Mount Hermon ski resort
33°18′29″N 35°46′21″E / 33.30806°N 35.77250°E
| Mount Hermon ski resort | |
|---|---|
View of the ski-resort and the cable cars | |
Mount Hermon ski resort Location within the Golan Heights Mount Hermon ski resort Mount Hermon ski resort (the Golan Heights) | |
| Location | Golan Heights |
| Nearest major city | Majdal Shams |
| Coordinates | 33°18′29″N 35°46′21″E / 33.30806°N 35.77250°E |
| Top elevation | 2,040 metres (6,690 ft) |
| Base elevation | 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) |
| Skiable area |
|
| Trails | 14[1] |
| Lift system | 11 |
| Website | www.skihermon.co.il |
The Mount Hermon ski resort (Hebrew: אתר החרמון) is situated on the south-eastern slopes of Mount Hermon, a few kilometers off the Purple line, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The site is surrounded by the Hermon nature reserve. While the nature reserve is open year-round, the ski resort is open only at the peak of winter (usually January–March), when enough snow is accumulated on its ground.[2] It has a top elevation of 2,040 metres (6,690 ft), going down to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft), with an area covering about 2,434 dunams (243.4 hectares).[3]
History
The first lift was installed in 1971, largely with assistance from the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the resort first opened to skiers in December 1971.[4]
The next considerable expansion came in 1981 when the region fell under Golan Heights annexion Law, which allowed for easier expansion and additional lifts were added gradually during the next 20 years.[5]
Facilities and access
The resort is accessible via a winding road that extends 24 kilometres (15 mi) and rises 5,400 feet (1,600 m) from the Hula Valley. The resort offers 45 kilometres (28 mi) of trails, with the skiing peak at an elevation of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level and the vertical drop to the base measuring 400 metres (1,300 ft).[6][7]
The resort includes a range of ski trails for novice, intermediate, and expert levels, including seven red pistes, three blue pistes, two black pistes and one green piste. The resort also offers additional winter family activities such as sledding and Nordic skiing. There is still no town at the resort, so those who operate the Hermon Ski area live in the nearby Moshav of Neve Ativ and the town of Majdal Shams. The ski resort has a ski school, ski patrol, and several restaurants located at either the bottom or peak of the area. The resort also has several facilities for summer visitors. As the highest point in Israeli controlled areas, it is also in a very strategically important position for the IDF because it overlooks Syria and Lebanon. In peak season more than 12,000 people can be on the mountain each day. The resort has also added a snowpark.
The resort provides an important source of income to residents of both Neve Ativ and Majdal Shams, the home of many Druze ski instructors.[8]. In the 2000s the resort started suffering from fluctuating temperatures, having had previously two to three months of good snow every winter going down to only two to four weeks. In 1999, for the first time in its history, the resort had no sufficient snow at all for skiing.[5]
Resort ownership
Since 1972, the resort has been operated and held by the residents of the Israeli settlement of Neve Ativ.[9] The families have no property rights in the land and they have not paid the Israel Land Administration for its use in over a decade.[10] SPNI accused resort operators for charging illegal fees.[11] In 2010 the Movement for Quality Government in Israel appealed to the Supreme Court of Israel against the Israel Land Administration. In the appeal Neve Ativ was accused of holding the area of the resort without any valid contract, violating the public's interest and the Israel Land Administration law.[12]
Legal issues
Snowcat accident
In February 2004 a 24-year-old woman was killed and four others were injured in a snowcat accident.[13] The vehicle was not intended for carrying passengers. The driver was arrested and his lawyer claimed that he was only following the orders of his superiors.[14] In 2008 the Nazareth court sentenced the resort manager, Menahem Baruch, along with three other resort workers, to a suspended six-month jail sentence and a 5000 Israeli new shekel penalty payment.[15] The family of the deceased woman complained that the sentence was not severe enough.[16]
Arson of rival business
In 2004 police arrested four senior workers at the resort for allegedly ordering the arson of a competing snow equipment rental business in Majdal Shams.[17] According to allegations the four offered two fellow resort workers a sum of 40 thousand Israeli new shekels each for setting fire to the competing business. Additionally resort workers allegedly harassed visitors who rented equipment from the rival shop.[18]
Specifics
- Top peak: 2,040 m (6,690 ft)
- Base elevation: 1,600 m (5,200 ft)
- Number of pistes: 14
- Length of pistes: 45 km (28 mi)
- Area: 5,000 dunams (500 ha)
- Number of lifts: 8
See also
References
- ^ "Slopes and Maps". www.hermonski.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- ^ "Mount Hermon Ski Resort opens a month earlier than usual after this week's heavy snow", Omer Rabin's reports on "Globes", 15 December 2010
- ^ The Hermon Ski Resort: About, homepage of the resort, accessed 9 August 2019
- ^ Paz, Shelly. "Greens demand public access to Mt. Hermon", The Jerusalem Post, July 14, 2008. Accessed February 25, 2026. "The moshav, which has been responsible for the site's operation since 1971 (when together with the Jewish Agency and the Moshavim Movement, it established the first cable-car to take visitors to the top of the mountain), has required payment from visitors to the site ever since."
- ^ a b Ben-Tal, Daniel (January 2, 2012). "Israel's winter wonderland". Israel21c.
- ^ "Welcome to Mount Hermon, Israel’s only ski mountain. It shuts down when it snows", Times of Israel,February 29, 2020. Accessed February 25, 2026. "The only route to the Hermon is a steep, windy road filled with hairpin turns that gains some 5,400 feet in elevation over the course of 15 miles (24 kilometers), from sea level in the Galilee’s Hula Valley to the base lodge of the ski area.... The ski area has four double chairlifts, a new gondola with neon-green cabins and a bunch of rope tows spread out over 28 miles of trails with a 1,300-foot vertical rise from base to summit.... The Israeli-controlled part of the mountain reaches a height of 7,300 feet, with the ski summit at 6,700 feet."
- ^ Mount Hermon, Snow-Forecast.com. Accessed February 25, 2026. "Vertical: 433m; Top: 2073m; Bot: 1640m"
- ^ Heilman, Uriel. "Welcome to Mount Hermon, Israel’s only ski area. It shuts down when it snows.", J. The Jewish News of Northern California, February 25, 2020. Accessed March 16, 2026. "The ski instructors are Druze villagers from nearby Majdal Shams, a town captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and where residents still pledge loyalty to Bashar al-Assad."
- ^ Safier, Dovi; Geberer, Yehuda. "Skiing on Sacred Snow", Mishpacha, January 7, 2025. Accessed March 16, 2026. "In 1972, the Israeli government transferred control of the skiing operation to the families of the newly established Neve Ativ alpine moshav on the slopes of Mount Hermon. The Neve Ativ residents continue to operate the site today."
- ^ Rot, Nurit (February 27, 2008). "Who owns the Hermon resort?". TheMarker.
- ^ Rinat, Zafrir (November 28, 2006). "Group accuses Mt. Hermon ski-area owner of charging illegal fees". Haaretz.
- ^ Aviad, Glickman (July 20, 2010). "Appeal against Neve Ativ regarding Hermon resort". Ynet.
- ^ Ash, Uri (February 11, 2004). "Deadly accident". Haaretz.
- ^ Rabed, Ahia (February 11, 2004). "Snowcat driver suspected of causing death by negligence". Ynet.
- ^ "Suspended jail sentence for Hermon resort manager in 2004 snowcat accident". Globes. December 18, 2008.
- ^ Mizrahi, Yossi (December 21, 2008). "Snowcat accident - minimal punishment for those responsible". Channel2News.
- ^ Rabed, Ahia (February 18, 2004). "Seniors workers in Hermon resort suspect of ordering arson of competing business". Ynet.
- ^ Rabed, Ahia (March 21, 2004). "Police say there are evidence against senior Hermon resort workers". Ynet.