Ski Sundown History | New Hartford, CT | Ski Sundown

50 years and counting

Winter Made Better.

January 11, 1964

Frank S. Linnel and Russel J. Smith opened Satan's Ridge ski area: three slopes, one mile-long trail and two lifts - a chair and a rope tow.

1969

Satan's Ridge purchased by Channing Murdock, owner of Butternut Basin in Great Barrington, MA, and renamed Ski Sundown.

1970s

Snowmaking and night lighting were added, and first triple chairlift in Connecticut was added, that transported skiers to the top of the mountain. Trails were added, widened, and improved.

1978

Richard Carter purchased Ski Sundown from Channing Murdock. Rick had been employed by Ski Sundown as General Manager since September 1969.

1980

Sundown joined 24 other ski areas nationwide as a consortium, Dendrite, to develop more energy efficient snowmaking processes and equipment. Richard Carter was elected President of this group and involved with every step of the research project. Sunnyside Beginner area also added to the network of trails

1996

8,000 square foot addition made to the base lodge.

1999

Addition to the Rental Shop was completed, which more than doubled the capacity of that building and streamlined the process of renting skis and snowboards.

2002

Robert Switzgable, an employee for 19 years and at the time the General Manager, purchased Ski Sundown from Richard Carter.

2003

CT's first Terrain Park installed at Ski Sundown under the direction of Sundown's first Terrain Features Manager (a newly created position), Jarrod Moss.

2004

Pond View Room with satellite kitchen added to lodge.

2005

CT's first Adaptive Ski School Program launched at Ski Sundown.

2009

Rebuilt and upgraded the Pump House and compressors, delivering increased capacity and efficiency of snowmaking, and allowing us to make snow on every trail at the same time.

2013

Addition of 20 new tower guns to the snowmaking fleet, bringing it to a total of over 180 tower and fan guns delivering 100% snowmaking on each and every trail. Tore down the old Mueller double chair on Little Joe and replaced with a 300 foot "magic carpet" lift.

2014

Addition of new expert trail, Satan's Stairway, which is the steepest trail in Connecticut and arguably one of the most challenging mogul runs in Southern New England.

2019

Celebrated our 50th Anniversary as Ski Sundown!

2021

Built a pipeline extension to MDC, which can draw up to five million gallons of water per day, allowing Ski Sundown to create tons of snow in a short window of time.

2022

Partnered with Summit Adaptive Sports, a new nonprofit organization developed especially for Ski Sundown to provide ski and snowboard lessons to individuals of all ages with physical, cognitive, and developmental disabilities.

2024

Debuted the first Quad Lift with conveyor in CT. This new lift replaced Exhibition Triple, originally installed in 1977. Features of new Exhibition Quad lift (manufactured by Skytrac) include a synchronized load conveyor with a capacity of 2,400 people per hour.