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| Storm King Mountain | |
|---|---|
 Storm King andNew York State Route 218 as seen from atop Breakneck Ridge | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation |
|
| Prominence | 100 ft (30 m)[1] |
| Coordinates | 41°25′58″N73°59′41″W / 41.4328716°N 73.9945843°W /41.4328716; -73.9945843[2] |
| Geography | |
  Storm King Mountain Storm King Mountain (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Parent range | Hudson Highlands |
| Topo map | USGS West Point |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Trail hike |
Storm King Mountain is a mountain on the west bank of theHudson River just south ofCornwall-on-Hudson, New York. Together withBreakneck Ridge on the opposite bank of the river it forms "Wey-Gat" or Wind Gate, the picturesque northern narrows of theHudson Highlands. Its distinctive curved ridge is the most prominent aspect of the view south downNewburgh Bay, fromNewburgh,Beacon, and theNewburgh-Beacon Bridge. It can also be seen by southbound travelers on nearby sections of theNew York State Thruway. This view was a popular subject for early artists of theHudson River School.
While thought of as the highest point in the area, its summit reaching approximately 1,340 feet (410 m) above sea level, the eastern summit known officially as Butter Hill is actually higher, with an elevation of 1,380 feet (420 m).
During his initial voyage up the river,Henry Hudson and his crew named the mountainKlinkesberg, due to its wrinkled rock cliffs near the river.
Later, the earlyDutchcolonists of the region referred to the mountain simply as "Boterberg" (Butter Hill, since the mountain looked like a lump ofbutter; the English translation was later the common name for the mountain). During the middle of the 19th century, writerNathaniel Parker Willis, who had become a resident in the region, proposed the name Storm King:
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 section ofNew York State Route 218 that winds around the eastern slope of the mountain overlooking the River Hudson was originally named theStorm King Highway. That name is often used presently for the four-lane section ofU.S. Route 9W to the west, with Route 218 referred to as the Old Storm King Highway.
During 1962 the mountain became the topic of anenvironmental controversy when localactivists formed the Scenic Hudson Preservation Coalition (known presently simply asScenic Hudson) to fight plans byutilityConsolidated Edison to cut away part of the mountain near the river and build apumped storage hydro-electric plant complete withtransmission lines across the Hudson River for an ambitious power generating scheme which would also have entailed creating areservoir in much of what is nowBlack Rock Forest. In a lawsuit brought by the coalition,Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference v. Federal Power Commission, a judge ruled for the first time thatenvironmentalists had standing to challengeexecutive branch decisions infederal court. During 1979 Con Edison finally abandoned even a greatly reduced version of the project, and settled another lawsuit against theirIndian Point facility by agreeing to regulate the operation of their Hudson River power plants so as to minimize the number of fish they killed and endow theHudson River Foundation with $12 million.[3]
Afterforest fires on the mountain during the dry summer of 1999,unexploded ordnance remaining from 19th centuryartillery tests and training at the nearbyUnited States Military Academy was discovered in some areas close to the trails. As a result, hiking on the mountain was prohibited until October 2002, when authorities could be sure it had been removed safely.
On February 20, 2011, aNYPD helicopter rescued two Fourth Class "plebes" from theUnited States Military Academy nearby, who had stranded themselves 500 feet up on the southern cliff face whilerappelling,[4] when aNew York State Police chopper proved unable to complete the task.
The mountain is a major part ofStorm King State Park. With wide views of the river and areas surrounding, both Storm King and Butter Hill summits are popular withhikers. The orange-blazed unnamed connector trail, leading to the yellow-blazed Stillman Trail, most often accessed at a parking area onU.S. Route 9W, offers an immediate and steep climb up Butter Hill followed by a longer and more relaxing hike to the summit of Storm King.
Although attempted infrequently 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.
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