Holiday Valley is a family oriented vacation spot and ski resort in Ellicottville, New York. Established in 1957 by Dick Congdon, John Fisher and Bill Northrup, the facility opened with four runs and one t-bar lift. Currently the resort contains 56 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.
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The resort is located in Ellicottville, a remote town in western New York approximately 52 miles (84 km) south of Buffalo.
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. 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].
Since opening in 1958 the resort has also expanded its offerings in order to attract various crowds and bring in tourism during seasons other than winter. These are discussed in the Non Winter Events and Attractions section.
The ski mountain is the flagship attraction at Holliday Valley. With its tallest peak is 750 ft, it is the only Eastern ski resort without a vertical drop of 1,500 ft[2]. 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.
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].
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[2]. 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”[2].