Storm King Mountain
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| Storm King Mountain | |
|---|---|
 Storm King and Butter Hill from Newburgh, NY |
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| Elevation | 1,340 feet (410 m) [1] |
| Location | New York, USA |
| Range | Hudson Highlands |
| Prominence | 120 feet (40 m) [2] |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Topo map | USGS West Point |
| Easiest route | trail |
Storm King Mountain is along the west bank of the Hudson River south of Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York. Its distinctive curved ridge is the most prominent aspect of the view south down Newburgh Bay, from Newburgh, Beacon and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. Together with Breakneck Ridge on the opposite bank of the river it forms "Wey-Gat" or Wind Gate, the picturesque northern gateway to the Hudson Highlands. It can also be seen by southbound travelers on nearby sections of the New York State Thruway. This view was popular with early artists of the Hudson River School, and helped give them their name.
While thought of as the highest in the area, its summit reaching approximately 1,340 feet (410 m) above sea level, the eastern summit unofficially known as Butter Hill is actually higher, at 1,380 feet (420 m) in elevation.
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[edit] Name
On his initial voyage up the river, Henry Hudson and his crew called the mountain Klinkesberg, due to its wrinkled rock cliffs near the river. The name failed to stick, however.
Later, the early Dutch colonists of the region referred to the mountain simply as "Boterberg" (from which Butter Hill came, since the mountain looked like a lump of butter). In the middle of the 19th century, writer Nathaniel Parker Willis, who had taken up residence in the region, proposed the name:
The tallest mountain is ... looked upon as the most sure foreteller of a storm. When the white cloud-beard descends upon his breast in the morning ... there is sure to be a rain-storm before night. Standing aloft before other mountains in the chain, this sign is peculiar to him. He seems the monarch, and this seems his stately ordering of a change in the weather. Should not STORM-KING, then, be his proper title?
The nearby Storm King School and Storm King Art Center, as well as some other local businesses, have also taken the name as well.
[edit] History
In 1965 the mountain became the focus of a landmark environmental battle when local activists formed the Scenic Hudson Preservation Coalition (today known as just Scenic Hudson) to fight against plans by utility Consolidated Edison to cut away part of the mountain near the river and build a pump storage power generator complete with transmission lines across it for an ambitious power generating scheme which would also have entailed creating a reservoir in much of what is now Black Rock Forest. In a lawsuit brought by the coalition, a judge ruled for the first time that aesthetic impacts could be considered in such projects. In 1979 Con Ed finally abandoned even a greatly scaled-down version of the project, and settled a parallel lawsuit brought against their Indian Point facility by agreeing to endow the Hudson River Foundation with $12 million.
After forest fires on the mountain during the dry summer of 1999, unexploded ordnance left over from 19th century artillery training at the nearby United States Military Academy was discovered in some areas close to the trails. As a result the mountain was closed to hiking until October 2002, when authorities could be sure it had been safely removed.
[edit] Climb
The mountain is the centerpiece of Storm King State Park. Due to the wide views of the river and surrounding areas, both summits are highly popular with local hikers. The orange-blazed Howell Trail, connecting with the yellow-blazed Stillman Trail, most often accessed at a parking area on US 9W, offers an immediate and steep climb up Butter Hill followed by a longer and more relaxing trip to the summit of Storm King itself.
Although infrequently attempted and not permitted by the park authorities, there are documented technical rock climbing routes above the river, as well as ice climbing, when conditions are favorable.
[edit] In literature
Storm King (along with nearby Pollepel Island) features prominently in a number of short stories by dark fantasy author Caitlín R. Kiernan, including "Estate," "Salammbô," and "The Last Child of Lir," all of which appear in Tales of Pain and Wonder (2000).
[edit] Notes
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Storm King Mountain. Peakbagger.com (2004-11-01). Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
