Greek Peak: Ontario Powder

I pointed it out before, the tail is now wagging the dog. My ski destination choices are now about more than proximity, snowfall and terrain.

There are now other questions to be addressed. Have I been to a ski area before or is it new to my list? When was the last time we featured the area on the front page? Can I find someone to ski with me?

America

Editorially for us, New York ski areas are best, VT a close second. My goal every season is to ski new NY areas. Especially prized are ski areas in Central and Western NY. In New York, I’ve never skied west of Greek Peak and I want to do it.

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Kissing Bridge: Turn It Around

It had been snowing pretty consistently in Western New York for about a week and the skiing was good everywhere. South of the city had accumulated about 2 feet of snow over the previous week. I had planned to head out skiing in the morning and we were forecasted for a few possible inches that night.

liftline

I had plans to ski-tour a state forest in Ellicottvile and made my way out of the house. We received a few very light inches of snow in my driveway in Buffalo, which only required a few passes with the shovel. As I hopped onto the highway, the snow intensified pretty quickly.  Traveling into the southtowns on 219, precipitation started to get heavy.

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Snow Ridge: The Snow Pocket Opens

A lot can be said about the tenacity of east coast riders. Ski The East is an idea that resonates. We ski in the rain, we lay edges in ice and last week some of us braved negative temperatures to make a few good turns. Some saw the temperatures and canceled plans. Others saw the upside: ski on lifts and quality snow.

Snow Ridge lodge

It was 8 below when I left Utica and negative 14 as I pulled into the parking lot at Snow Ridge. I was already wearing most of my gear for the drive, so I slipped into my boots and headed into the lodge for the ticket.

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