A New York Skier’s Season in Photos: 2025/26

My ski season has come and gone, and what a season it was in the northeast. From late December to early March we enjoyed natural snowfall, cold temps and little rain.

These are the conditions that make for a great winter in the northeast it was nice to not have to deal with too many temperature swings, variable precipitation and other factors that adversely affect ski conditions. Here are some of my favorite photos from this season.

As usual, my season started at Hunter Mountain. Opening day on November 22 started with thick, low clouds and only the mainline open for top-to-bottom skiing.

As the day developed, the low clouds started to rise, making for some magical light and incredible scenery as we dusted off our ski legs.

Early season we take what we can get in terms of terrain, and that’s always sprinkled with optimism of what’s about to open. For the dedicated Hunter skier, nothing is more promising than the sight of snowmaking on Clair’s Way, Hunter West’s signature double black trail. This mid-December scene at the base of Clair’s certainly had everyone talking and hoping for a quick opening of Clair’s.

New Year’s Day at Belleayre brought fresh powder and cold temps to kick off 2026. Early on the crowd was thin, affording the early risers extended time to enjoy the cold, light fresh snow. The cold, light, fluffy powder was a real treat to start the New Year.

After skiing Belleayre, I joined my friends Mark and Mitch for another cold ski day at Killington. While the fresh powder I enjoyed a day earlier wasn’t there, conditions were good and we all had fun. This pano view down Needle’s Eye sort of mirrors the view in the previous shot of Belleyare Run. I like the similarity between the photos.

Winter conditions were outstanding for Nordic skiing in the Shawangunks this season. I was able to get out a few days, and enjoyed a crisp, cold day in late January on the River to Ridge trail just outside New Paltz. This was my first time skiing this trail and it was a fun loop of a few miles providing great views in all directions. Most of the skiers I met were consistently enthusiastic in their appreciation of the best nordic conditions they’ve seen in years.

On the first weekend of February, I ventured to Plattekill Mountain – a favorite of mine. As luck would have it, I ran into a hiking friend and was able to spend a good portion of the day with a group of really good skiers. We had a blast, skiing all that Plattekill had to offer. As an added bonus, the early morning view from the top of Plattekill’s triple chair, looking east to the Catskill high peaks was outstanding. Great views out to Slide, Wittenberg and Table Mountains, plus a sneak peek at Belleayre.

Also in early February, I joined my daughter at Killington for a long-planned ski day. After spending the ’24-25 season in Colorado, Alison has grown into an outstanding skier, pretty much surpassing me in skill level, which every parent likes to see. The snow gods smiled on us that day with a surprise dump of about 4 inches of cold, light powder.

After being forced down Superstar by a closed trail for our first run, we were able to hit Gateway on Superstar’s backside to get to the Skye Peak chair. We were greeted with this view of a fresh dump and indication of clearing skies coming our way.

By late February it was time for another ski day with Alison at Gore Mountain. A regular at Gore, Alison gave me the grand tour skiing all sections of the mountain. While familiar with much of Gore, I enjoyed my first visit to the North Creek Ski Bowl and a return visit to the Burnt Ridge area, which I haven’t skied much over the years.

The Ski Bowl was fun, especially 46er and Hudson and I really enjoyed the cruising down Sagamore at Burnt Ridge. The old trails under the High Peaks Quad have always been favorites, and we really enjoyed the great conditions there.

Conditions in the Catskills and especially at Hunter West really peaked in late February. I got into a weekly rhythm of skiing Wednesdays with friends Buckwheat, Karl, Steve and others. The February snowstorm saw the rarely open Westway (aka 44) at Hunter attract skiers. Skiing 44 was a rare treat and a lot of fun.

By early March, the warm afternoons softened the previously frozen bumps on Hunter West’s Clair’s Way and Annapurna, making both of those gems more fun than they have been in years. Annapurna is one of my favorite runs at Hunter. It’s back in the corner of Hunter West, tucked into Taylor Hollow. It feels remote and wooded, just like the Catskills that I hike. The double fall line adds to the fun. I was very happy to see Annapurna get attention this season from Hunter’s mountain ops team.

Holiday Mountain in the Southern Catskills was offering a free pass promo with a season pass from other resorts, so I decided to stop by after a day skiing Hunter. With fond memories of skiing Holiday as a kid, and also racing in high school there, I thought it would be fun to take see the work they’re doing rebuilding Holiday and ski a few runs into sunset. They really are investing funds and effort to rebuild Holiday, which is great to see.

The bulk of my March skiing was at Hunter and Plattekill, enjoying fine conditions on both mountains. Early March was especially great. Plattekill’s natural snow terrain was in great form, and of course their snowmaking terrain was peak winter conditions.

I caught up with Plattekill local, Joe Donnelly (aka Joe the Yeti), and we skied a few runs together. I got to photograph Joe’s amazing jumps off the snowmaking whales. Here is a sample of a few of his jumps.

Later in March, the warm weather was thinning the snow in the Catskills, and I visited Plattekill one more time while the getting was still good. We enjoyed runs off the triple chair all day as the double chair was closed for the season. In the afternoon the fun really started. I was fortunate to be skiing with a group of dedicated regulars, and they got wind of a special event that can only occur at an independent ski area.

The groomers were sent to Plunge and Northface off the double chair to smooth the trails so ski patrol could safely remove fencing and lollipops for the season. Plattekill’s owner, Laszlo arranged for a bunch of us to get a snow cat ride to the summit of the double chair to enjoy one run down the freshly groomed trails. We skied down untracked Plunge for what may have been the highlight of my season.

As the season wound down, Alison and I took a trip to Sugarbush. The lesson learned was that Sugarbush should be visited at peak season because there is so much amazing terrain to be sampled. We discovered you can walk to the true summit of Lincoln Peak where the gondola terminal used to be located.

We climbed to the observation deck and enjoyed 360 degrees of Vermont scenery. The view includes all 5 of Vermont’s high peaks – Killington and Mt. Abraham to the south, and Mt. Ellen, Camel’s Hump and Mt. Mansfield to the north.

My season wrapped up with another visit to Gore and Killington, where I decided to call it for the year in early April. We enjoyed a beautiful final day at Killington with sunshine and soft snow. Most of Killington was still operating in early April and the Superstar Glacier was fully formed, and ready to go for April, May and beyond.

I can say that the 2025-26 season was one for the books in the northeast. I enjoyed it thoroughly, having a great time with many ski pals. Enjoy the summer everyone.

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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.