Making the Call for McCauley

There’s always some fear of missing out during the season. Last month, I watched that epic day at McCauley and I felt it. I didn’t even know it was snowing that day. I had to remind myself that I too had great days there and would have many more.

When projections for Friday’s storm started to creep above a foot, I felt it again. The storm had been well advertised with Northern Vermont as ground zero. Evan and I decided to ride closer to home to get fresh snow and avoid crowds. We met in Utica for the ride to Old Forge. We arrived at McCauley early Saturday morning to give ourselves the best chance at the new snow.

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Bristol on a Super Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday is one of the best days to go skiing. When it’s also your Dad’s birthday, come on, it’s a no brainer. I love coming back to Bristol, the mountain where it all started for me, especially when it’s 100% open. On top of it all, my dad was gifted two inches of light snow overnight.

We met up with Alex at the Rocket Lodge just before opening on Sunday morning.

We started on the Galaxy chair, testing conditions on Upper Universe to Lower Galaxy. It’s easy to get face shots and splashes with small amounts of fresh snow on top of packed powder groomers.

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Turin NY: Report from the Ridge

I’m optimistic that this winter’s rain is behind us. The turning point was 5pm last Saturday in Turin NY, when it turned to heavy wet snow at Snow Ridge. I know this because I checked the webcam repeatedly, willing it to be so, willing it to be snow.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one watching. Blue and his brother Stefan called me right after the changeover. We made plans to meet up for first chair the next day.

It was a sleepy Sunday morning at the Ridge when I pulled in at 8:30. There were about 4 other cars in the parking lot and a similar number of people occupied the lodge. Blue and Stefan weren’t far behind me. By the time we were ready, the Ridge Runner was spinning.

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