Clarence Fahnestock Had A Dream

Posted on by ml242

Having spent a good deal of my life on skis, I was always aware of that hole in my resume: nordic skiing. I resolved to fix it this season, with several opportunities for guiding on my winter calendar. I was looking forward to this trip, but I must admit, as an addicted downhiller, at first, I found it difficult to get excited for a nordic day when there was fresh pow in the mountains.

Fahnestock Winter Park Instagram

I’m familiar with Fahnestock Winter Park. I’d passed it so many times, both underneath it on Route 9, to get to the more popular Breakneck Ridge, and through it on the Taconic State Parkway.  I have hiked there many times and the trails are often empty.  The AT runs right through the park on its way to Connecticut, which in my mind, gives the place a little more character.

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Tagged: Downstate NY, Nordic Skiing5 Comments

Family Fun at Shawnee Mtn, PA

Posted on by James Michaud

Since my son started skiing, we’ve made a point of visiting at least one new hill together each season. Two years ago, we skied at the Poconos’ Alpine Mountain. Last season, he got his first taste of fresh powder at Mount Peter in southern New York.

Bridge over the pond at Shawnee Mtn PA.

This year, we checked out Shawnee, another ski area that allows families in the New York City/New Jersey region to maximize slope time while minimizing drive time.

Only a few miles from the Delaware Water Gap and a convenient one-hour drive from my house, it’s easy to see why Shawnee had already gotten our business. For starters, it’s a far less busy place on weekends than nearby Camelback and has a friendly local-hill feel about it.

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Tagged: PA7 Comments

Return to the SLU Snow Bowl

Posted on by miker92

Just south of South Colton, New York, where Route 56 weaves through a little ravine, there was a one-way bridge with a stop light. As a student at St. Lawrence University, I’ve probably spent a full hour of my life waiting at that light on trips to Big Tupper or Gore or home to Saratoga Springs.

SLU Snow Bowl
Photo courtesy of Terkoskier at Blood, Sweat and Skiers

I first noticed the Snow Bowl during my Freshman year. Behind the brook on the west side of the road, I noted potential. There are a few clearings down the fall line of a fairly steep, small mountain.

By the end of that year, I had heard all the stories. That was the SLU Snow Bowl, only closed and sold to the state in the last ten years. It had been home to a couple of rope tows, a snack bar, and some of the most raging college parties in history.

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Tagged: Adirondacks13 Comments