Spring Hiking in New York

Posted on by Steve Aaron

Ski season gave way to hiking season in April for me. After a few local hikes to stretch out the legs, in late April, my dog Stella and I joined my friend Ken for a hike up Wittenberg Mountain in the Catskills. This was my first “big” hike of the season, with the goal of meeting up with my daughter Alison and her friend Alice as they completed their Catskill 3500 peaks on Wittenberg.

Climbing Wittenberg

Ken, Stella and I started at Woodland Valley, trudging along to the base of the steeps of Wittenberg. The climb up the steeps was a great challenge so early in my hiking season and it went well for all three of us. There was one spot where I had to hand off Stella to Ken to pull her up a tall, steep section.

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Tagged: Catskills, Gunks, Hiking3 Comments

Snow Mountain Scramble

Posted on by Peter Minde

Are you the manager? I’d like to speak to the manager, please. My name is Karen, and I really need to complain about the Deer Brook Trail. How can you even call this a trail? I broke the heel on one of my Jimmy Choos. My Kate Spade bag is covered with mud. I want a refund.

approach to Snow Mountain hike

After the heat wave earlier in the week, we expected various amounts of rain every day in the Tri-Lakes. Friday looked like the most benign weather, so I drove to Keene Valley with Snow Mountain and the Rooster Comb in my sights. As I descended Route 73 into Keene, rain came down like water from a bucket.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Hiking3 Comments

Ski Season Calendar

Posted on by NYSkiBlog

When does ski season start?

The summer solstice is, by our thinking, the farthest point from the ski season in New York. After the summer solstice, the days get shorter and forward we move closer to winter. We smile a little bit wider as it happens.

Fourteen years ago, we published our Ski Season Calendar, a list of milestones for skiers on the longest day of the year. It’s become a tradition to feature it on the home page and update it as necessary.  In the last few years life has returned to a more kind of more expensive normal.  One immutable truth: we had some excellent ski days this season.

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Tagged: Ski Life40 Comments