June Turns on Mount Marcy

For many skiers, the season in New York ends sometime in March. For those a bit more passionate about the sport, some may make the pilgrimage to the more elevated resorts such as Whiteface or Gore, which usually spin their lifts until around the second half of April. And, for those who just can’t let the amazing NY season end, we find a way to continue making turns through May and even into June (if you’re crazy enough).

Marcy Dam Slides

Whiteface’s Skyward, which sits at over 4,300’ in elevation at its top, usually holds a decent snow patch that is hiked and skied for a good couple weeks into May, eventually becoming too sparse and rocky by the time the Veteran’s Memorial Highway opens in the middle of the month.

Continue reading

Mount van Hoevenberg Singletrack Hike

Sunday before Memorial Day. The 400th consecutive cloudy day in the Adirondacks. At least it wasn’t raining. I paused construction on the ark for a trip to the happiest place on earth, Mount van Hoevenberg.

intersection of 3 trails
3 Trails intersection

While I’ve put in my share of mileage on the Ho’s ski trails, the singletrack is a mystery. I think that most of these were originally snowshoe trails linking various ski trails. At some point, many of them were cleaned up and manicured for summer cycling.

Last summer, I had a day where I incorporated a bit of singletrack on the cross country side into my run.

Continue reading

A New York Skier’s Season in Photos: 2024/25

Ski season is over in the east, and it was an interesting one with good snow cover in the heart of the season and then a quick ending with warm temps and no big late season storms. I got my days in, had my fun and took a bunch of photos as the camera is always in my pocket. Here are some of my favorite images from 2024/25.

Hunter Mountain snowmaker

My season opened at Hunter, where I caught this image of the snowmaker looking back to make sure that everything was right. The footsteps in the untouched snow with the lone person initially caught my eye while riding the lift. Behind the scene was this person’s attention to detail, doing what was needed to help ensure opening day was a good one.

Continue reading