A resort now in partnership with Blue Mountain Resort plans to fully develop the mountain to its potential.

The Lower Towamensing Township resort is now managed by KSL Resorts, which owns Camelback Resort in Tannersville.

Barb Green, president of Blue Mountain Resort, confirmed the partnership Tuesday morning.

Shawn Hauver, vice president of asset performance for KSL Resorts, issued a statement Tuesday afternoon.

“KSL Resorts is excited to welcome Blue Mountain Resort into the KSL Resorts family. Blue Mountain Resort has an exceptional ski reputation and authentic brand with great people.

“Barb Green and her team have done a tremendous job of maintaining the mountain’s natural splendor, and remains involved in the operations. We have the resort expertise to fully develop the mountain to its potential and enhance the guest experience with additional amenities.

“We are delighted to further our interests here in the Pocono Mountains - a community and lifestyle we admire and respect.”

Green said this week that she’s been looking for a capital partner for a long time, and added that she and KSL are going into partnership to develop the resort further.

Green touted KSL’s expertise on the matter.

“KSL management brings hotel experience, and they recognize that we don’t have any hotel beds on our property, so they are definitely looking at a hotel,” Green said. “There’s a lot of planning that needs to go into it, and a lot of master planning that we started.

“They’re the expert on this. I’m really excited to bring them into the community, and I think we’re going to do wonderful things together.”

How it all started

In 1962, Ray Tuthill, the company’s founder and former president, bought 322.5 acres with dreams of one day opening a ski area to solve a family problem - having to travel long distances to do something they loved.

Blue Mountain Resort began its operations in 1977 when Tuthill’s dream became a reality, opening the doors to then-named Little Gap Ski Area.

The ski area offered four trails and two lifts in its first year of operation and lift tickets were $12.

The ski area expanded, reaching the bottom of the mountain in the 1990s, to the area currently known as “The Valley.” This allowed for a 1,082-foot vertical for skiing, the highest in the state, and the most varied terrain for guests of all ability levels.

When Tuthill died, Green stepped in as president and CEO to continue her father’s legacy.

“We’re planning to keep Blue Mountain Blue Mountain, keeping the character,” Green said. “We pride ourselves on giving our guests a back to nature experience, and we’re hoping to expand on that over the next three to four years. I’m excited with those plans.”

In recent years, Blue Mountain opened Slopeside Pub & Grill, as well as outdoor adventures in its Summit Adventure Park.

The resort has been working on plans for a six-story hotel built on 1.95 acres near the Summit Lodge for the past few years. The hotel, if built, would consist of 135 hotel units, Green said Tuesday.

Lower Towamensing Township plans to submit its highway occupancy permit application for its central sewage facility by October.

The system will connect to the existing Blue Mountain Ski Area wastewater treatment plant, which will be upgraded to account for the additional sewage flow.

The plan will cover the entire township, with concentration on the Aquashicola, Walkton, Little Gap, Weiner Mobile Estates, and Red Hill Road portions of the township where malfunctions of existing on-lot sewage systems are present.

The plant will continue to be owned and operated by the Tuthill Corporation.