Rope Tow in Delaware County, New York

Just finished up a rope tow with some help from Ethan the owner of Woodstream Ski Area. This project was quite enjoyable to build and I'm already planning loads of upgrades for this summer.


The rope is sagging because it stretched so I am going to have to re-splice it. Also putting another tower in this summer.


The the tractor has twelve horsepower so that is plenty to get people up the hill. It has a welded differential to help reduce the wear on the transmission.


As you can see it has a weighted tensioning system but since the rope stretched it is maxed out right now.




Just need a good snowstorm to cover everything now.

Welcome to the NY Ski Forums, Greg. And thanks for sharing the update on your hill. Let's show this guy some support!

Welcome. That is  a cool setup. Is that a one-at-a-time arrangement?

Welcome Greg.  

That is awesome.  I think it's so fun to own some land in a place where it snows, especially if you have some pitch.

Will the rope eventually "stop" stretching?

How far is Rope Tow from Woodstream?  Be so cool to ski both areas in one day.

Looks like a great place to learn tele...

Greg Pickhardt wrote

Thanks Harvey! The rope is new so that is why it has stretched. It is a low stretch rope so it shouldn't stretch much more than that. The hill is roughly fifteen minutes away from Woodstream.

And this hill is conveniently located directly on-route from Plattekill to Woodstream.

Greg, you may want to consider a screen name that doesn't present your full name. There have been a few crack pots rolling through here in the past.

I'm seeing interconnects and a whole new ski region!  Isn't Bearpen in the vicinity as well?

This is great!  Always fun to see backyard ski hills pop up , Enjoy!

JTG4eva! wrote

I'm seeing interconnects and a whole new ski region!  Isn't Bearpen in the vicinity as well?

Bearpen Mountain is actually in Prattsville which is on my side of, but closer to Hunter. Not familiar with any skiing on that hill.

I used to fantasize about a rope tow in Central Park in Manhattan or in the Fort Tryon area.  Very cool project indeed.

Great job Greg, my ski career began on a hill like yours.
I hope to see pictures soon with skiers enjoying your design and effort.

Ethan Snow wrote

And this hill is conveniently located directly on-route from Plattekill to Woodstream.

Greg, you may want to consider a screen name that doesn't present your full name. There have been a few crack pots rolling through here in the past.

Yah... Loco is rolling his eyes at the lack of snowmaking

I will upload pictures and most likely a video too as soon as we get some snow around here. I would love to start making snow on my hill just need to find a good source for water. If I can get my neighbors permission I may be able to pump water from his pond which is conveniently located near the top of the ski slope.

Skiray wrote

I used to fantasize about a rope tow in Central Park in Manhattan or in the Fort Tryon area.  Very cool project indeed.

Ray, there was indeed skiing in NYC back in the day.  Do you know about this one from the past?

http://www.nelsap.org/ny/van.html