Polar Peak Ski Bowl, NY

Over the summer, we encountered a character on Facebook named Snowmaker Seven. He was an outspoken snowrider from New York who — we assumed — worked at Catamount or in the Catskills.

Polar-Peak-Night-Skiing

Earlier this month, he declared online: “Summers been fun but it’s time to test the snowmaking system! Bring on winter 2013-2014!” Curious, we pushed for information on his home hill. His response: “I work at Polar Peak in Columbia County!”

This got our curiosity up. Way up. Students of the map of New York and yet we barely knew of Columbia County, much less Taghkanic, NY. We found the location with the help of Google maps and tracked down Polar Peak’s website. A fascinating story emerged.

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Fahnestock Ski Swap 2013

The fourth annual cross-country ski swap to benefit Fahnestock Winter Park will take place from 9AM to 1PM this Saturday, November 2, at the Taconic Outdoor Education Center located at 75 Mountain Laurel Lane, Cold Spring NY.

Three-Nordic-Skiers

With 15 km of groomed trails near Cold Spring NY, Fahnestock is a great cross-country resource for skiers in the New York metropolitan area.

“We look at it as a service to our community,” said Paul Kuznia. A dedicated skier, Kuznia is director of both Fahnestock and Taconic Outdoor Center. “A lot of our customers aren’t experienced skiers. They come to the sport later in life, and they learn to enjoy the winter.”

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Hiking Beacon Mountain, NY

For years I’ve had my eyes on Beacon Mountain but the time was never quite right. I always seem to succumb to the pull of other options in the Hudson Highlands.

Mount Beacon Wheel

Breakneck Ridge, just to the south, is one of the most highly regarded day hikes in New York and on many lists as the first choice in the area.  South of Breakneck is Anthony’s Nose and across the river Storm King Mountain ascends straight out of the river at an impossible clip.

I put those options aside, as my hiking partners called in late.  But even with our casual 10am start, I knew that the A-team was ready for a challenging loop.

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