Support Your Local Rope Tow

Within the last few years there’s been a resurgence of park skiing in Western New York. Just outside of Rochester, you’ll find Northampton Park (NHP), a small but mighty setup featuring a lodge, rentals, a rope tow, 100 feet of vertical, and a surprisingly deep lineup of terrain park features.

grooming the plaza

The first time I came here nearly 10 years ago, there were maybe one or two features, enough to session for a bit, but nothing like what stands today. Now, the park stretches top to bottom, stacked with rails, jibs, and creative builds that let you take a completely different line every single lap. Watching the progression of their park builds over the last few seasons has been impressive.

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Buffalo Ski Center: Indy Pass Opens a Door

Coming off a great MLK weekend of skiing, the Great Lakes were firing snow into their usual inland targets. I spent the early part of the week watching the forecast, trying to time where and when to get out. In Western New York, the band was setting up most consistently over Buffalo Ski Center and Kissing Bridge, with snowfall rates that were hard to ignore.

I’ve been interested in Buffalo Ski Center’s history and the area as a whole for a few years, but I had never ridden there. The challenge was always access, being semi-private made it tricky to plan around. That changed this season when BSC joined the Indy Pass, instantly moving it from “someday” to “must visit.”

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Chasing Powder on The Tug

The lake effect storms that normally blow across Ontario and dump feet of powder onto the Tug Hill Plateau have been somewhat lacking this season. Mother Nature has had other plans, sharing the snowfall in the Adirondacks, Western NY, and the Catskills. There have been small and intense bands here and there, but not what we are used to seeing coming off of Ontario in November and December.

North Slope
Snow Ridge

This was the case for until just days after Christmas. The National Weather Service of Buffalo released their highly-anticipated Expected Snowfall map. As a Tug Hill local, you could say the map was very exciting. Dry Hill, Snow Ridge, and Woods Valley saw a forecast for 12-18” of new snow.

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