The Rebirth of Mont Alta Ski Area

Over the past few years, we’ve published several features in the Magazine about the most underutilized arrow in the northeastern skier’s quiver: Québec.

Mont-Alta-Nov-2008
Mont Alta November Dump

From the Eastern Townships and Laurentians in the south to Charlevoix and the Gaspé Peninsula in the north, the province offers a number of great mountains, but its special sauce is the many interesting small areas similar to Hickory in the Adirondacks or Plattekill in the Catskills.

With the 2013-14 season inching closer, we learned over the past week that one of the most beloved of these locals’ hills, Mont Alta — located an hour northwest of Montréal in the Laurentian snowbelt — is going to reopen after being closed last season, with the goal of transforming it into a co-op.

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NY Ski Magazine: Ischgl, Austria

For the third and final installment of the Magazine’s series on Austria, we head to the popular resort of Ischgl, which not only offers an extensive, snow-sure winter playground straddling the Swiss border, but also an après-ski scene that’ll test the mettle of even the most hardcore party hounds.

Skiing Ischgl Austria

Sometimes referred to as St. Anton’s indefatigable younger brother, Ischgl is truly a place where you can have your schnaps and drink it too — stay in the lively urbane town for easy access to 40+ bars and nightclubs (pole and lap dancing optional) or use one of the quiet nearby villages as a headquarters if you’re only there for the skiing and/or have the family in tow.

Equally noteworthy, the ski area manages to simultaneously celebrate its fun-loving reputation and more than five months of lift operations (stretching from late November to early May) by holding two huge outdoor concerts at mid-mountain to open and close each ski season. Please click through and read:

NY Ski Magazine
Ischgl Austria: More Than Just A Party

NY Ski Magazine: Montana Means Mountains

Over the years, I’ve compiled a decent record of scoring powder on western ski vacations that were booked months in advance; but based purely on anecdotal evidence, Powderqueen has me beat.

Montana Skiing

Whenever she leaves Central New York for destination trips out west, fresh snow always seems to be along for the ride. Her March 2013 visit to the wilds of western Montana — split between the state’s two major resorts and a few lesser-known mountains — was no exception.

As she points out, Montana is a place that often gets overlooked by northeasterners as a ski vacation destination, yet the northern Rockies boast quality snow on spectacular, uncrowded terrain. Big Sky and Whitefish look like excellent full-service resorts for multi-day stays, but the many great off-the-beaten-path mountains appear to be Montana’s real secret sauce.

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NY Ski Magazine
Montana Means Mountains