The Last Road Trip

The past weighed heavily on my mind as I set out for Boston on the last road trip of the summer season. As a damn Yankee, the patriot state has always felt a bit like enemy territory.

Farley-Ledge-Climbing

On route I was to meet some local climbers at a storied quasi-secret crag. Traveling through the meandering hills I decide that that was an oxymoron I could appreciate.

At Farley Ledges (oops), beta is a word of mouth affair. Sometimes an oral history is more vivid than a written account.  You see a climb and maybe you’ll pick up a name and rating. It’s a throwback to the olde days, before cell phones, MountainProject or guide books. Nothing but gneiss rock and good company.

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The Shanty Cliffs, NY

If you go west on Route 8 out of Wevertown NY, about five miles past the Eleventh Mountain trailhead, you’ll find a parking area near the confluence of Shanty Brook and the East Branch of the Sacandaga River.

Shanty Cliffs NY

From there you can catch nice glimpse of Shanty Cliffs and begin hiking toward the outcrop that hovers 700 feet above the road. This past weekend I was with former DEC forest ranger Steve Ovitt, looking for a hike that would let us enjoy the peaking foliage.

We started by walking down to the river for some easy, beautiful views. Then we set off up the west side of Shanty Brook.

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Whiteface Mountain Improvements 2014

Whiteface MountainAs the summer comes to a close Whiteface is wrapping up a busy off-season making a variety of improvements and changes to snowmaking, trails and lodges.

Snowmaking and Grooming

This summer Whiteface made it’s biggest investment to date in efficient fan and tower guns. Working with NYSERDA and NYSEG grants and incentives the mountain will be adding a variety of hardware to the arsenal.

Fan guns by HKD and TechnoAlpin will be placed in key locations on Summit Express, Victoria, and the top of Boreen chute. Further management is currently working out the final details on the purchase of over 100 new HKD Impulse guns to be placed around the mountain.

TechnoAlpin-TF10
TechnoAlpin TF10

In addition a new Pisten Bully PB 400 Park Pro will be added to the fleet of groomers.  The Park Pro is essentially a standard snow cat that can articulate tillers and blades more than a standard groomer.  It will be used in the park and across the mountain.

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