Author: Harvey

Skier, Blogger, Ski Blogger. Editor-in-chief NYSkiBlog.

Titus Mountain: Cold Powder

Posted on by Harvey

In 2013, I discovered a valuable life hack: skiing on my birthday is a great way to forget I’m getting older. Ever since that day I’ve made it point to ski Plattekill on the anniversary of my entrance into the world. The joy of skiing drives out any thoughts associated with the inevitable passage of time.

Titus Mountain

In years when my birthday falls on a day when the lifts aren’t spinning at Plattekill, I’ll ski it on the closest operating day. At the same time, I look to one of my other favorite privately owned New York ski areas, to ski on my official date of birth.

I didn’t have a plan to ski Wednesday, and it occurred to me that this tradition/coping mechanism dated back 14 years. I didn’t want to break my streak.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Powder, Titus8 Comments

My First Woods Valley Powder Day

Posted on by Harvey

I’ve wanted to ski every ski area in New York for a long time. It’s a big job, and now I have the flexibility to do it. Based in NJ since I started skiing in 1990, until now, logistics have focused my attention on eastern New York and Vermont.

I have more time now, and I’ve set my sights on filling the holes in my resume in Central and Western NY. I’ve got 30 lift-served areas to ski, over the next three years, if things go according to plan.

This winter, I’m still based in New Jersey, but I’ll be in the Adirondacks a lot more. First, I’ll be focused on the hills I can ski in a day from the Adk and NJ. Next year, I’ll look further to the west with some overnight roadtrips.

Big Chair
Big Chair

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Tagged: Central NY, Powder, Woods Valley9 Comments

Dry Hill: Finally Dry

Posted on by Harvey

In 2010, I began work on NYSkiBlog’s Directory of NY Ski Areas to educate myself about New York skiing. In the process, I learned about Dry Hill, the other Tug Hill ski area. It’s a beautiful ski hill on a ripple in the terrain, a few miles south of Watertown. Dry Hill has a magic all her own.

Dry Hill Ski Area

There’s a lot to like about Dry Hill. Dry has a double chair, a T-bar and a magic carpet serving 7 trails on 42 acres; 1.5 miles of terrain with 300 feet of vertical drop. It’s not too surprising that both the double and the T-bar were made by the venerable Hall Ski Lift Company — which was also based in Watertown NY — from 1955 until 1982.

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Tagged: Indy Pass, Lake Effect, Powder, Tug Hill7 Comments