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Greek Peak Mountain Resort (Visit this link)

In 1958, New York's Governor, Averill Harriman, conducted the Opening Day Ceremonies for a new ski area called Greek Peak. The Governor called it a "first class development" and predicted that it would "make a real contribution to skiing in New York State."

By 1960, two T-Bars had been built and construction began on the A-Frame Lodge. A young Al Kryger was commissioned to build Central New York’s first chairlift in 1962. Greek Peak recognized the potential for skiing and led the industry in developing the concept of packaging and selling to local schools and colleges. This philosophy, combined with early pioneering in snow-making and night skiing, brought Greek Peak to the forefront of ski areas in the East.

In 1965, a Poma Lift was installed on what is now Apollo's Hollow. Installation of permanent snow-making was also added insuring more consistent skiing for the first program sales. In 1966, fifteen full-time and one hundred part-time employees took over the formerly concessioned operations of Ski School, Food Service, and Rental Shop under the wing of the corporate operation.
In 1969, the Beginners Chair was built. Full-time employees remained at fifteen, but the number of part-timers jumped to one hundred and twenty-five. Greek Peak by now was generating over 100,000 skier visits from the local market. Its revenues had climbed to almost a half million dollars.
With skiing becoming more and more popular, Greek Peak added Chairs One in1971 and Four in 1970. The Taverna Bar and Restaurant was constructed in 1970, with the Katalima going up the following year in 1971.
Aggressive marketing and selling expanded Greek Peak's popularity and by 1973 it generated over a million dollars in revenues.

It was at this time that Al Kryger had the foresight to begin planning for the next phase of Greek Peak's growth. He was instrumental in acquiring land adjacent to the ski area, and a Master Plan for a new recreational community was drawn. This development set Greek Peak apart from the rest of the competition in Central New York. The additions of slope-side condominiums and townhouses changed us from being merely a ski area into being a full-fledged regional destination ski resort.

Many innovative programs were developed at Greek Peak for example:
Gordon Richardson, 30 year veteran of our ski school, in conjunction with Head Ski Company developed the first outrigger ski which is still used today to teach adaptive skiing to disabled people.
In 1979 Greek Peak developed the first computerized "shift ticketing" system. This allows our skiers the flexibility of skiing four, five, six,...or as many hours as they choose starting at the time the ticket is purchased.

Armbands used to display season passes, which are commonly used in the present ski industry, were developed by Greek Peak Skiers. In 1987 Greek Peak initiated the "Progressive Coaching System" which includes: instruction, video analysis, and racing in the price of a lift ticket.

By 1978, Greek Peak was marketing to the "vacation" market and sales, for the first time, exceeded two million dollars. Skier visits began breaking the 200,000 barrier consistently.
In the summer of 1978, trails were cleared at Greek Peak East and our first Triple Chair was installed. Destination sales became a major priority and Greek Peak expanded its ski week activities to provide all of the amenities of a full-service destination resort.

In the early 80's, Greek Peak turned its attention toward aggressive marketing and selling to expand its place in the market as well as positioning itself for continued competition from Vermont resorts for the vacation skier.

In 1994, Greek Peak installed a lift called the Magic Carpet. This conveyor-type lift makes learning to ski less intimidating for the beginner skiers. The Magic Carpet is similar to the people-movers in large airports. In 1994 Greek Peak was the first facility to have a lift of this kind in the East, there are only five such lifts in the country. In addition to the Magic Carpet, a new Children's Learning Center has been added to the resort. The building is designed for kids. The cafeteria is scaled so children can serve themselves. The Children’s Learning Center has various teaching levels such as PEE WEE ski instruction for 2 1/2 to 4 years, Ski-wee for 4 to 8 years, and MOUNTAINEER for ages 9 to 14. Babysitting is available for pre-ski family members with soundproof sleeping room, child-sized restrooms and plenty of room for play indoors and out. Also added to Greek Peak in 1994 were two new two-thousand foot glade trials. Aesop's Glade was created by expanding and widening Ronnie’s Run. The other new glade, Also (which means thicket in Greek). Is located in the Chair 5 area off Mars Hill. The Olympian has-been widened at the top and more snow-making has been added. Arcadia Village has added a new outdoor hot tub. The ski key international ski locking system was added during this timeframe.

1997 brought the terrain park with jumps, spines, a rail and walls. 1998 brought the end of the T-Bar lifts, which were replaced by double chair. Alcmene Trail was installed under the lift and our first long-awaited half-pipe was built.

2004 We add a new program in the Children's Center called "Parent & Me" this program is designed to teach parents how to teach their children. In the same year we added the "Learning Garden" on the Lower Pollux, a beginner terrain park. Smaller features were placed in this area allowing enthusiast to practice prior to heading up to the terrain park.

MANAGEMENT TEAM- Mr. Kryger is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Peak Resorts, Inc. He has been employed by Greek Peak since 1962.

He has been C.E.O. of the resort since 1969 and is the driving force behind the design, expansion and growth of Greek Peak Resort. Having developed the Master Plan, Mr. Kryger designed, developed offering plans and constructed over 180 condominiums, townhouse and motel units, between 1973 and 1979. Mr. Kryger served as the first president of New York State Ski Area Operators Association and was awarded the Distinction of Induction in the Hall of Fame by the New York State Association of Ski Area Operators in 1989. In 1998, Mr. Kryger was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Ski Areas Association. For the majority of his time, Mr. Kryger has been responsible for the overall management, planning, and conceptual development of the resort. During the past thirty-seven years Mr. Kryger has supervised the construction of 16 miles of snow-making pipe, six chair lifts, and base building facilities totaling 30,000 sq. ft. Mr. Kryger attended Cornell University Hotel School and has completed several management and communications courses given by the American Management Association, Ridge Consultants and others. Mr. Kryger formerly served for 3 years as Cortland County Planning Board Chairman during which time a County Master Plan for Development was approved by county legislators. Mr. Kryger is a licensed real estate broker.

Mr. Hatfield is the Secretary and Chief Financial Officer of Peak Resorts, Inc. and has been employed by Greek Peak since 1989. A graduate of Canisus College's, MBA program and a Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Hatfield previously served as the Chief executive officer of Kissing Bridge Corp. where he was responsible for the company’s two ski operations, which he remains associated with as a Director. Mr. Hatfield has also served as the Economic Development Coordinator for Erie County, Buffalo, New York. Mr. Hatfield has been responsible for the formation of a number of partnerships that have acquired interests in either mineral rights or have developed and are now operating a number of oil and gas wells in Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.

Wes Kryger is General Manager of Greek Peak, and responsible for all operational aspects of the resort. Mr. Kryger was employed by Greek Peak from 1976. During this time he was involved in most facets of the ski operations, including various supervisory positions in the hill operations, dude ranch, and started working in the parking lot. In1992 he assumed a full time position at Greek Peak as General Manager.

http://www.greekpeak.net