Composed of quartzite covered with a softer syenite sheath, it was intruded about 1.5 billion years ago.

[2] The nearby Wausau Downtown Airport at an elevation of 1,201 ft (366 m), is located just 3 mi (4.8 km) to the east.

The peak is also the site of transmitters for radio and TV stations in the Wausau area, and is the namesake for Wisconsin Public Television's WHRM-TV (Channel 20) and WHRM-FM (90.9), Wisconsin Public Radio's news and classical network station for the area.

[citation needed] Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont had opened a few years earlier in 1934.

Sun Valley in Idaho had become the nation's first ski area in the western states in 1936.