Going BIG at Tupper

Big Tupper has my full attention. Every time I pass it on the road to school at St. Lawrence University, the mountain reminds me of that amazing day I had there in February of 2014.

big-tupper-view

It was the first day they’d opened Chair 3 that season, and all of the terrain above Chair 2 was untouched. I had an absolute blast exploring this new, incredible and oh so Adirondacky terrain.

Since then, I’ve been itching to get back. But with a dismal winter last year and rampant rumors that Big Tupper wouldn’t be spinning lifts at all this year, my best hope was to earn turns after a storm.

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Back to Big Tupper

With only a half day to ski, I had decisions to make. Wake up early, drive an hour to Gore and spend the morning exploring a fraction of the mountain, or drive 45 minutes to Big Tupper for untracked lines and ski-on lifts all morning?

Big-Tupper-View

For me, Tupper was the right call. Sunday was my first time on the hill since President’s Day 2012. Arriving at 8:45, I found a parking lot with maybe a dozen cars. After grabbing my $25 lift ticket, I headed for Chair 2.

Chair 3 wasn’t running and looking up towards that forbidden peak, I wondered if Tupper would see the kind of snowfall it would take to open it up this season.

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Big Tupper Pre-Season Tour

It was an exciting Halloween weekend for a few lucky New York skiers. I didn’t share in the early pow slashing in the Catskills, but I did get a healthy dose of preseason stoke a little further north. I spent a day exploring Big Tupper with lift ops manager Cliff Levers.

Driving through the town of Tupper Lake in the morning, I saw the mountain in the distance, across the lake. Like a tourist, I pulled over to the side of the road to take a picture — the slopes glistened with a fresh dusting of October snow.

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