In Western New York, I earn my miles. Between work during the week and recreation on the weekends, a lot of life happens on rural roads. My car has been incredibly reliable, carrying me to countless trailheads and ski areas over the years. On the way to Holiday Valley, I hit a milestone as the odometer rolled over to 333,333 miles. Triple threes, on a ski day, headed into the hills? That felt like a good omen.
For the second year in a row, Holiday Valley was the first resort to open in WNY, thanks again to heavy lake-effect snow. Last year, a storm dropped roughly 40 inches before opening day. This season, they’d already been open for a week with snowfall totals topping 50 inches.
I almost felt bad for my friends out West, the East is clearly the place to be this December.
One of the great things about Holiday Valley is that it delivers a true ski experience without a long haul, tucked into the hills yet easily accessible from nearby metropolitan areas.
The day brought a strong sense of déjà vu: first day of the season, same mountain, same ticket attendant, and that familiar feeling of gratitude for starting the year with a powder day. Earlier in the week, Davis and I had been glued to the forecast, debating whether or not to take Friday off to ski. Our decision that paid off in a big way. We were booted up and ready as the first chair loaded on Yodeler.
While we aren’t Holiday Valley regulars, we know our way around well enough. That said, we happily followed a local rider to sniff out deep, untracked snow.
It didn’t take long for reality to set in, my quads were on fire after doing little to no offseason conditioning. A mellow groomer day might’ve been easier on the legs, but I was on cloud nine, floating through the snow and loving every turn.
The mountain felt less crowded than I expected. With five chairlifts spinning, skiers were spread out nicely and there was plenty of terrain to explore. Between the high-speed lifts and fresh snow, we lost count of how many runs we racked up.
We spent much of the morning lapping the Morningstar Express Quad before heading over to the picturesque glades off Tannenbaum, scoring even more untouched snow near “The Fort”.
After a quick lunch in the Yodeler Lodge, Davis spotted some friends from Rochester. We teamed up and headed back out, trading back and forth, showing off our favorite stashes from earlier in the day.
On our first chair ride together, someone mentioned skiing until 3 p.m. I wasn’t sure I had that kind of energy left, but knowing I wouldn’t be back on snow for another couple of weeks was all the motivation I needed to empty the tank.
I still haven’t spent nearly enough time exploring the charming ski town of Ellicottville, that’s high on the list for my next visit. If there’s one thing I can count on just as much as the reliability of my car, it’s that Holiday Valley delivers a high-quality ski experience. You don’t need big mountains or long flights for a world-class day on skis. Just a full tank of gas and a car you can always count on.
Seems like yesterday I started the ’24 season with you out there. Here’s to more lake effect in the near future.
HV does more with 750 feet of vertical than you might imagine. 25 years ago I flew into BUF and drovev a rental car down 219 on a bitterly cold afternoon…went there to tape my weekly Skiing Weatherman report. Got up the next morning, started the car, but had a hard time getting it to move much. It was 20 below zero and the rear wheels were frozen! Got the shoot done…quickly…but those were the only runs I made that day! Two thumbs up for HV and the town of Ellicottville!
Great start to the season!
Great conditions and nice pics. Daughter and I are going to Holiday for 3 days in January for our first time.
Looks like another great day. The Happy Glade pic is world class. That one should get framed and go on the wall