 the Bluebird Express became New England’s first high-speed detachable six-pack bubble chair. A snowmaking expansion of about $30 million followed in 2017, including a 120-million-gallon pond called West Lake. The $22 million Carinthia Base Lodge opened in 2019. Mount Snow’s site currently lists a 3,600-foot summit, a 1,900-foot base, 1,700 vertical feet, 601 acres, 86 trails, 18 lifts, and 83 percent snowmaking coverage.
The shape of the mountain has not changed much in seventy years, only the scale: a lot of the terrain you ski today follows lines cut in the 1950s and 1960s, including Long John, which at about 3.1 miles is still the resort’s longest run. Schoenknecht did not live to see the Vail era — he died in 1987 — but the mountain he blasted, plumbed, and over-built is recognizably his. If you are planning a trip, our guide to Mount Snow lift tickets and passes covers the current buying options.
🗺️ More to Explore Near Mount Snow
- How Mount Snow Makes Snow — inside the snowmaking system
- Mount Snow Lift Tickets and Passes — Epic Pass and day-ticket options
- Snowboarding at Carinthia Parks — the old ski area today
- Hidden Gems Near Mount Snow — lesser-known spots to visit
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Mount Snow open?
Mount Snow opened to the public on December 12, 1954, with the upper mountain following about a year later. The resort observes that date as Founders Day.
Who founded Mount Snow?
Walt Schoenknecht, who also ran Mohawk Mountain in Connecticut, founded Mount Snow. He bought the land in 1953 from a farmer named Reuben Snow, which is where the name comes from.
Who owns Mount Snow now?
Vail Resorts acquired Mount Snow on September 24, 2019, and the mountain is part of the Epic Pass network. Before that it was owned by Peak Resorts (from 2007) and, earlier, by the Sherburne and American Skiing companies.
Did Mount Snow’s founder really want to use an atomic bomb?
Yes, in a sense. In 1963 Walt Schoenknecht proposed detonating an atomic device at the base of the North Face to carve out expert terrain, citing a federal test that had left a large crater. He could not obtain a bomb, and the plan was never carried out.
How far is Mount Snow from Valley View Villa?
Mount Snow is about 3 miles from the house, which is roughly a 7-minute drive in normal conditions. Add a few minutes for parking on busy winter weekends.
