Titus Mountain: Cold Powder

In 2013, I discovered a valuable life hack: skiing on my birthday is a great way to forget I’m getting older. Ever since that day I’ve made it point to ski Plattekill on the anniversary of my entrance into the world. The joy of skiing drives out any thoughts associated with the inevitable passage of time.

Titus Mountain

In years when my birthday falls on a day when the lifts aren’t spinning at Plattekill, I’ll ski it on the closest operating day. At the same time, I look to one of my other favorite privately owned New York ski areas, to ski on my official date of birth.

I didn’t have a plan to ski Wednesday, and it occurred to me that this tradition/coping mechanism dated back 14 years. I didn’t want to break my streak.

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Riding the Royal Powder Carpet

There are two wolves inside me. One wants to grow snow riding. Add stoke. Support locally owned mountains that are lifebloods in their communities. The other wants to throw all that out the window on a powder day.

first chair

Royal Mountain, overlooked by some, has been getting widespread attention with recent weather events. Royal is less than an hour down the road from me, and I’ve make it a habit to ride there every season. In April 2022 I caught a late spring storm and last year Jake Tennis gave us the scoop on the new trail The Red Carpet.

When I pulled up last Saturday I was hyped to see a great little mountain getting the attention it deserves.

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My First Woods Valley Powder Day

I’ve wanted to ski every ski area in New York for a long time. It’s a big job, and now I have the flexibility to do it. Based in NJ since I started skiing in 1990, until now, logistics have focused my attention on eastern New York and Vermont.

I have more time now, and I’ve set my sights on filling the holes in my resume in Central and Western NY. I’ve got 30 lift-served areas to ski, over the next three years, if things go according to plan.

This winter, I’m still based in New Jersey, but I’ll be in the Adirondacks a lot more. First, I’ll be focused on the hills I can ski in a day from the Adk and NJ. Next year, I’ll look further to the west with some overnight roadtrips.

Big Chair
Big Chair

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