Holiday Mountain Jeep Tour 2024

It occurred to me that we were overdue for an update on what’s happening at Holiday Mountain. The ongoing resurrection marches on. Watching the steady progress made by staff and community is almost as much fun as skiing. I resolved to get myself up to Holiday and catch up with owner Mike Taylor. Then I completely forgot about it for three weeks. Late summer is a busy time, with beach vacations, family events and college drop-offs.

On my way back home from one of those college drop offs last Saturday, I crossed into Sullivan County on Route 17 and I reached out to Mike. On short notice, he offered to meet me at the hill and give me a tour of recent work in his jeep.

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Mount van Hoevenberg: The Happiest Place on Earth

With travel on two consecutive weekends, my workout schedule has been disrupted lately. Not feeling completely fit, I decided to skip the Climb to the Castle on 11 August. Wednesday would have to be my overdistance day. I didn’t want to spend seven hours in the woods, so I drove to Mount van Hoevenberg to run the old Olympic trails.

new biathlon range

Like the rest of the Tri-Lakes, the Ho is inundated with tourists during the summer. Everyone wants to see the legacy Olympic venues. As I strapped on the unloader brace and my heart rate monitor, people were stepping up for the mountain coaster, the indoor climbing wall, and trying their hand at target shooting with the Be A Biathlete program.

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Lake Placid Slide Climb

When visiting Lake Placid, the long scar that runs down the western flank of Whiteface is hard to miss. Appropriately named the Lake Placid slide, this climb holds some of the best views in the High Peaks. Formed in the 1800s and “cleaned” in 1971 during a torrential downpour, this slide has become a classic route up Whiteface in the summer months and a coveted ski in the winter.

This backcountry ski descent is on my list to check out this next season, but for now my objective was to kayak across the entire lake, beach at Whiteface Landing, and follow the trail up until I needed to bushwhack to reach the base of the slide.

kayak

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