Woods Valley Opening Weekend 2019

There was powder to be shred early this month. As is often the case, I was faced with the question: where to ski? The Catskills were the epicenter of winter storm Ezekial, but 16 inches had fallen at Woods Valley.

Woods wasn’t open during week and another 4 inches was forecast to fall on Friday. I watched the webcam all day at work; Woods was empty and the snow was coming down. I hurried to ski the last hour. The first run through deep untouched snow was all it took it to convince me. I told Paul the liftie I would see him before first chair at 10am.

True to my word, I pulled into Woods at 9:30 on Saturday and was first in line. My first lap was one of the those dreamy groomer runs, 3 inches of fresh snow on packed powder cord.

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Woods Valley Pond Skim 2019

Like many NY ski resorts, Woods Valley closed on Sunday. It was the 89th day of their 54th year and it was a good one. There were festivities, bands and events all through the weekend, including everyone’s favorite, pond skimming.

the-pond

If Sunday was my last day this season I couldn’t ask for better. It was t-shirt skiing with low 60s and classic corn snow. Most of the mountain was open with 12 trails so I showed up around 11 a.m. and took a few laps.

Coverage was great without any bare spots. It was a surreal feeling standing at the top of the little mountain. I tried to savor every carve and slash knowing it could be my last for 6 months or more.

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Hunt Hollow: A Glimpse of the Good Life

Growing up in the Finger Lakes I had always heard of Hunt Hollow hidden away in the hills of Naples. The idea of a private ski club is certainly alluring, so when family scored guests passes, I had to bite.

Hunt Hollow sign

My dad and Alex were equally excited, despite living less than half an hour away none of us had ever been there. We dried our clothes from pond skimming the day before at Bristol and loaded up first thing Sunday morning.

I’ve been lucky with the weather this season and Sunday was no exception. On the drive over we were greeted with a heavy snow squall and the road was covered from the nights previous snowfall. Pulling into the parking lot was like flicking a switch, the clouds dispersed and the sun came out.

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