Uphill Battle

[Brownski]

I’m not surpriser but I’m still a little baffled by that gondola and trail. And didn’t that Highmount project get approved at some point? What are those developers waiting for? Are we supposed to fund the construction of their golf resort too?

 

[Ripitz]

Let’s not forget what ORDA stands for and what it doesn’t.
It’s the Olympic Regional Development Authority and skimo is soon to be an Olympic sport.

ORDA's legislative mandate is to:

1. 
   Institute a comprehensive, coordinated program of activities utilizing the Olympic facilities, Gore Mountain, and Belleayre Mountain, in and around Lake Placid, North Creek, and Highmount, New York, in order to insure optimum year-round use and enjoyment of these facilities to the economic and social benefit of the regions and to minimize the financial burden on state and local government by maximizing revenue opportunities.
2. Improve the physical fitness and recreational education of the people of New York and the United States.
3. Develop, implement and supervise a comprehensive, coordinated program for the management, promotion and scheduling of a wide range of national and international athletic training and competitive opportunities that maximize the utilization of the Olympic facilities.
4. Develop, construct, operate, manage and maintain facilities for the training and housing of amateur athletes in connection with the United States Olympic Committee's training center program and ORDA's conduct of national and international sports event

 

[Harvey]

I heard from Laz by text while I was "sleeping."

"4 uphill skiers almost run over by groomers at 6am."

Then he asked my to put this out there:

"We have a no uphill policy in the morning, and daytime uphill is only for ticketed skiers and only on trails not open to downhill skiers."

I will post this in Plattekill Conditions too. And try to get more clarity. He's going to put signs in the parking lot, I will push him for a dedicated page on the website.

 

[Brownski]

Seems reasonable (and easily understood) to me

Policies | Plattekill Mountain

www.plattekill.com

 

[Harvey]

This just appeared in search results, I anticipate it will move into position 1 soon.

 

[Ripitz]

noliftneeded.com is a good resource for policies that was previously posted. Plattekill is listed as “anytime” and the link to Plattekill’s site comes up 404. I hope this is corrected soon as to not create any confusion.
What happened at Plattekill is unacceptable. Policies must be in place, stated publicly and people must follow them. Sure getting uphill access revoked would suck but people getting run over by a snowcat is obviously much worse. Policies differ at each area. Some places allow it when the lifts are open, some when they are closed and some anytime. Please know before you go and check in with base to double check that it is allowed and what route to take. While it might not be for everyone, touring at your local ski area can be a safe and enjoyable experience. I hope it stays that way.

 

[Benny Profane]

I drove over to Windham on Tuesday after I got shut out of skiing at Hunter, or, should I say, excluded from skiing for the day, just to check the place out because, hey, nuthin' better to do. Pretty drive, anyway, and, man, did they pave roads a lot up there recently. Anyway, haven't been to that mountain in a very very long time since I learned how to ski. Holy mackerel, that is a different place than I remember. So, that's where the Lexus crowd comes to ski. Yeah, I know, lame skiing experience, but, I just wanted to see it and ask someone directly about uphill policy and pricing. It's 30 bucks a day, and 90 bucks season pass. Or, if you have a pass, which, no, I wouldn't, because thats like 140 retail at the window (!), but, you can buy much cheaper if you reserve weekdays way ahead. They have a pricing system on their website that reminds me of Liftopia's old site, pricing to demand. They are also an Ikon mountain, but the hell I'd sully my virgin Ikon pass for that place. If I dont use the Ikon, I get full credit for next season.
The actual policy for uphill is quite liberal, compared to most mountains. I was told by one instructor at the base that you can skin any trail, anytime! Just dont be a bonehead, stay to the side, and be aware. His buddy nodded. Hmmm, I thought, looking up at a green trail that looked perfect for some exercise to the top. And, there's both a mac and cheese and taco truck on the plaza as a reward for your return! The bathrooms arent crowded at all, and, generally, at that kind of ticket pricing, the mountain itself isn't crowded, either, even with the refugees from the Hunter shutdown that day, like me. I may be back soon.

 

[Brownski]

yeah, I made the observation once that places with a lot of hotel rooms tend to have good policies because they want to rent snowshoes to the non-skier family members. It’s kind of ironic. You definitely see lots of snowshoers walking up the hill there.

 

[Ripitz]

These are easy amenities to add to a facility without increasing costs to infrastructure. Patty has a snowshoe ticket for one ride up. I’ve seen people ride the gondola at the Belle to snowshoe Route 9 to Sunset lodge and points beyond and download back to base. Some people consider skating across the ridge on their way to bomb down the mountain as more of an inconvenience. But for my mom who doesn’t ski anymore snowshoeing it would be a great experience.

 

[marcski]

These are easy amenities to add to a facility without increasing costs to infrastructure. Patty has a snowshoe ticket for one ride up. I’ve seen people ride the gondola at the Belle to snowshoe Route 9 to Sunset lodge and points beyond and download back to base. Some people consider skating across the ridge on their way to bomb down the mountain as more of an inconvenience. But for my mom who doesn’t ski anymore snowshoeing it would be a great experience.

They need a transfer tow up there like at Alta.