Oak Mountain: Let’s Go!

Posted on by Harvey

I’ve been public about my goals for this season, shooting my mouth off about all kinds of things. Ski 100 days. Ski every ski area in New York in three years. Do more backcountry.  Tele ’til I’m smelly. Probably some others that I’ve forgotten. But then reality showed up. Now you can watch me backpedal.

Oak Mountain

One of my big promises was based on my idea that it is Time to Ski New York.  As the editor of NYSkiBlog, recently retired and relocated to the mountains, I feel it’s incumbent on me to ski all of New York, to be informed.

It’s become clear to me, that when it’s snowing, I’m more motivated to drive a distance to ski a new area. I want to have the best chance to tell a great story.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Oak Mountain, Powder, Time to Ski NY12 Comments

Chasing Powder on The Tug

Posted on by ThatNYSkier

The lake effect storms that normally blow across Ontario and dump feet of powder onto the Tug Hill Plateau have been somewhat lacking this season. Mother Nature has had other plans, sharing the snowfall in the Adirondacks, Western NY, and the Catskills. There have been small and intense bands here and there, but not what we are used to seeing coming off of Ontario in November and December.

North Slope
Snow Ridge

This was the case for until just days after Christmas. The National Weather Service of Buffalo released their highly-anticipated Expected Snowfall map. As a Tug Hill local, you could say the map was very exciting. Dry Hill, Snow Ridge, and Woods Valley saw a forecast for 12-18” of new snow.

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Tagged: Indy Pass, Lake Effect, Powder, Snow Ridge, Tug Hill12 Comments

Russ LaChapelle: The Bard of Bearpen

Posted on by James Michaud

I first crossed paths with Russ LaChapelle in the fall of 2010; though, like many people interested in New York ski history, I’d encountered him years earlier through his quirky, deeply personal website.

Jam-packed with information about vanished rope tows, forgotten slopes, and half-erased ski dreams, it was clearly the work of someone who cared more about getting the story right than making it look polished or easily navigable (as much as was possible with internet technology back then).

Russ LaChapelle
Russ LaChapelle — photo ML242

When we finally connected on the phone, I explained the pitch I’d made to Harvey, editor of the nascent NYSkiBlog.

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Tagged: Bearpen, Catskills14 Comments