Gore Mountain, NY: 12/27/11

I’m starting to realize that it almost always makes sense to ski. In the last five seasons, I can’t remember a ski day I regret. And I work for my days. I’m 52, married, a dad, with a child in school, from the distant flatlands. Five powder days in a season is good for me.

Headwaters

Planning a ski trip over Christmas holiday is always a crap shoot. But, like a lot of guys, I do it for all the reasons listed above, plus there really is nothing we’d rather be doing that week. It’s winter vacation and we want to ski.

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Gore Mountain, NY: 12/18/11

After our Thanksgiving ski weekend, Zelda gave me some sobering news — our odds for returning to Adirondacks before Christmas were slim. Indeed, our December weekends were packed with events, but closer scrutiny on my part led to the discovery that it was really only Saturdays that were jammed up. So I pledged to be the man on each Saturday this month in exchange for the freedom to disappear before dawn on Sundays to daytrip the Catskills.

As I watched another ugly midweek weather event sweep across the northeast last week, I noted that the coldest air of the season was to be ushered in behind the front. Temps were forecast to be near zero in the Adirondacks, so I considered a novel idea: daytripping Gore.

It wasn’t really a day trip. After cheering for an inspiring performance of The Nutcracker, and then celebrating a Taekwondo birthday, I bid goodbye to my girls and drove to the mountains Saturday night. As predicted, a clear night delivered overnight temps close to zero.

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Hunter Mountain, NY: 12/11/11

Catskill starts are early for me, and this morning was no exception. I’d set the alarm for 4:30 with the intention of meeting Xman at our regularly designated spot. The Sheraton in Mahwah is well known by skiers for its spacious parking lot strategically placed at the NY/NJ border. I arrived before day break at 6:15 am.

Mahwah-Sheraton
Mahwah Sheraton

X was a few minutes late, but I wasn’t the slightest bit concerned. He takes his driving very seriously, and we arrived at Hunter at 8am. As we pulled in, the base was underneath a cloud of manmade snow.

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