Located south of Rochester and near Canandaigua in the Finger Lakes Region, Bristol Mountain is one of western New York’s most visited ski areas. With a 1,200ft vertical drop, it has the tallest footprint of any mountain between the Rockies and Adirondacks.
Bristol Mountain was started and opened in 1964 by Fred Sarkis and two former General Motors engineers - Larry DeMarse and Ron Ratnik - who were able to clear the land necessary for ski runs in just nine months. The mountain instantly achieved a high-ranking status among locals and beyond with its (at the time) top-tier ski lifts and its high vertical rise.
It didn’t end there though, Bristol Mountain immediately began investing in snowmaking and lighting for night skiing. Since snowmaking was still a new concept at the time, Ron Ratnik founded his own company: Ratnik Industries which quickly became a leading firm in the world of snowmaking. Just a year after opening, Bristol Mountain had a fully working snowmaking system, and by 1985, the entire mountain was covered by snowmaking. In 1968, Bristol Mountain achieved the title of the world’s largest lit up mountain for night skiing.
Adding to Bristol Mountain’s early success was the 1967 visit of New York senator Robert Kennedy just 15 months before his assasination.
Over the years, Bristol Mountain has continued to improve its infrastructure and on-mountain experience. 1999 brought the mountain’s first high-speed detachable ski lift, and the following year brought a terrain expansion to the south. An additional terrain expansion and a second high-speed lift was introduced in 2009.
More recently, Bristol Mountain has been investing in summer activities alongside winter improvements. Most notably in 2014, Bristol introduced its aerial adventure park at the summit of the mountain which includes aerial obstacle courses and ziplines. There’s even talk amongst the community about Bristol Mountain creating a downhill bike park, although the mountain has not made any official plans or comments on the idea.
Possibly Bristol Mountain’s latest great achievement is winning the 2020 “I AM a Snowmaker” competition from SAM Magazine. Bristol went head-to-head with some of the greatest snowmaking mountains such as Killington, Hunter Mountain, and Aspen Snowmass and was still voted to have the best snowmaking. Despite being a relatively small mountain (not in height though), Bristol Mountain continues to prove that it is still one of the best ski areas around.
Bibliography
Finger Lakes Premier Properties. (n.d.). Bristol Mountain Ski Resort. https://www.fingerlakespremierproperties.com/blog/bristol-mountain-ski-resort
Messenger Post Media. (2013, December 11). Bristol Mountain celebrates half-century. https://www.mpnnow.com/story/lifestyle/hobby/2013/12/11/bristol-mountain-celebrates-half-century/41569475007/
NeedBikePark. (n.d.). Need Bike Park. https://needbikepark.com/
Ratnik Industries. (n.d.). About Us. https://ratnik.com/about-us/
SAM Magazine. (2020, January). I AM a Snowmaker. https://skitheworld.com/2020/01/i-am-a-snowmaker/
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