Highmount, New York — Situated in the Catskills, Highmount Ski Area was beloved by New York skiers. However, it has been abandoned for over thirty years. It operated from 1947-1993, with around 12 trails and four lifts. It’s perhaps best known because it’s next door to a much larger ski resort: Belleayre Mountain. Factors like local competition, inconsistent snowfall, and rising insurance costs led to its demise.
In his latest abandoned ski area exploration video, Avery Zucco tours Highmount Ski Area. As his video demonstrates, a lot of stuff remains in the abandoned buildings and has been subjected to lots of vandalism. The trails and lifts have remained untouched, but the trees and plants have grown in around them.
The interesting part about this place is there’s a decent chance it could be revived. Last decade, Belleayre Mountain received approval to add the old Highmount terrain network onto the ski resort. If they do revive it, all the existing infrastructure will probably need to be removed.
This plan hasn’t come to fruition yet, so Highmount remains abandoned for now.
Image/Video Credits: Avery Zucco, Belleayre Mountain (ORDA), Skimap.org
