Holiday Valley (ski resort)

Holiday Valley is a family oriented vacation spot and ski resort in Ellicottville, New York. Established in 1957 by Nelson Pauly, John Fisher and Bill Northrup, the facility opened with four runs and one T-bar lift. Currently the resort contains 60 slopes and 13 lifts.[1] Since its opening Holiday Valley has experienced steady growth and has become the main tourist attraction in Cattaraugus County. In 1995 the Inn at Holiday Valley opened, turning the slope into a self-contained ski resort.

Holiday Valley
LocationEllicottville, New York, USA
Nearest major cityBuffalo
Coordinates42°15′45″N 78°40′5″W
Vertical750 feet (230 m)
Top elevation2,250 feet (690 m)
Base elevation1,500 feet (460 m)
Skiable area290 acres (120 ha)
Runs58 total
Longest run1 mile (1.6 km)
Lift system11 chairs, 2 surface lifts
Terrain parks5
Snowfall15 feet (4.6 m)
Snowmaking95%
Night skiing37
WebsiteHoliday Valley

Geography

The resort is located in the southern part of the town of Ellicottville, between the village and the town of Great Valley on U.S. Route 219. It is part of the ski country belt that runs through western New York and is one of two ski resorts in the town of Ellicottville, the other being Holimont; unlike Holimont, which is mostly restricted to members only, Holiday Valley is open to the public. (A third resort, the Concord Club on Poverty Hill, closed in 1991 and is currently being redeveloped into housing.)

Holiday Valley also operates a tubing facility on a separate plot a few miles northeast of the ski resort.

The resort is 52 miles (84 km) south of the Canada–United States border at Buffalo; Canadians constitute approximately one third of Holiday Valley's business.[2]

Origin

After a search for initial investors, in 1956 Robert "Bob" Stubbs lead a group founders that included Dick Congdon, John Fisher and Bill Northrup sold stock in a parking lot in Ellicottville for $100 per share to open a ski area. Under Stubb's guidance Holiday Valley was among the early supporters of the relatively new technology of snow making. The first four runs called Yodeler, Champagne, Holiday Run and Edelweiss were cut in 1957 but due to mild weather early that winter their opening was delayed until January 7, 1958. Since then Holiday Valley has added 52 runs including two terrain parks, 12 lifts, and a snow tubing hill. The names of these runs and lifts can be found in the Full List of Ski Runs and Lifts section.[1]

Ski mountain

The ski mountain is the flagship attraction at Holiday Valley. Today the entire mountain holds 56 slopes and 13 ski lifts. Despite its relatively small size, the resort has experienced consistent growth since opening in 1958 and has erected two hotels on its property directed towards the skiing attractions. These hotels include the Inn at Holiday Valley and the Tamarack Club which opened in 2009 and holds both condominiums and hotel rooms. Per USGS Topographic Map MRC 42078C6, Holiday Valley lies at the foot of McCarty Hill with a peak elevation of 2,323 ft. and a base below 1,600 ft., giving Holiday Valley a "vertical drop" over 750 ft.

Due to the fluctuating climate in the area during the winter in the early and late season, the resort relies heavily on the ability to make snow. When trying to open the slopes in December the snowmaking takes each chance it gets to make snow while the temperature is cold enough. In 2011 it is using a completely automated snowmaking system for the first time. This system automatically controls the amount and temperature of water it sprays, which snow machines on the mountains are running, and when they turn on and shut off.[3] The system can also adjust these variables based on the outside temperature. According to the snowmaking team, the software in this new system allows them to turn the snow machines on with their cell phones.[3]

Trails
Easier More Difficult Most Difficult Most Difficult
(Use Extreme Caution)
Bear Cub Ballet Champagne The Wall
Boardwalk Bobsled Chute The Wall Bottom
Candy Cane Cathedral Cross Cut The Wall Top
Catwalk CCC Devils Glen
Cross Country Walking Trail Cindy's Run Eagle Terrain Parks
Days End Crystal Bottom Edelweiss 42/78
Explorer Crystal Top Ego Alley Moonshadow
Fiddlers Elbow Firelane Ego Glade Progression Park
Frostline Independence Falcon Rail Fun Park
Holiday Run Last Chance Firecracker East Snoozer
Laurel Mardi Gras Firecracker West
Northwind Top Mistletoe Foxfire Cross Country
Punch Bowl Morning Star Gobbler Glade Cross Country
Raccoon Run Northwind Bottom Happy Glade Happy Wanderer Walking Trail
School Haus East Reindeer Hoot Owl XC Golf Course
School Haus West Stewardess Cut Maple Leaf
Slippery Streets Sunrise Moonshadow
Snowbird Upper Woodstock Pipeline
Snowledge Raven
Spruce Line Shadows
Sugar Plum Snoozer
Tannenbaum Swiss Twist
Woodpecker Yodeler
Woodstock Lower

Lifts
Magic Carpets Fixed Grip Quads High-Speed Quads
Boardwalk Magic carpet Chute Quad Mardi Gras Xpress Quad
Slippery Streets Magic Carpet Cindy's Quad Morning Star Express Quad
Creekside Quad Tannenbaum Express Quad
Eagle Quad
SnowPine Quad
Spruce Lake Quad
Sunrise Quad
Yodeler Quad

Recognition

In the past decade the resort has received positive recognition within the ski community. According to Buffalo Business First “Holiday Valley has been in [Ski Magazine’s] Top Ten poll for Eastern resorts for the past six years” prior to 2009.[4] According to the same report by Buffalo Business First the resort ranked third in the east, surpassing “Whiteface Mountain and Killington as one of the top eastern North American winter destinations”.[4]

Ski Magazine's 2020 Resort Rankings placed Holiday Valley 10th best in the East and second in New York State, calling it a "...small, great Eastern ski operation."[5]

Non-winter events and attractions
  • Double Black Diamond Golf Course - The Double Black Diamond Golf Course at Holiday Valley is an 18 hole course which bends around the base of the ski mountain. The first nine holes were added to the area in 1962 to attract golfers during the spring, summer and fall. In 1987 the second nine holes opened making it a full course. The course opens near the end of April and closes for the winter at the end of October; the exact dates vary with each year due to uncertain weather patterns in the area during changing seasons. On June 24, 2017 Anthony "Tiger" Torres hit the longest putt in course history at 209 feet.[6]
  • Sky High Adventure Park - Completed in 2011, this is Holiday Valley’s most recently added attraction for the skiing off-season. It includes a high ropes course and a coaster ride which glides one to two passenger cars on a 2,490 ft descent down the mountain.[7]
  • Summer Festival - The surrounding town of Ellicottville holds an annual Summer Festival of the Arts which is partially sponsored by the Holiday Valley resort. This festival hosts various concerts and art displays in the first weekend of July.
  • Fall Festival - The Holiday Valley resort and local Tamarack Club host a festival each year in the first weekend of October. This event features a 5k foot race, a mountain bike race, chair lift rides, shopping, food, and other activities in celebration of the changing leaves and the coming winter season.
  • Sky Flyer Mountain Coaster - Open year round, the coaster is a single track fixed course with riders on sleds fixed to the rail.
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References
  1. "Our History". holidayvalley.com. Win-Sum Ski Corp. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  2. Fink, James (October 14, 2014). Canadian investors to build $8M Ellicottville townhouse complex. Business First. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  3. "Snowmaking 2011 - Part 1". vimeo.com. Holiday Valley Snowmaking Crew. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  4. Fink, James (24 September 2009). "Holiday Valley Climbs as Ski Destination". Buffalo Business First. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  5. "Top Ranked Ski Resorts in the East". Ski Magazine. Boulder CO: Active Interest Media. 30 October 2019.
  6. "holidayvalley.com". Holiday Valley Website. Win-Sum Ski Corp. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  7. "vimeo.com". Holiday Valley Resort. Adventure Park staff. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
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