The Manchester Section is heading up the fundraising for the replacement Bromley Mountain viewing tower. Help us meet our goal and be part of the support for this tower.
Bromley Tower Fundraising Information
History
In 1959 Fred Pabst had a chairlift built to the top of
Bromley Mountain to both serve the ski area in winter and bring tourists to the
summit in the summer. A wooden tower with a large viewing platform was built
between 1960 and 1962 to provide a 360 degree unobstructed view, with mountains
in four states visible. Over the next 50 years, thousands of people, both those
who arrived via chairlift and those who arrived via foot, have been able to
enjoy this unencumbered 360 degree view.
In the spring of 2012 the tower, a historic structure, was
removed after an engineering firm declared the tower structurally unsafe for
any further use.
From this tower on a clear day, visitors could see:
·
South to Stratton Mountain, Glastonbury
Mountain, Mt Snow and other peaks in VT, and to Mt Greylock and other peaks in
MA
·
Southeast to Magic Mountain in VT and Monadnock
in NH
·
East to Okemo, Ascutney and other peaks in VT
and Sunapee and Cardigan in NH
·
Northeast to Mousilauke in NH and on a really
clear day to some of the White Mountains in NH
·
North to Pico, Killington, Shrewsbury, Styles
and Green Mountain
·
Northwest, west and southwest to the Taconics
from south of Equinox to north of Danby Mountain, the Valley of Vermont, the Adirondacks,
including the eastern edge of the High Peaks, and lakes George and Champlain
From the summit, without the tower, there is a nice view but
nowhere near as spectacular, due to both the trees and ski area infrastructure
that interrupts the view and to loss of the additional 35 feet of elevation.
This summit is one of three summits (Glastonbury Mtn,
Stratton Mtn and Bromley Mtn) that the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail
cross. There is a tower on Glastonbury Mtn and on Stratton Mtn, both of which
provide splendid views. The tower on Bromley Mtn provided the third splendid
view along these trails. There are many local hikers and visitors who hike
Bromley and who avail themselves of the chairlift who would find the return of
the tower and its spectacular view of great value. It is the most easily
reached of the three summits, requiring either a hike of between 1 and 3 miles
each way, depending on route, or a chairlift ride and a walk of 100 yards. Glastonbury
Tower requires a hike of 10 or 12 miles each way, with or without an overnight
stay in a backpacking shelter. Stratton Tower requires either a hike of between
3.5 and 4 miles each way or a chairlift ride and a hike of .75 miles each way
to the tower.
The old tower also provided a platform above the tree canopy
for bird watching. Some of the best bird watching happens from above tree
canopy sites. Replacing the tower will bring back this excellent bird watching
platform.
Plans for Reconstruction
The summit of Bromley Ski Area is land that is part of the
Hapgood State Forest, managed by VT Agency of Natural Resources. The ski area
leases use of the land for their operations. The state manages the use of the
land and regulates what can be built there. The Green Mountain Club manages the
trail and structures on the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail in VT. The
Appalachian Trail Conservancy oversees the management of the Appalachian Trail
throughout the13 states that it goes through and the 33 maintaining clubs who
do the work. Green Mountain Club has been working over the last few years to
get the agreement between Vt ANC and Bromley Ski area for the placement of the
new tower and to get any necessary permits. The new tower will be located about
20 feet north of the previous tower, just south of the start of the Runaround
Ski Trail.
The plan is to replace the historic tower with a new tower
that will last for the next hundred years. We are planning on building the
lower half of an Aeromotor type tower. We first looked for old Aeromotor tower
that could be modified for our use. After looking for several years for this we
were unable to find one that was both in usable condition and available. We
have been working with a tower builder, who is able to take care of the
engineering, the designing and the building. He has put together a cost
estimate, which provides us with our fundraising goal of $262,000. As of July 7
we have raised $100,033. Please help us reach our goal.
How to Donate
Click on “donate”
Click on “special projects”
Scroll down to “donate to Bromley Mountain Observation
Tower”
