New York Powder Weekend

The weekend started with lot of promise and some pre-game hype. A clipper that was going to transfer energy to the coast formed a little late to REALLY dump on New York. But the original low hung on longer than expected and both Cats and Daks did score some of the coastal love.

NY Storm

It started snowing early Friday morning and at Gore, the opening bell cord was covered in 1-to-2 inches of new snow. It’s my tradition to hit Sunway first, to harvest the cord, while making big sweeping turns. It was beautiful and quiet and snowy.

I took that first lap of the Gondola solo and on my second run I connected EDeO, Chuck, Bobbie and Dean. We headed off to the summit. We skied everything. The trails were incredible and the woods were thin. We skied all open aspects except Topridge.

Continue reading →

A Tribal Gathering: The Lake Placid Loppet

Friday morning at Mount van Hoevenberg, it was quiet. Only the squeak of our skis on wicked cold snow broke the silence. My friend Colin and I had van Ho to ourselves for the ritual pre-race warmup. The Lake Placid Loppet loomed.

Adored and cursed, the Loppet has been my muse for over 20 years. The hardest race in the northeast, it’s the standard by which I judge the difficulty of any other race. Although I’ve had some good finishes, I’ve not yet made my coveted goal of a three-hour finish, and time’s running out for that.

Continue reading →

Hunter Mountain: Determined to Fly

The history of Hunter Mountain is all about facing challenges. In the late 1950s Orville and Israel Slutzky built their resort on a mountain deemed “too steep and rocky” for a ski area. From what I can see, that spirit of determination thrives today.

Hunter Mountain

Last week winter came to a grinding halt for few days. At Hunter I don’t think they even noticed. After Wednesday’s rain event, I checked the Hunter webcam and trails were still wall-to-wall.

When we arrived early Sunday morning things were looking as I expected. Deep bases and corduroy were everywhere. If it wasn’t for the lack of snow in town and in the trees, you’d hardly know winter was struggling through another season.

Continue reading →