Holiday Mountain Opens in 2024

Regular readers of NYSkiBlog already know we think the turn around at Holiday Mountain is one of most exciting stories in New York skiing this year. When Mike Taylor bought Holiday last spring, he attacked the problem of repairing, updating and expanding the ski area.

South Lodge

New skis and snowboards for the rental fleet? Done. New carpet, tables and POS system for the lodge? Done. Need some new groomers? Done. Well, not new per se, but new to them. A new lift? It’s happening. Actually, buying and installing a ski lift isn’t that easy. Mike decided to get the double chair — sitting unused for years — back into service this season.

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TGR Films: Legend Has It

It’s that time of year again, winter is so close you can taste it. It’s time to go wax and sharpen your skis. Find your goggles, gloves and balaclavas. Dump last year’s dirt out of your boot bag. Check to see what needs to be replaced, what needs to be tossed in washing machine.

Legend Has It poster

And it’s time to get your head in the right space. It’s time to get stoked. The best way I can think of to do that is to show up at a ski movie. There are a handful of production companies out there making ski movies and doing theater tours. Not all of them make it to the New York area but Teton Gravity Research does.

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Safety Kayaking the Hudson River Swims

Early this summer, Ripitz reached out to me about the Newburgh to Beacon Swim. He was swimming to help raise money for The River Pool in Beacon. He asked if I’d be interested in volunteering as a kayak safety escort. I thought it was a cool idea so, once I’d checked that my schedule was open. “Where do I sign up?” Rip directed me to their website.

Long Dock Park
Long Dock Park

Before the day of the swim the organizers had a meeting which I joined via Zoom. They explained things thoroughly. Our job was to keep an eye on the swimmers, provide something for them to grab onto if they needed to rest and call in a jet ski or motorboat if somebody needed to come out of the water.

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