Snow Ridge: Sap Line Saturday

I spent last week traveling for work. After 4 am wake ups, economy class seating and stuffy hotel rooms I wanted to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. When I left New York on Monday, another round of lake effect was rolling in off Ontario and the inches were stacking up on Tug Hill. I knew there was a place where the stashes would be deep and untouched come Saturday; the Snow Pocket.

On weekends the old t-bar spins at 11, which gives me time to sleep in and still make it to the mountain for a few warm up laps. I made my way up the Ridge Runner chair a little after 10, time enough to take Keursteiner to The Pocket.

On my last chair up I met Nick, a Syracuse local donning a German Polizei jacket. He was headed in the same direction, so we made a plan to ride together.

We timed our transition over to the pocket perfectly and rode the t-bar behind 4 other people. We took a rip down Black River to check conditions. As usual a single groomer path led the way to the bottom and everything else was left natural. The turns were great, but I was looking for deeper snow. I asked Nick if he was ready for the trees and he agreed.

Into the Sap Line Glades we went. Our first runs through we exited the ‘safe’ way, about halfway down before a gully starts to form. The turns were significantly deeper than those on the trails. I was ready to go deeper and risk having to bootpack out. Nick was satisfied with the current route, so we made a plan to meet at the lift.

I rode further skiers right and was immediately rewarded with untouched turns. Some of the shallower gully’s were filled with snow drifts beyond knee height. I blasted through them weightless and care free. As I got to the bottom, I was able to sideslip an exposed gully before riding back out onto Von Allman.

I was hooked and ready to lap the trees more, but the old t-bar had other plans. The maintenance crew was quickly called, but the lifties let us know it would be a few minutes. We started chatting with the couple behind us on skis. They had lived out west, but were absolutely loving the east coast skiing.

They said the lack of lift lines and vibe was reeling them in, the icing on the cake has been the incredible conditions we’ve had. I was giving them a few other ski areas they should check out when the lefties said to go take a few runs, it was going to be a while. I decided it was a good time to warm up and get some lunch.

The tavern and restaurant is now under new management and with a new name: The Loony Goose Pub. Inside I found the same warm and cozy interior with some upgrades and a refined menu. The snowmobilers were out in full force, and occupied about half the bar with the other half being skiers.

Conditions were excellent and the vibe inside was just as high. I opted to keep it light with the seafood chowder, which was killer. After eating and chatting at the bar for a while, I decided to head back over to the Snow Pocket via car and finish my day there.

The Pocket was back up and going strong. I continued my journey through the trees, a few times having to unstrap and bootpack over to the lift. Getting untracked lines at 2:30 in the afternoon was well worth it.

After a few more runs my legs were killing me both from the powder and riding the t-bar. I called it a day, satisfied with my work. It’s great to know when I miss out on midweek powder I can look forward to Sap Line Saturdays.