McCauley: Back in Action

Winter storm Landon dumped snow all across the New York, but north was the place to be. I wanted to avoid the big name resorts as I knew most would be crowded. McCauley seemed like a good choice, especially because I didn’t make it there once last year.

Snowmaking on the bottom of Olympic

Even better, I was rejoined by my favorite chairlift partner Farah and McCauley is one of her personal favorites. We had plans for first chair but had a rough start when we got on the road. The snow was so caked on from my drive to work the previous day that the whole car shuttered at any speed. After a little work to clean out the wheel wells we were back on the road and headed up route 8 to Old Forge.

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Greek Peak: Soft Sunday

Greek Peak is a mountain I know well from my college days. I spent a lot of time on the slopes that might have been better spent going to class. But then if I had gone to class, maybe I wouldn’t be writing this piece. I’m always excited to get back to a place I know well.

Katalima

With recent snow, Greek was sure to be in good condition. I called Alex and made plans to meet for first chair. He was ready to get some use out of his Indy Pass.

The trails off Lift 1A looked prime, so we took a few runs to warm up. High speed laps on the corduroy always get the blood flowing. Empty lift lines and new RFID gates meant we skied onto the lift most of the morning.

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Snow Ridge: The Snow Pocket Opens

A lot can be said about the tenacity of east coast riders. Ski The East is an idea that resonates. We ski in the rain, we lay edges in ice and last week some of us braved negative temperatures to make a few good turns. Some saw the temperatures and canceled plans. Others saw the upside: ski on lifts and quality snow.

Snow Ridge lodge

It was 8 below when I left Utica and negative 14 as I pulled into the parking lot at Snow Ridge. I was already wearing most of my gear for the drive, so I slipped into my boots and headed into the lodge for the ticket.

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