Ski season is over in the east, and it was an interesting one with good snow cover in the heart of the season and then a quick ending with warm temps and no big late season storms. I got my days in, had my fun and took a bunch of photos as the camera is always in my pocket. Here are some of my favorite images from 2024/25.
My season opened at Hunter, where I caught this image of the snowmaker looking back to make sure that everything was right. The footsteps in the untouched snow with the lone person initially caught my eye while riding the lift. Behind the scene was this person’s attention to detail, doing what was needed to help ensure opening day was a good one.
The highlight of opening day at Hunter was the chance to see and experience the new Broadway Express 6-pack lift. Here’s a group of skiers coming down Kennedy, with a look at the new lift and the ‘new’ showcase run under the lift, Gun Hill Road. I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun the new, wider Gun Hill turned out to be.
Just before the holidays, I made my way to Killington, which is always a first introduction to true winter for my season. I’ve come to really enjoy that mid-December visit to Killington, to really kick the ski season into a higher gear. This black-and-white image of the deeper snow and snowy trees at the intersection of Old Superstar and Superstar really just said ‘winter in Vermont’ to me.
The next day, winter really kicked in with fresh snow. Here’s a shot of the Skye Peak summit in the middle of a nice early-winter snowfall. It was snowing pretty good all morning, and eventually the sun made an attempt to break through the clouds.
The holidays came and went as we got into the heart of the winter. In early January, I caught this shot of the sun peeking through the clouds at Hunter. The photo is timed pretty well to get the sun just as the chair is passing by. It’s also a good shot because we have one skier and one rider on the chair — representation for everyone.
In recent years, I’ve been spending more time at independent ski areas. My friend Brian is a long-time snowboard instructor at West Mountain and I joined him on MLK weekend. You really get the Adirondack feeling skiing around West, and in ways it reminded me of Gore.
While this photo is not the most artistic shot in this collection, it includes a lot of information. The birches in the foreground remind you that you’re in the Adirondack region, and the Lake George mountains on the left help drive home the point. In the far distance you can barely see Vermont. In the center right, the industry at Glens Falls itself is evident with the rising steam. The Hudson is visible on the right which you can trace along the right side of the image, to Glens Falls and beyond.
In February, I had the opportunity to shoot for Plattekill Mountain. After lunch I saw a group of guys gathering at the top of the double chair. I introduced myself and asked if I could photograph them in action. They welcomed me to their group, we laughed about signing photo waivers and we got going. It was great to connect with this group outstanding skiers and high tail it all over the mountain, with a DSLR hanging off to my side.
We got a lot of great photos, some of which have been distributed by Plattekill in various promo emails and social media posts. These guys were very welcoming to me and want to thank them by including John, tele skier extraordinaire in this post — thank you.
Late in the day as the sun was getting lower, I caught this shot at Plattekill. The long shadows combined with the arc of sunshine circling the mountain makes this a really pleasing image to me. This one is likely to become the February image in my upcoming 2026 calendar.
In early March I visited Magic Mountain in Vermont. Magic is another great, old-school indy ski area, always a lot of fun. This shot of the snowscape below the iconic red chair tells the tale of the cold, windy ski day I enjoyed. Conditions were good, and by some ‘Magic” coincidence, I met the mom of one of my daughter’s best pals from college while riding the chair.
After my day at Magic, it was time to return to Plattekill, where I caught up with the crew I photographed earlier in the season. A squall blew through, dropping a few inches of fresh snow everywhere. I followed my new friends into the trees, fell far behind them, and navigated my way through and out.
Never having been much of a tree skier, it’s a different ballgame skiing through trees on fresh powder. I spent the next hours tree skiing, picking some of the lower angle terrain that fit my tree skiing chops. If you look closely in this photo, you can see the last of the crew I followed into these trees.
One more photo from Hunter. This shot from Sleepy Hollow on Hunter North may be the most un-Hunter like view on the entire mountain. This gentle sloping trail faces west, and looks down the Schoharie Valley, with a straight ahead view of Bearpen Mtn. This is a quiet, isolated and gentle trail.
Finding a location to photograph both Windham and Hunter Mountain has become a bit of a quest for me. I think some of the hiking trails in the northwest Catskills may provide some opportunities from elevation, but this location just off a back road also does the trick. Windham (L) and Hunter (R).
This one is similar to a photo from last year’s post, but there’s something about the location of Sugarbush that I really like. Perched on the peaks separating the Champlain Valley from the Mad River Valley, the views from Sugarbush are amazing. This shot from Lincoln Peak shows the Champlain Valley off to the west (L), and three of Vermont’s high peaks to the right – Mount Ellen, Camel’s Hump and Mount Mansfield.
The late afternoon sunlight appeared to be almost trickling down the moguls of Mt. Ellen’s FIS trail at Sugarbush. The timing of this shot caught the sunlight receding up the slope, soon to leave the entire trail in the shadows.
It was early morning in mid-March at Killington when I caught this scene of untracked groomed terrain backed by the fog covered mountains out to the east. The South Ridge lift gives way to Mount Ascutney peeking out of the clouds in the distance.
Here’s a look at the late-season snow build from the Canyon Quad. This season, Killington moved it’s spring skiing to the Canyon area of Killington Peak, as the Superstar chair replacement project got started.
To wrap up the season, here’s one last look to Vermont ski country. This view from the top of the K1 gondola looks south to neighboring ski area including (L-R) Okemo, Magic, Mt. Snow & Stratton.
Last year when I posted my season photos I wrote how its always sad when the ski season ends as nothing else compares to the excitement and camaraderie of skiing with friends, pushing yourself and reveling in the joys of a great ski day. I don’t have much to add to that sentiment, so I’ll leave it right here again this season. Enjoy your off-season everyone.
Please click on images to see them enlarged.
Steve Aaron is an avid skier, hiker and cyclist armed with a camera. Steve’s landscapes have appeared in Backpacker Magazine, Hudson Valley Magazine, NY Newsday and the Albany Times Union. Every August, Steve publishes a wall calendar featuring landscapes from the Catskills and Shawangunks. For more information on the calendar, join Steve’s mailing list.
Great write up of the season Steve, it was a great one. Pictures are outstanding, as usual!
Solid photography, thank you so much! The black-and-whites are especially stunning, but I love all of them.
Steve,
Wow, what a fantastic compilation and beautiful series of thoughtful, stirring photos. I grew up in Merrick New York and lived in the state from 1960 thru 1989. From age 6 I was lucky to be taken skiing by my parents in upstate NY almost every weekend until college. And then I continued that on my own. It started out at Bill Fass’s Mt Peter. Migrated mostly to Highmount and then Plattekill. But we frequently hit Hunter, Windham, Bellayre, Gore (NJ) and in early/late season Killington, Pico and Sugarloaf. I look back today age 65 and cherish the gift of all those great times on and around the mountain from my parents even more.
But your one photo on top of Killington really stirred me the most. I can vividly remember, even have a pitcure of me buried somewhere of our first trip/vacation week to Killington. Stepping into that giant trailmap of 5/6 interconnected mountains was vast and mindblowing to my 7 year old self. I remember trying to ski all of the trails in that week, but my two favorite cruisers were Skylark and Great Eastern. And the sign posts then very closely matched those in your photo. My memories of watching my first ever Warren Miller movie shown on the wall in Snowden Lodge at night was enthralling as I stood among a few hundred adults, jaw agape at the stunning film. Everything as a small child at Killington was HUGE. But the real estate and restaurants back in the late sixties had just begun. I remember my Dad allowng me to order my first lobster in the then dimly lit intimate Wobbly Barn which only sat about 40 diners then. Today its a magalopogus of a ski destination resort. But its still magnificent as are all the great mountains you showcased. Thank you for reviving my best moments with your share!
Stunning pictures! My first favorite is the late day at Plattekill, such a knockout. But if I were to build a gallery I think the centerpiece would be Winter in Vermont. This one would go next to the Stieglitz.
Fantastic pics! The Plattekill shadows is an award winner !
Great recap. The snowmaker in your first photo at Hunter is Nate. I’ll show it to him.