Ski Lines: Outdoor winter fun at Dynamite Hill | The Daily Gazette
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Then there is Dynamite Hill.
When Fred Better returned from World War II, he had an idea for his hometown. He decided to turn over some land his family owned outside of the hamlet of Chestertown to build a recreation park for local residents.
The 10th Mountain Division veteran and avid skier wanted to be sure the park included skiing.
The recreation area opened in 1962, a few months before West Mountain in Queensbury and two years before New York state’s nearby Gore Mountain. It was a cooperative effort of the local Rotary Club and the Town of Chester Highway Department. Local and state government chipped in with $5,000, a bargain even then for the 133-acre site. From the start it featured a rope tow to haul skiers 500 feet uphill so they could slide down the open slope. Bottom to top vertical: 75 feet.