Maple Ski Ridge: Go Big and Go Home

In the eight years I have been writing for NYSkiBlog my biggest takeaway is vertical drop doesn’t matter as much as you think. The joy of sliding on snow is more than a number.

Maple Ski Ridge

Maple Ski Ridge in Schenectady is a perfect example. Those newbies on the rope tow don’t care about vertical drop, they are just thrilled to be on the snow. On a recent trip back from parts east, Farah and I decided to shift our mind set and check out Maple on a warm spring Sunday.

It was quiet inside the lodge as we booted up and redeemed our Indy Pass a little after 1pm. The sun was beating down on the hill but the snow was going strong.

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Newcomb Ski Slope: Community Spirit

I’ve gotten my ski days this year but I haven’t done much to advance my goal to ski all the lift-served hills in New York. Life has required me to stay close to home this season, and it shows in the list of areas I’ve skied.

Newcomb Ski Slope

Early this year, I realized that skiing Central NY and Western NY wasn’t realistic. I made a separate list of ski areas ranked by their distance from our base in the Southern Adirondacks. I thought “what if I try to tick them off in order of distance?” It would be something at least, some progress towards my goal.

This brought two pieces of ripe, low hanging fruit to my attention: Dynamite Hill and Newcomb Ski Slope.

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McCauley: Going Strong

The first signs of spring appeared last weekend and the doomers were out in full force. The winter is over! The rain is coming! If you internalized the social media discourse then you might as well pack your gear and call it a season.

The rest of us will be enjoying the warmer weather and soft turns.

summit view

Way up North in Old Forge the locals had missed the news that winter was over. The Olympic snowfort built the previous weekend stood tall while kids played in the snow below. At the top of the mountain conditions were supreme with soft snow and excellent coverage everywhere.

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