NY Backcountry Skiing: Adirondacks #1

“Backcountry skiing” means different things to different people. When I started skiing, it meant skiing on state land and making tracks in ungroomed snow. At first, we followed trails marked by the state.

As we became more confident, we’d set off with a destination in mind, a USGS topo map and a compass. Other times we’d look for hunter’s paths to follow, which are seemingly everywhere in the our corner of the Adirondacks.

In the last ten years, I’ve been drawn into lift-served skiing for several reasons. For one thing makes skiing in November possible. Plus, with a young child, it’s just easier. And yea let’s face it, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. All that vert, and in between runs you’re chatting it up with friends and family. It’s easy to like it.

Continue reading →

A New Beginning At Belleayre

On the drive up the Thruway Saturday morning for my inaugural ski day of the 2012-13 season in the northeast, I thought about the endless discussions in the NY Ski Forums about ORDA taking over the management of Belleayre, the state-run ski area in the western Catskills.

During the off-season, I’d read threads arguing the pros and cons of such issues as free skiing for seniors, the extensive ticket discounts and giveaways of years past, and the number of employees per skier visit. I’d also heard glowing reports from a couple longtime employees who were ecstatic about ORDA’s efforts to transform Belleayre into a fiscally prudent ski area. However, with up to a half foot of new snow in the forecast for the day, my immediate concern was less about ski-area politics and more about getting on the hill as soon as possible.

Continue reading →

Skiing in the Woods

Skiing in a storm is exciting. Even better, today, there was a surprise storm.  What was billed as light snow in the Adirondacks turned into more. It snowed all day and it piled up.

cabin in the woods

It was a change of routine for us. Instead of getting up before dawn to be at the mountain at 7:30, we hung out, watched the snow, did some sledding and skiing in the woods.  We headed for terrain right out the back door, where we have created some makeshift trails. It’s fun setting tracks in new snow, especially if it’s not too deep.

Continue reading →