Chasing Winter at The Top

Powder skiing in New York came to an abrupt halt in early March. Without a season saving storm in sight, the mountains have been losing snowpack. Even at higher elevations, temperatures above freezing during the day and below freezing overnight, brought on an early spring.

Marcy Dam

Spring isn’t bad. Longer days, light crowds and of course, t-shirt weather. Corn snow is a blast when time and temperature align. Early in the day, it can be a nightmare of frozen crud, and in the afternoon it can become mashed mush. Combine all of it together, and you have a springtime backcountry tour in the High Peaks.

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Lake Placid Loppet: The Forecast Called for Pain

I haven’t blogged much for NYSB this year. Skiing at Mt van Hoevenberg on 1 December, I crashed hard when Pumphouse Road turned from groomed powder into a rock garden. A torn acromioclavicular ligament put me outta commission. When I returned to skiing, it was decent early season conditions. No one wants to hear “It’s thin, but really good” when downhill writers are contributing stories with epic powder shots.

Lake Placid Loppet

Early on, the big storms were missing us in Saranac Lake. Gradually, conditions improved in the Tri-Lakes. Three inches here, three inches there, and pretty soon you’re skiing in good conditions. By the time the Lake Placid Loppet rolled around, we had serious midwinter conditions.

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A Great Season at Whiteface

Now that spring seems to have arrived, it is safe to say that this will be one of the best of my dozen years skiing Whiteface.

Going into the season it seemed like management had planned to open the summit as early as possible. As in recent years, the peak of the mountain was in play right away with Paron’s Run open from the top. This was several years in the making with snowmaking upgrades that were promised and now delivered.

Cloudspin opened early with good coverage
Cloudspin opened early with good coverage

Sure, there will always be mechanical issues at a ski area, but this year seemed different.

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