The Adirondacks Blog

Garnet Hill Ski Center Opens 2014

Posted on by Harvey

Garnet Hill Lodge had a Ski Shop Open House all weekend, with music and free skiing. On Friday after our drive to the mountains, we made some late day nordic turns on Upper Tailings, Old Faithful and Lift Line.

Trapper Trail
Rolled Trapper

Saturday Neve got her new gear through the annual GHL kids nordic gear exchange ($20/year) and we picked up our seasons passes. The girls headed back to the cabin to do some sledding. I was surprised they didn’t want to ski but I soldiered on, heading out solo towards the intersection of Trapper and 4H.

Like the day before, my intention was to check out the view from the Upper Tailings then head down 4H to Old Faithful. But also like the day before, after I enjoyed the view, as I skied past Lift Line… it sucked me in.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Nordic Skiing3 Comments

Whiteface, NY: Early Season Rewards

Posted on by midatlantico

Slowly but surely, ski resorts have been coming online this week like lightbulbs on an aerial map of the northeast. First a flash from central Vermont as Killington kicked off the region’s ski season, then a flicker from Maine as lifts began cranking at Sunday River.

Whiteface-NY-Summit

Even Governor Cuomo got into the act, announcing last Friday that Whiteface and Gore were opening for the season. In other words, it was time to get skiing.

The rain blanketing the Hudson Valley on Monday held the promise of snow further north, though with a warming trend that was likely pushing the rain-snow line at least as high as the Killington summit and possibly a good ways up Whiteface as well.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Whiteface2 Comments

By the Numbers: Gore’s Adirondack Express

Posted on by snoloco

I’m fascinated by lifts and lift technology, so I was excited when GM Mike Pratt offered me the chance to visit Gore Mountain for an update on the new lift, the Adirondack Express 2.

Adirondack-Express-Tower-Heads

As we were driving into the parking lot, we saw all of the new lift parts lined up in the parking lot, ready to go.

The new high speed quad is a bottom drive with the same configuration as the relatively new Burnt Ridge Quad. The motor is 700 horsepower and runs off of 480 volts.

Max design speed for the new lift is 1100 feet per minute (fpm) like the Burnt Ridge Quad and Gondola. While it’s unlikely that it will be run at full speed, it will still be considerably faster than the old lift.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Gore Mountain11 Comments