Hunter Mountain Zip Line

Over the past week, Hunter Mountain in the Catskills unveiled its much-awaited year-round attraction: zipline tours. Jason, I, and 20 other thrillseekers met with New York Zipline Adventures principal partner Bradd Morse, who, over a 27-year career, has helped design and operate canopy tours all over the world.

Hunter Mountain zip line truck

After leading us to the equipment office to sign an extensive release and provide us with a specialized harness and helmet, we boarded a custom built “Zipline Limo” and were transported to the mid-mountain tour area.

At Hunter, with the omnipresent snowmaking guns and trails that were blasted into the terrain like a superhighway, very few skiers say “wow, that’s a beautiful mountain.” But go figure, right between Hunter One and the main ski area is a stunning ravine that is how I imagine the Catskills looked before the hemlock forests had been cut down in the mid-1800s.

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Skier Perceptions of Gore and Belleayre

Since joining the NYSkiBlog crew last fall, I’ve been initiated, from a distance, into the lively discussions about Gore Mountain.

Gore Mountain Snowmaking

Similar to the Alta crowd in Utah, knowledgeable and passionate Gore skiers can spout details about every single trail, lift, glade, and rock on command. Take a look at the reader comments to Harv’s Gore entries this season and you’ll see an array of detailed and divergent theories on everything from snowmaking, grooming, and midweek lift service to parking and placement of terrain parks. Very little seems to escape their laser-like scrutiny, including a growing impatience with the way that operational decisions have been communicated to customers.

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The Garden State: Wild Roses

Over the past few days, my favorite wildflower, the Wild Rose — the Multiflora Rose — has exploded across the New Jersey landscape.

Wild Roses in NJ
Wild Roses

According to American Meadows: “The botanical term for wild rose is ‘species rose’, which means just what it says — a species that occurs naturally, with no help from man — a true wildflower. There are over 100 of these worldwide, some native to North America, many from the Orient and Europe.”

With their trademark five white petals, Wild Roses are virtually everywhere: in the middle of forests, along the sides of highways and roads, next to ponds and streams. Even if you have a blindfold on, they’re tough to miss.

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