The Downstate NY Blog

Lessons from Mount Peter

Posted on by ml242

Stuffed with winter cheer, holiday spirit and Chinese food ours was a multi-faceted ski mission, for a good cause. Earlier in the month I saw ISKINY’s learn-to-ski deal offering $35 packages at a number of New York resorts, including the nearby (to me) Mount Peter.

Mount-Peter-Lodge

I was inspired. My holiday schedule was packed with weddings and family and errands, but I really wanted to get on the slopes.  Mount Peter gave me a great price to get two excited never-evers on the slopes. Off we went.

It’s hard not to make this sound like a gift to myself, but I really wanted to share the gift of skiing with a classmate and her boyfriend. Skiing is easily my most favorite winter activity, but I find it hard to explain why newbies should try it.

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Tagged: Downstate NY, Mount Peter2 Comments

Polar Peak Ski Bowl, NY

Posted on by NYSkiBlog

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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Tagged: Downstate NY10 Comments

Fahnestock Ski Swap 2013

Posted on by Peter Minde

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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Tagged: Downstate NY, Nordic SkiingLeave a comment