Celebrating 90 Years of Mount Peter: Tom, Mountain Operations
When Tom walked into Mount Peter in November of 2002, resume in hand, he didn’t know he was stepping into what would become a 23-year+ chapter of his life.
By the time Tom arrived, it was already late fall. He had left his previous job and was searching for the right fit when he submitted his resume. Not long after, he found himself sitting in the old Pete’s Pub being grilled for a solid half hour on everything related to the ski industry.
“It was tough,” Tom remembers with a laugh. “I kind of had to prove myself.”
Mount Peter was very much a hands-on family operation. Tom came into the operations team during a period of transition, bringing with him years of experience from Vernon Valley/Great Gorge and 13 years at Campgaw. Still, it was a new environment, a new team, a new mountain, and a new dynamic.
“It was nerve-racking,” he says. “But when I got here, it kind of felt like home.”
When Tom started during the 2002-2003 season, Mount Peter was in a period of growth and transition. Snowmaking and operations were solid, but there were plenty of opportunities to expand and improve. Over the years, upgrades like bigger pumps, stronger power systems, and enhanced snowmaking gradually transformed the mountain.
“It was a push,” Tom explains, crediting Rebecca for guiding many of those early improvements. “Every year it was another project. Pick something that needs to be done and go with it.”
Those thoughtful improvements didn’t just modernize the mountain, they helped preserve its character and family-focused spirit, ensuring that Mount Peter remained a welcoming place for generations of skiers and riders.
For someone who has spent more than three decades in the ski industry, it all comes back to one thing: making snow.
“I still love it,” he says. “Every time we go online for the first run of the season and I’m out there, that’s what got me into it.”
Even now, he still heads out on gun runs to make sure snowmaking is running smoothly, watching the mountain transform in real time. What starts as scattered piles quickly turns into a fully covered trail, ready to welcome skiers.
“You kind of get tunnel vision,” he says. “Then you turn around ten days later and the mountain’s covered and open. You’re like, whoa.”
There’s something about those early mornings, too. Riding the lift down during checks, catching a sunrise, or looking out from the top of Comet across the valley and all the way to the Shawangunks on a clear day. Those quiet moments, before the crowds arrive, are some of his favorites.
But for Tom, Mount Peter has never just been a workplace. It’s been part of his family’s story.
Both of his children worked at the mountain, running rentals and teaching lessons. The work ethic, the long hours, the unpredictable winter weather, it became part of their lives, too.
“It’s been a real family experience for me,” he says.
One of the most important themes in Tom’s story is family: his own family, the Mount Peter family he’s been part of for decades, and the generations of families who return to the mountain year after year. “There aren’t a lot of family-owned ski areas left,” Tom explains. “A lot of big corporations have bought even the smaller mountains. Being part of a family legacy like this is special.”
As Mount Peter celebrates its 90th season, that legacy feels especially meaningful. Generational families still return year after year; parents who learned here now bringing their own children to the same slopes.
For Tom, some of his most memorable days aren’t necessarily the easiest ones. He remembers a winter storm that dumped three feet of snow. While most people stayed home, the Mount Peter team worked relentlessly to get the lifts spinning on time.
“For most people, that’s lock yourself in the house for three days,” he says. “For us, it’s getting open.”
That sense of accomplishment, seeing guests take their first tracks, watching families laugh together on a powder day, is what makes the hard work worth it.
“You’re part of making a thousand people happy in a day,” he says. “You’re part of making that happen.”
When asked what advice he would give to someone just starting at Mount Peter, Tom keeps it simple: don’t be afraid of the hard work. The pace is fast, the hours can be long, but the reward is bigger than any one shift or task. It’s about stepping back and recognizing what you’re building over the course of a season.
And for guests who have never been here before?
“Enjoy the fact that you’re in a relaxed environment,” he says. “It’s friendly. It’s comfortable. If you have kids, this is the place for you.”
After more than two decades on the mountain, and more than 30 years in the industry, Tom reflects on his career with a quiet certainty.
“This is what I was made for.”
For Mount Peter, we couldn’t agree more.
Written by – Sara Capezza, Marketing Manager
