Hurricane Sandy: Front and Back

Over the past week, many skiers were excited to see video, images, and trip reports of skin tracks and powder from the forests of West Virginia. I saw them, and they were awesome for any time of year, let alone late October.

Skiing Hurricane Sandy in West Virginia
Almost Heaven

That joy we enjoyed on the backside stood in sharp contrast to the awful side of the storm that our neighbors faced at the front.

And now, the news cycle is turning the page to other stories about blue and red states. As the mainstream media and public suffer from disaster fatigue, the story of Sandy will inevitably be swept aside. In the process there are devastated communities that will also be brushed from our consciousness.

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Plattekill Tree Skiing Workday 2012

While some resorts tout summer improvements like a new Waffle Hut, RFID tickets, or shuffled deck chairs, Plattekill did something a little different this past weekend.

Early ups

In a joint venture launched by the mountain and the NYSkiBlog, 25 volunteers came forward to do a little pruning in the woods.

The result was truly beneficial to the skiers of the Catskills; a new intermediate-to-advanced glade was cut in a snowy and consistently pitched area of the mountain that many should be able to enjoy.

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High Life on the Long Trail

“There’s gold in those hills!” As I pulled into the parking lot for Camel’s Hump state park, it was evident that fall was upon us. Autumn is a magic time of year in the Northeast. The days get shorter quickly, so it’s important to squeeze every drop of life and light from the sun.

Camels Hump via Long Trail

We knew in advance that there are two trails on the West side of Camel’s Hump to attain the Long Trail, the Forest City and the Burroughs. We saw no one parked at the lower elevation Forest City parking lot, but we did notice a few cars coming down from the Burroughs lot.

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