West Mountain: Last Indy Standing

Posted on by Brownski

It’s almost time to throw in the towel. Open ski resorts in the east have been dropping like flies. On the second weekend in April, in New York, my options were down to the ORDA hills and West Mountain in Queensbury. West is on the Indy Pass, it was an easy call to go check it out.

Getting to West is easy, it’s right off of the Thruway. Their spring hours were 10 AM to 4 PM so we weren’t required to get up early.

We took our time, stopped at a Stewart’s for breakfast on the way, and arrived at their Northwest Lodge around 9:50 AM. There were just a handful of cars ahead of us.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Indy Pass, West Mountain14 Comments

Hudson Highlands: Breakneck Ridge and Bull Hill

Posted on by JK_PA

Twenty-four hours before this ski tour began on February 26, I had no plans to ski in New York. I’d never skied in the Hudson Highlands, and I had never met my ski touring partner for the day, Ripitz a well-known character from the NYSkiBlog Forums.

ski bike
Rip’s Rig

In the fall, Rip and I spoke about meeting up for a hike, but winter came before we could make it work. On a whim, I reached out to see if he was open to skin up somewhere in Vermont.

He countered with skiing in the Hudson Highlands State Park instead and asked if I had my nordic skis with me (I did).

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Tagged: Earning Turns, Hudson Highlands, Nordic Skiing14 Comments

Flower Skate Shop Rail Jam 2026

Posted on by Robert

The 6th Annual Flower Skate Shop Rail Jam was lining up to be the best one yet. As usual, the boys from the shop and the park crew at Snow Ridge started setting up on Friday. They battled the melting snow and occasional rain to build one of the most creative rail and jib parks I’ve seen.

The Rail Jam Park

The features were left to set in overnight and by 10am the next day they were baking in the sun begging to be ridden. I made the transitional walk from gravel to mud and finally found myself walking across an oasis of slush pushed around snow ridges magic carpet.

The team had done a great job of saving snow for The Jam, despite the elements and a small pond forming at the base.

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Tagged: Park, Snow Ridge, Tug Hill6 Comments