Mount Ascutney

Location and descriptionEdit

Mt. Ascutney is located in the southeastern section of Windsor County, in the Connecticut River Valley. The village of Ascutney, in the town of Weathersfield, is to the south. To the north lie the towns of Windsor and West Windsor. The village of Brownsville, in the town of West Windsor, sits at the northwestern base of the mountain. To the east lies the Connecticut River and the city of Claremont, New Hampshire. To the immediate west stands another, smaller mountain, fittingly named Little Ascutney Mountain.

Viewing the mountainEdit

Vermont Route 131 follows the south face of the mountain, and provides some good views of Ascutney. Similarly, Vermont Routes 44 and 44-A follow the north face, and provide a number of views of that side of the mountain. The north-south route of Interstate 91 runs just east of the mountain and provides extensive views of both the north and south faces. New Hampshire Routes 12 and 12-A provide good views of the east face. Viewing of the west face is difficult, due to the presence, immediately to the west, of Little Ascutney Mountain.

At longer distance, the mountain is visible from many locations quite a few miles away, particularly hilltops and other mountains. Ascutney can be viewed from select locations on the Dartmouth College campus, among them the upper floors of Rauner Library and the Steele Chemistry Building.

Cornish ColonyEdit

From the late 1880s to 1930, a community of artists thrived in Cornish and Plainfield, New Hampshire as well as Windsor, Vermont. Besides Augustus Saint-Gaudens, other artists built their homes specifically sited towards the mountain, and it became the focal point of many expansive gardens and Italianate villas. Maxfield Parrish, Charles Platt, Thomas Dewing, and Winston Churchill (the writer) all built homes to view the mountain. Many of these houses remain, view intact, and the estate Augustus Saint Gaudens is now a national park, with, of course, a lovely view.

GeologyEdit

Mount Ascutney is part of the White Mountain plutonic-volcanic series of igneous rocks. These rocks intruded from Triassic to Cretaceous time in southern Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont with the relatively young Ascutney pluton intruding at ~122 MA (K/Ar date on Biotite). The Ascutney pluton is about 8 km x 4 km in map area and intrudes Precambrian basement gneisses of the Chester dome and overlying Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks. The pluton emplacement is probably related to the formation of transform faults and/or fracture zones during (failed) Mesozoic rifting. The petrology of the pluton consists of three stocks which are gabbro-diorite, syenite and granite. There is also a partial ring dike and number of other dikes in the area.

The last glacier broke material off the mountain and distributed it southward into Massachusetts. The trail it left is known as the "Mount Ascutney Train."

Hang glidingEdit

Mount Ascutney is the premier hang gliding site in New England. Notable for its excellent soaring, it is not unusual for hang gliders to fly from Mt. Ascutney to nearby states. Some trips can stretch to the New Hampshire or Massachusetts coastline, a flight of over 90 miles. The record cross country flight from Mt. Ascutney is held by Curt Warren who flew 131.6 mi (211.8 km) into Connecticut on August 7, 2002.

Bronson FarmEdit

Actor Charles Bronson owned a farm near the mountain he and his wife named Zuleika, after their daughter. His remains were buried at Brownsville Cemetery in West Windsor, near the foot of the mountain, after his 2003 death.

WildlifeEdit

Wild turkeys, deer, porcupines, and a wide variety of birds are commonly seen on Mt. Ascutney. The mountain is a favorite area for viewing migrating birds, which use the Connecticut River as a navigation pathway. More rarely seen wildlife includes moose, black bears, bobcats and fishers.

Hiking trailsEdit

The mountain features four principal hiking trails, three of which are named for the town from which that trail originates:

At the top, a relatively level trail follows the ridgeline and crosses the summit. The top of the mountain is well below the tree line and is therefore covered in forest. There are a number of rocky cliffs allow good viewing, one lookout in particular The Nowlan Lookout is named for a local American sculptor Lawrence Nowlan. There is an observation tower, as well. There are also two large communications towers.

The summit can also be reached via a short trail from the parking lot at the end of the only road up the mountain, the Mt. Ascutney State Park Mountain Road.

Skiing and the Ascutney Mountain ResortEdit

Mt. Ascutney was home to the Ascutney Mountain Resort, which was a ski resort located on the mountain's northwest face, in the village of Brownsville. Opening after the end of World War II, skiing facilities originally consisted of just one rope tow. Prior to its most recent closure in the fall of 2010, the resort boasted several chairlifts, including one high-speed detachable quad, as well as a hotel, condominiums and a large base lodge. The resort's trails accommodated the entire family, but expert and intermediate skiers found themselves most at home at the resort, whose trails averaged from medium grade to steep, and were often icy from the mountain's often harsh winds. The ski resort's primary competitors were Killington, Okemo, Mount Sunapee, and Stratton.

There are no plans to reopen in the near future.

Mount Ascutney State ParkEdit

Mount Ascutney State Park, a campground run by the state of Vermont, provides non-primitive RV or tent camping during the summer months. The park entrance is located along Vermont Route 44-A near Windsor. The road into the park, which is also the one road up the mountain, begins climbing almost immediately. The road continues to climb, rising over 2000 feet in less than 4 miles, eventually arriving at a parking lot about a 1/2 mile walk from the summit. The park is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.