Harvey
Administrator
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2020
Last Saturday, I drove down River Road from Warrensburg to find Hickory Ski Center.
I soon arrived at EDeO's sign ...
Within a minute I heard the sound of an ATV. It was Shawn Dempsey, the GM of Hickory Ski Center. We walked over to the Base Lodge and went inside.
Shawn showed me the firepit. His father Jim, had fabricated the metal hood for the hearth nearly 50 years ago. In 1972, the Lodge burned to the ground. When the building collapsed, the metal hood was crushed. Shawn's father recovered the hood from the rubble and pounded it back into shape with a hammer. You could still see the dents. In the old days, people would bring their own hot dogs and roast them in the fire. These days, the board of health doesn't allow it.
We talked for about an hour, then headed outside. Shawn showed me the loading station for Poma 1.
It's a "manual" lift in the purest sense. There's a pull chain that engages each rider's platter with a cone up the lift run set at a set interval. When the previous rider gets to the cone, the lift operator engages the next stick. Shawn demonstrates both lift operation and usage at the same time.
The view up the Poma 1 run is indicative of the Hickory's terrain. An apron of moderate pitch surround Hickory's legendary steeps.
The WinchCat was looking ready for action.
We walked past the newly graded bunny slope and handle-tow and down to the base of the T-bar.
The wooden bars are all new. But the big news is the installation of three-phase electric power and the purchase of this baby.
This 50-horsepower electric beauty will replace a 40 horsepower gasoline powered engine that was noted for its noise, backfires and general crankiness on extra cold mornings. Shawn seem a little conflicted by the fact that his state of the art power plant with the General Electric marque was made overseas, and not in Schenectady NY.
We motored up to the top of the T-bar and shut down the ATV.
Then we walked over to the mid-station on Poma 1. It's the end of the line for intermediates.
Down to the bottom of Poma 2 and then we started making our way up Ridge Run...
...and past Paul's Peril.
I mentioned to Shawn that a tree shot at Gore had recently been renamed "Paul's Peril" after the famed Paul had had a difficult encounter with a tree stump.
Shawn: "Is that the same Paul who runs with EDeO?"
We got to the top of Poma 2. It's inspiring — the river, the valley, with beautiful views, and bedrock everywhere.
We continued over to The Roost.
Then we hung out for a while soaking it all in.
I asked Shawn if he would mind if I walked down "Hare." He agreed to meet me back at the base.
The run is everything that you've seen in the NELSAP pictures, and more.
The upper mountain has so many cozy nooks and crannies.
And the north-facing trails were still holding a small amount of snow from days earlier, and it was nearly 60 degrees.
Eventually I arrived back down at the lodge.
On the way out, I noticed a building high on a hill across the valley.
Harv: " I bet there's a great view of the mountain from there."
Shawn: "There is a great view. Want to check it out?"
Access to this spot almost eliminates Hickory's need for aerial photography.
And the view of the valley is stunning....
This hill is gorgeous. I love everything about it.
Whiteface, Gore and Belleayre aside, it seems that these days, ski hills are driven by real estate. In some rare cases, ski areas are sustained by the pure love of skiing. Places like Mad River Glen, many X-C ski areas ... and the (pipe?) dream resorts of the Mountain Riders Alliance.
For me, the word that describes the feelings inspired by this hill is ... joy. It's an incredible, magical place.
Ski Hickory.
I soon arrived at EDeO's sign ...
Within a minute I heard the sound of an ATV. It was Shawn Dempsey, the GM of Hickory Ski Center. We walked over to the Base Lodge and went inside.
Shawn showed me the firepit. His father Jim, had fabricated the metal hood for the hearth nearly 50 years ago. In 1972, the Lodge burned to the ground. When the building collapsed, the metal hood was crushed. Shawn's father recovered the hood from the rubble and pounded it back into shape with a hammer. You could still see the dents. In the old days, people would bring their own hot dogs and roast them in the fire. These days, the board of health doesn't allow it.
We talked for about an hour, then headed outside. Shawn showed me the loading station for Poma 1.
It's a "manual" lift in the purest sense. There's a pull chain that engages each rider's platter with a cone up the lift run set at a set interval. When the previous rider gets to the cone, the lift operator engages the next stick. Shawn demonstrates both lift operation and usage at the same time.
The view up the Poma 1 run is indicative of the Hickory's terrain. An apron of moderate pitch surround Hickory's legendary steeps.
The WinchCat was looking ready for action.
We walked past the newly graded bunny slope and handle-tow and down to the base of the T-bar.
The wooden bars are all new. But the big news is the installation of three-phase electric power and the purchase of this baby.
This 50-horsepower electric beauty will replace a 40 horsepower gasoline powered engine that was noted for its noise, backfires and general crankiness on extra cold mornings. Shawn seem a little conflicted by the fact that his state of the art power plant with the General Electric marque was made overseas, and not in Schenectady NY.
We motored up to the top of the T-bar and shut down the ATV.
Then we walked over to the mid-station on Poma 1. It's the end of the line for intermediates.
Down to the bottom of Poma 2 and then we started making our way up Ridge Run...
...and past Paul's Peril.
I mentioned to Shawn that a tree shot at Gore had recently been renamed "Paul's Peril" after the famed Paul had had a difficult encounter with a tree stump.
Shawn: "Is that the same Paul who runs with EDeO?"
We got to the top of Poma 2. It's inspiring — the river, the valley, with beautiful views, and bedrock everywhere.
We continued over to The Roost.
Then we hung out for a while soaking it all in.
I asked Shawn if he would mind if I walked down "Hare." He agreed to meet me back at the base.
The run is everything that you've seen in the NELSAP pictures, and more.
The upper mountain has so many cozy nooks and crannies.
And the north-facing trails were still holding a small amount of snow from days earlier, and it was nearly 60 degrees.
Eventually I arrived back down at the lodge.
On the way out, I noticed a building high on a hill across the valley.
Harv: " I bet there's a great view of the mountain from there."
Shawn: "There is a great view. Want to check it out?"
Access to this spot almost eliminates Hickory's need for aerial photography.
And the view of the valley is stunning....
This hill is gorgeous. I love everything about it.
Whiteface, Gore and Belleayre aside, it seems that these days, ski hills are driven by real estate. In some rare cases, ski areas are sustained by the pure love of skiing. Places like Mad River Glen, many X-C ski areas ... and the (pipe?) dream resorts of the Mountain Riders Alliance.
For me, the word that describes the feelings inspired by this hill is ... joy. It's an incredible, magical place.
Ski Hickory.
