Adirondack Double: Gore Mountain and Rogers Rock

The number of eastern mountains running lifts has dwindled quickly in April. I might still get more days in Vermont but this weekend was the end of the ski season for New York. It’s a melancholy time every year but of course, we have to accept reality. I remind myself, there is more to life than just skiing. We still have lots of fun, adventurous things to do.

Gore Mountain summit

My favorite way to get outdoors during the summer months is flatwater paddling. I’ve long had the idea in the back of my mind that I could make the transition from skiing to paddling in a single trip. I didn’t invent the idea. This time of year, social media fills up with “I skied and golfed the same day” or “I skied and mountain biked” posts. But I haven’t done it before.

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Gore: Sometimes You Just Gotta Ski

All week at my desk, reports from the hill told of stellar spring conditions, with skiers pealing slices off the steepest terrain on the mountain. It rained on Thursday and then dropped in a quick blast of cold air for the weekend. As we passed mid-February, I was sitting at 16 ski days, with a three day weekend in front of me. The season isn’t getting any younger, sometimes you just got to ski.

Ski Bowl Yurt

I slept late Saturday and drove to the mountains in the afternoon skipping what seemed like it would be the iciest day of the weekend. Sunday looked warm-ish with a little sun and Monday was forecasts as a mixed bag of snow and rain.

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Do You Love Your Home Mountain?

Late afternoon on Sunday, at the end of a long ski day, I was sitting in the bar at Plattekill, surrounded by friends. When I’m in that spot, reliving the day’s adventures, I feel like the luckiest man alive. I snapped a picture of the room, and fired off a tweet on NYSB’s twitter.

Home Mountain Tweet

“Do You Love Your Home Mountain?” The thought as expressed was actually incomplete. I could have added … “as much as I do?” to the end of the question. Smiling wide at the end of another joyful ski day, I decided to bounce it off the internet. I think Twitter is my go-to in the mountains as it seems to require minimal signal strength to function.

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