A New York Ski Journey

For reasons you might know, I hadn’t skied in nearly a month. I knew I was out of shape, but not sure how far. I wondered about my wind, would it be affected? It was time to figure it out, on my first trip, back in the game. On Friday morning, I headed north toward the snow.

Plattekill

I still have this feeling that I’m on borrowed time, like skiing could go away at any moment. Planning to ski four days in a row was a sign, I was going to push it. It had been snowing all week, and physically there was no reason I shouldn’t ski.

My doctor, a skier herself, told me to “take it easy.” I think we both knew that advice would be heeded, but only up to a certain point.

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McCauley: The Answer

As another week unfolded, things went true to routine, for this season. A healthy dose of overtime at work to get it all done, and a chance for snow in the forecast. I picked up the hotline to reach out to Scottski. He was thinking the same thing as I; McCauley on Friday.

Scottski, Mogul Junkie, Lemmycaution and I all wanted to ski McCauley on Friday, but beyond that things were unsettled. Carpool options were complicated; ultimately only Scott and MJ shared and I drove solo. I had three days to ski, and our place, 60 miles east of McCauley, was top of mind. From there, both Whiteface and Snow Ridge — ground zero for the recent new snow — are within range.

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Making the Call for McCauley

There’s always some fear of missing out during the season. Last month, I watched that epic day at McCauley and I felt it. I didn’t even know it was snowing that day. I had to remind myself that I too had great days there and would have many more.

When projections for Friday’s storm started to creep above a foot, I felt it again. The storm had been well advertised with Northern Vermont as ground zero. Evan and I decided to ride closer to home to get fresh snow and avoid crowds. We met in Utica for the ride to Old Forge. We arrived at McCauley early Saturday morning to give ourselves the best chance at the new snow.

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