Adirondack Double: Gore Mountain and Rogers Rock

The number of eastern mountains running lifts has dwindled quickly in April. I might still get more days in Vermont but this weekend was the end of the ski season for New York. It’s a melancholy time every year but of course, we have to accept reality. I remind myself, there is more to life than just skiing. We still have lots of fun, adventurous things to do.

Gore Mountain summit

My favorite way to get outdoors during the summer months is flatwater paddling. I’ve long had the idea in the back of my mind that I could make the transition from skiing to paddling in a single trip. I didn’t invent the idea. This time of year, social media fills up with “I skied and golfed the same day” or “I skied and mountain biked” posts. But I haven’t done it before.

Continue reading

Mohawk Mountain: Late Start, Hot Laps, No Biggie

The Brownski household has gotten off to a sort of a slow start this ski season. Junior is leading the pack since he’s been working as a liftie again and made it to Plattekill twice. Dangerboy only has two days. I’ve gotten in a day at Greek, three at Plattekill, and now one at Mohawk Mountain in Connecticut.

Mohawk Mountain Ski Area sign

It’s not just lack of dedication. The industry I work in is very busy during the months of November and December. It’s always challenging for me to find the time for early season skiing. Junior was working on Monday so it was just me and Dangerboy, my 16 year old son.

Continue reading

Better than a Corvette: Joining Patrol

“Some guys buy a Corvette when they turn fifty. Other guys join ski patrol.” Spoken by a Belleayre patroller who showed up on a Saturday to help finish the testing process for some of my fellow patrol candidates. Joining ski patrol is my version of a mid-life crisis. Fundamentally, I was the same as a guy who buys the car he has been lusting after for most of his life.

injury at Killington
East Fall at Killington

Like the Belleayre patrollers, I was there to help out with testing. My son and I had been through the process a month before. It was the end of a long road that began last fall when I spotted a post on social media announcing that a patroller from Belleayre would be conducting an Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) class for interested parties.

Continue reading