Channing's Trail - Channing cut his first ski slope on a wooded slope not far from his home while in High School. The 2 to 3 foot wide run was known as Channing's Trail and was a favorite of other Hastings-on-Hudson kids whenever snow fell.

1954 Channing meets Jane at Middlebury College in VT both are passionate skiers. Channing was captain of the Lacrosse team. Jane was a member of the collages ski team.

1956 - June: Jane & Channing get married just after graduating from college.
Channing then spends two years in the Army at Fort Bliss in Texas teaching guided missile systems.

1959 - Channing at age 24 watches a ski film by John Jay, a cinamatographer who perhaps more than any other person is responsible for the sports rapid growth in the 60's. John Jay was the predecessor of Warren Miller. Channing decides to devote his life to skiing and developing skiers especially kids.

1960 - 1962 From Humble Beginnings - Channing Murdock is hired as GM at Mohawk Mountain in CT by Walt Schoenknecht who also owned Mt. Snow at the time. His first assignment was to excavate a 16-hole outhouse to make way for flush toilets. I was literally shoveling _ _ _ _! His next assignment was to throw up a Telecar double chairlift then install snowmaking equipment then another chairlift. After two years he was ready to put up his own chairlifts. He would later rise to Chairman of the prestigious National Ski Areas Association.

1961 - Channing and Jane purchase the property of the defunct G Bar S Ranch. The Ranch had operated as a ski area and dude ranch in the 30's and 40's. It had all the right attributes: accessibility to population centers, good elevation and contours, water for making snow and ample room for parking. Channing pledges to develop on the north facing slopes of east mountain the biggest and best ski area south of VT.

1962 - August 10 final papers regarding the use of adjacent state land and private acreage were finished and agreements were signed. The origional leese agreement with the state was one page co-authored by Channing and the Commissioner of Natural Resources without any lawyers. The lease agreement cost $75 and was consumated with a handshake. Today the document is well over fifty pages.

1963 - "Murdock Finds His Ski Mountain" wrote Bill Wallace, a sports writer for the New York Times.
Channing and Jane Murdock turn the G Bar S Ranch (and Warner Mountain used as a ski slope with a rope tow for 20 years as part of the old ranch) into Butternut Basin Ski Area. Turning them into the youngest proprietors of a ski mountain at age 28. Named for the many Butternut trees on the property, Channing and Jane sold 136 shares at $1,000 each to investors and took out a bank loan for $360,000 to start their dream. (their shareholders would receive butternuts in lieu of dividends on their investments!) Channing put in a $100,000 Italian chair lift with the help of high school boys "the lifts directions were written in Italian and no one could read them" stated Channing.
Lift tickets were $6 on opening day Dec. 24, 1963!
Butternut featured a 4100 foot long double-chair which transported skiers to the mountains summit offering a 1000 foot vertical for skiing. in addition there were five electric rope tows. The chairlift was manufactured by Carlevado & Savio of Turino Italy and had 138 seats transporting about 1000 skiers per hour. The ski terrain ammounted to 7 trails covering about 35 acres. The parking lot can park 1000 cars. He built a 3500 square foot ski lodge.Snowmaking equipment covered 10 acres and ran from the bottom to the new chairlifts mid-station.
The Ranch is the old Pixley property which the family obtained through a land grant from King George II. The property was converted into a dude ranch in 1936 by Henry Cairns (believed to have been the first of its kind in New England). The Dude Ranch also offered skiing here in the winter with some rope tows.

Russ Funk was probably the first employee hired full-time. Russ started as a lift operator, eventually rising to the position of Mountain Manager in the early 80's before retiring in 2001 after 38 years of service. Other noted employees are:
Ken Noad, hired as the 1st Ski Patrol director, Mickey Gervis who worked in Rentals, while Paul Brown formerly of Big Tupper in NY & Mt Snow in VT ran the Ski School the first year.

Channing Murdocks philosophy was to always understand his guest - asking the question: "What do skiers want and how can we give them the best?" Jane stated that one of the early brochures slogans was: "Ski, Relax and Defrost" This philosphy remains true at Butternut today. Channing was fond of saying - "No Gimmicks and no swimming pools - I like to put the money into the mountain - snowmaking, grooming and skier facilities!"

1964 - Norwegian ski racing ace, Einar Aas joins the mountain team in year two and still reigns as the Director of the Ski & Snowboard School to this day. The old blue ski patrol house was located where the business office is now. A new 2300 foot T-Bar was installed this year.
Lift ticket rates are: $6.00 for an adult on a weekend all area; $5 for just the T- Bar and $3.50 for the rope tows only.
Juniors lift tickets are $4.50 for the complete area; $3.50 for the T-bar and $2.50 for the rope tows. Tows are free for kids 6 & under.

1966 - Butternut Summer Day Camp Opens. A summer day camp for kids ages 3-13 years of age opens. Channing comes by the camp operation honestly having been a tennis instructor at a summer camp and a trampoline instructor at a YMCA in his youth.

1968 - Chair #2 Highline double installed

1969 - Chair #4 Paddy Wagon double installed