Hunter Mountain Snowmaking Silk

Posted on by ml242

Gun running has been a persistent topic of conversation over the past year in the mainstream media. We —the subversives at the NYSkiBlog— have taken to giving it a new meaning.

Hunter Mountain Snowmaking

Instead of an illicit trade, we use the term to describe that awesome experience of skiing top quality manmade cold silk snow under the guns at ski resorts in the Northeast. To be completely forthright, skiing under the guns today during the work week felt way too good to be legal.

The product on the slopes of Hunter was the best manmade snow I have ever skied.  It’s simple science; super cold temps + compressed air + water = pure silk. Arctic cold for days, dozens of canons and fan guns, meant that it was laid down in bulk.

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Tagged: Catskills, Hunter8 Comments

Home to Ski in North Creek NY

Posted on by Harvey

I had a crazy cool weekend. My plan was to drive to North River Friday afternoon, ski a day at Gore and a day in the woods. But for me, a weekend in the Adirondacks requires a 2pm Friday departure, and I just couldn’t swing it at work. When I got off work at 6:30 Friday night, I walked home, and pondered my options.

Gore Mountain in North Creek, NY.

I drove to Plattekill early on Saturday morning, with no set plan for Sunday. While riding the lifts I tried to work out my lodging and skiing plans on my phone. My goal was my first ever ski day at Greek Peak. With all the recent discussion about the mountain’s future, I wanted to finally experience the hill and see Hope Lake Lodge to better understand the big picture.

But it was after all a holiday weekend and I couldn’t find a place to stay close to the hill. While there was extra driving involved, the math on my Gore season pass, and the simplicity of staying in North Creek, drew me back to our home away from home.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Gore Mountain14 Comments

Windham’s Wounded Warrior Weekend

Posted on by James Michaud

Many people have written heartfelt essays about the magic of skiing — how it takes us out of our sometimes drab everyday lives filled with responsibilities and routine, puts us in the middle of nature, and allows us to fly for a few minutes.

Windham Wounded Warrior

If we’re lucky, the snow will be soft and the lift lines short. If we’re extra lucky (especially here in the northeast), we might score untracked powder.

But this past weekend at Windham Mountain, the ninth annual northeastern Wounded Warriors winter event — where 31 servicemen and women who’ve suffered spinal-cord and orthopedic injuries, amputated limbs, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) came to ski and snowboard together with their families — gave me a new appreciation for skiing’s transformative power.

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Tagged: Catskills, Windham5 Comments