Hickory Ski Center in Warrensburg, New York, held its 4th Annual Telemark Festival today. There were plenty of activities including an organized Tour de Trees, telemark gear demos, a “Skin Challenge” and an ongoing Après Party with music that started around 3 pm.
But I couldn’t concentrate on anything but the hill and the skiers I met. Hickory is a simple, pure skiing experience that I won’t forget, and I’ll long to relive.
Click to read: the full Telemark Festival Trip Report.
Great trip report Harv. I would love to check out Hickory. I may have to dust off my skis though. Riding those Pomas all day on a snowboard would probably get pretty old. Did you see any boarders at all on Sunday?
I skied the whole day from 8:30 to 4pm. I saw one snowboarder boarding Poma 1. Not sure if he made it up to the summit on Poma 2.
I’d definitely recommend you ski Hickory vs. riding it on a board. You’ll last longer and the tow track will remain in better condition too.
Nice report Harv!
The last time I (officially) skied Hickory, in 2005, I had two very strong snowboarders with me. By the end of the day they literally felt brutalized by the pomas, altho like lab rats they kept going for more cheese.
And Palka! Even more snow for those backside lines? I knew I liked you for a reason: optimism!
Great write up – thanks for the shout out too!! Cheers & keep shredding -The Ski Till I Die Guys
Looks like a chill place.. Great report.. What’s the name of the white mountain in the background of a few shots… is it part of resort.. Trees look spaced out nicely?
I am only guessing, but from looking at that hill from Hickory, I think it is just well-logged. Definitely not part of the mountain. Pretty low elevation.
The hill visible across the river from Hickory is called Sugarloaf. And FYI Hickory is on Pine Mountain. The name “Hickory” came from the wood used for skis by the 10th Mountain Division skiers who originally skied there. Pine Mountain never had any preponderance of Hickory growing on the hill.
After reading all the great reviews (and randomly running into an employee at Garvey VW that had just been to Hickory) my wife and I decided the stars had aligned and it was time to check it out. Yesterday’s fresh powder seemed like it would be a sure bet for a great day on the mountain, but we were disappointed to find out that Poma 1 was only open to the halfway point, and Poma 2 wouldn’t be opening. There were some nice little runs, but after a couple hours we were a bit bored. It turns out they only had a few paying customers and a lack of ski patrol, so they couldn’t open the top. I guess everyone got their Hickory fill on Saturday and Sunday?
I’d recommend to anyone looking to go that you call ahead to make sure the whole mountain’s open. While the mountain may have legendary glades up top the bottom isn’t even comparable to the short runs in the High Peaks area at Gore.
We’ll likely be back, probably for a half day – the place has a great, rustic vibe, and I’m greatly looking forward to the more challenging terrain. Hopefully this sleet storm predicted for Thurs/Fri doesn’t kill the snow!
Thanks for info…
The alarm didn’t go off this Sunday, and I woke up in a panic at 8:30 AM to realize Gore was out of the question (time to get ready + the hour drive + the parking mess + the ticket line wouldn’t allow me to be on the slopes until 11 AM). Alas, I decided the head to the closer Hickory for a half day of skiing in the beautiful fresh powder.
This place definitely lives up to its purported reputation of having challenging terrain and true backcountry. I’ve never really skied backcountry before, and I ended up on what I thought was a glade only to realize I was deep in the woods. It was pretty sweet (and a bit frightening considering all I’ve read about stranded skiers recently). Four hours of non-stop skiing + lots of trips on the Pomas thoroughly exhausted me. I’m still feeling it in my legs worse than any other time in recent memory!
All those groomed-run-haters at Gore need to check out the serious bump terrain here. I second what everyone else is saying about the great vibe (classic ADK skiing).
BPATT – glad to hear your second Hickory adventure went far better than your first. Good things come to he who waits for the right time and conditions. As Hickory has no snowmaking and the top two-thirds is the real gnar ungroomed as it is, was downright treacherous and as pleasant as wisdom teeth extraction over President’s Weekend.
The fresh and timely arrival of Ma Nature’s white magic saved our bacon this past weekend. Skiing Hickory does make you appreciate snowmaking and grooming at Gore. If for no other reason then to tune us up for trees, steeps and the top 2/3 of Hickory.
Ski you later down the fall-line.
I think everyone feels brutalized if they ride the pomas 9-4. I was there last weekend and saw a few boarders get after it as much as most people.
The “crowds” really left at 1pm, not that there were lines or people couldn’t find seats in the lodge.