Whiteface, NY: 12/4 – 12/5/10

Whiteface recovered nicely from the rain. When I arrived, it was in the 20s and windy. The roaring of the snow guns was music to my ears.

I didn’t get a chance to take my first run until 9:45 and was anxious to ski Essex because I’d missed it last weekend. I asked a couple of guys on the Gondi how it was skiing — they found a breakable crust at opening, but hadn’t skied it since.

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Hunter Mountain, NY: 12/5/10

Jamesdeluxe and I arranged a pre-dawn departure from NJ to take part in the maiden voyage of Hunter’s Kaatskill Flyer: New York’s first six-passenger detachable lift.

First Flyers
First Flyers

The Flyer is a beauty: comfortable, fast, and smooth. Things ran well today, with the spanking new lift designed by Leitner-Poma covering 1,477 vertical feet in a brisk five minutes. There were very few stoppages, and little confusion on the loading and unloading platforms.

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The Mountains Less Traveled: Burke Mtn, VT

As we get ready to kick off the 2010-11 season, Jamesdeluxe takes us to Vermont’s gorgeous Northeast Kingdom for yet another ski area that I’ve read about for years, but never had the chance to visit: Burke Mountain.

Burke Mtn VT

Often described as “criminally underrated,” Burke looks like a perfect stop on the way north to the Eastern Townships or Jay Peak.

In this issue of NY Ski Magazine:

Burke Mountain, VT: Pride of the NEK