Gore Mountain: The Dog Wags Back

At NYSkiBlog, there’s no question that at times, the tail wags the dog. Yes, we’re looking for great conditions and interesting terrain. But we’re also looking for stories from New York and Vermont, at hills we haven’t covered recently, with bonus points for anything old school. It does complicate the search for snow.

Gore's Saddle Lodge

When I’m looking at ski options for the days ahead, I start my research on our NY Weather page. From there, I drill down into any one of our specific National Weather Service Office pages. Information from each of seven NWS eastern offices is the basis for these pages in our weather center.

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Sommet Saint Sauveur Drops the Puck

White Ribbon season has never done it for me. Skiing is supposed to be an expression of freedom, and I never felt that while bouncing down an icy highway with so many others. But, with the forecast predicting 5 millimeters of frozen rain before a huge warmup, the power of schuss compelled me to get over preconceived notions and enjoy a day — or night — outside. You don’t know till you go, they say.

drone photo of Sommet Saint Sauveur at night

Well ‘they’ don’t always know what they’re talking about, but this time it was great advice. I hadn’t been to Sommet Saint Sauveur in quite some time. For me, it’s almost a victim of being too close and obvious to consider, but that just shows what I know.

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Royal Mountain: Get Up and Go

In New York, early season conditions can be fickle, to say the least. The first year I moved to Utica, I remember a lake effect storm dumping 2’ of snow on Tug Hill a week before Thanksgiving.

Royal Mountain lift

This year I felt I would be lucky to get any turns in before Christmas. Saturday’s weather was a bust. I got my booster Friday night so I didn’t feel bad wasting Saturday, while it steadily rained. I had no expectation Sunday would be any better, but it was.

I woke up late on Sunday and saw a seemingly benign share on Facebook by ISKINY. Royal mountain was open, freshly groomed and from the picture it looked like loads of base.

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