The Holiday Valley Blog

Holiday Valley Opens in 2024

Posted on by Robert

The Erie lake effect machine fired her guns hard and heavy the last week. Usually I would turn my eyes towards the Tug Hill, but lake effect can be a fickle thing. At Dry Hill they needed snorkels, but Snow Ridge could only launch a soft opening.

Tannenbaum Express

Cold Canadian air was pushing south and in the early season Lake Erie often reigns supreme. Holiday Valley was in the epicenter getting over three feet of snow.

I called my boys Alex and Evan, and on Friday we headed to the Aspen of the East, Ellicottville for Holiday Valley Opening Day 2024.

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Tagged: Holiday Valley, Lake Effect, Powder, Western NY6 Comments

Holiday Valley: It Snowed Out West

Posted on by JonC

Like the rest of the northeast, we’ve been patiently waiting for winter to arrive here in Western New York. We received our typical early season dump that puts a foot on the ground only to take it away a week or so later. Then we had a slow start with limited snow-making windows.

Firecracker

There have been moments where we thought it was on, a few small storms with a couple inches here and there. There was also the recent storm that dropped 20” in the Buffalo metro area but left the ski areas to the south high and dry. We were all waiting for the weather to send some classic WNY lake effect to the hills.

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Tagged: Holiday Valley, Western NY10 Comments

Holiday Valley: Social Distancing the Rain

Posted on by Robert

I’m sure most people don’t think of my home — Utica NY — as a ski town. I could go on about the city-owned ski slope and local history, but its true advantage is being located in the middle of the state. Much of the best skiing in New York is within a day trip of my apartment.

Mardi Gras lift

I’m also lucky to have a forward operating base at my parents house in the Finger Lakes. While the rest of the state was getting rain on Christmas Day, Western NY was getting lake effect snow from Lake Erie. With the Bills winning the AFC East and 8 inches of snow on the hill, Holiday Valley skiers were smiling. I left my folks place early Saturday morning with my sights set on Ellicottville.

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Tagged: Holiday Valley, Lake Effect, Western NY7 Comments