Author: Harvey

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

NY Skiing: Financing the Future

Posted on by Harvey

This spring ORDA approved a plan to invest $91.7M in Whiteface, Gore, Belleayre and Mount van Hoevenberg. Funds were appropriated for a variety of projects including new and improved lifts, lodges, snowmaking and other infrastructure. The most high profile projects include a $19.7M lodge at the North Creek Ski Bowl and a $16.5M two-stage detachable quad at Whiteface.

Artist rendering of new North Creek Ski Bowl Lodge courtesy ORDA

This is the latest in a series of transformational infrastructure upgrades for New York’s state-run ski areas that has spanned decades, dating back to the 1960s. Since that time, marquee projects have included gondolas, lifts, lodges, snowmaking, new terrain, and access to water from the Hudson River.

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Tagged: Expansion13 Comments

Gore Mountain: May 1 2022

Posted on by Harvey

In March, when I first heard rumors of Gore’s plan to spin lifts on May 1st, I didn’t think it would happen. The base looked deep and the forecast was cold, but May Day was a far off destination. If nothing else, the now famous leaked ops calendar convinced me of ORDA’s commitment to the effort.

Route 287
North to NY

Holding up my end requires some commitment too. It’s a challenge to get up for a long drive north, whether it’s the middle of the night or the middle of the day. It’s especially hard to get into the right mindset when I’m packing the car in shorts. Either way, it all makes sense after I arrive in the mountains.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Gore Mountain17 Comments

The Re-Opening Belle

Posted on by Harvey

Something is in the water this year, up in Lake Placid, at ORDA.  Maybe it’s Snowmax. At all three mountains, the snow was deeper than any time in recent memory, and maybe deeper than ever.

Route 28

This season, the three state-run hills were the last to operate in NY, and it wasn’t even close. Belleayre closed for the last time on April 23, while Gore and Whiteface are still shooting for Sunday May 1.  This year a new closing date record is being set at Gore.

Most years there’s at least a chance that a private area will rival Whiteface for latest closing.

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Tagged: Belleayre, Catskills8 Comments