Skiing In New York

It's been a few weeks since the last posting. In those 3 weeks I've had the opportunity to sample some of the best that New York has to offer from the very smallest to the largest ski area in the state. They are all uniquely different with their own personality, style and value. One of them is privately owned and 2 are owned by the state.

As with most states, New York being no exception, the economy and state budget process has taken a severe toll. Now, the ski areas are under attack. The Governor has proposed a sales tax on all lift tickets (which will be in some cases, 8%). This is one of many proposals that are on the table to reduce the state deficit and raise revenue. Unfortunately, it has also raised the ire of all privateley owned and operated ski areas and all skiers in New York. The real dig for privately owned ski area operators is that the state ski areas (Whiteface, Gore & Belleayre) are excluded from collecting the "Lift Tax". How fair is that? These are the very 3 ski areas that are funded by the state taxpayers. It is really hard to tell if they make money but they do compete directly with the privately owned ski areas that receive no state tax dollars. Since there are over 47 privately owned ski areas and only 3 state operated, it has rapidly become a bone of contention. For more information about his proposed tax go to Stoptheskitax.com Anyway, I digress. But, read the following about Oak Mountain.

Oak Mt. - Speculator, NY (02/21/2009) - We have friends that live near here. It is a small mountain but the perfect place for families to have a day of fun in the snow. Here you ski with friends and family, learn to ski, enjoy the scenery and all without spending a small fortune. The little ski hill is the focal point for this town. It has undergone several ownership changes over the years but, the last owner coudn't make ends meet. They added snow making, replaced the main t-bar with a chair lift, added new trails and a new ski lodge. All this improvement at a time when a couple of winter seasons produced little snow and and not enough cold weather for snow making. Unfortunately, bankruptcy loomed and the town of Speculator took over the management of the mountain and is now looking for a new owner to nurse it back to financial health. What's so heartwarming is that the people in this area have volunteered their time to help it stay open this ski season.. They all see it as an importnat attraction for their town .The parking lot attendants, ski rental shop employees, the ski instructors, the ski patrol and others are donating there time, at no pay, to help this ski area survive. As I have said before, this is a fun mountain for any family and it costs less than half as much as the big resorts. If you live in the Capitol District area please give it a try.

GORE MT North Creek, NY (2/25/2009) - A mid-week ski with several friends on a day when the weather couldn't have been better. It was a bluebird sky, powdery groomed trails and the lack of any noticeable crowd anywhere on the mountain. It was the perfect day for skiing. We took every lift that was open and had a chance to ski the entire mountain. Skiing Chatemac and Lies was the highlight of the day. We made several trips down Showcase and it's adjacent trails too. Being able to sit down with old friends and laugh about the old ski days of the sixties made the day even more special.

We skied almost to closing time because the weather forecast for the next couple of days looked pretty gloomy. Might as well ski while the powder is dry. As it turned out, the rain did come the next day and it poured. The high temps for the the next 2 days reaked havoc over the entire Northeast. What's worse, but typical for this neck of the woods, the mild temperature and rain was followed by a cold snap with temps back in the 20's. Yes, welcome to "Eastern Powder"

Whiteface Mountain Wilmington, NY (2/28 -3/1, 2009)- This is my favorite mountain to ski but to be the honest, the skiing was challenging, not for the faint of heart and definitley not for begining or inexperienced skiers this weekend. The rains a few days before pretty much wiped out all that was good at Whiteface. My hats off to the trail crews. Each slope has to be dragged and packed before it could be opened by the ski patrol. There is some mighty steep terrain on Whiteface and if you are a Groomer driving late at night on a hard frozen trail, high up the mountainside it is not the place that many of us wish to be. They do an excellent job. I saw the condition of Upper Skyward on Saturday. It was a gleaming, shining sea of ice. If you fell on that trail you would probaby slide to the bottom without stopping. The next day, the the Grooomers had dragged the trail to perfection. It was joy to ski. I really appreciate their work.

On Saturday, many of the trails were closed because of ice. On Sunday, a few more trails were open(Upper Skyward). It was sunnier and a bit warmer. Still, you needed well tuned skis, good technique and common sense. We had a good time on Mountain Run, Lower Cloudspin,Upper Skyward, Wilmington Trail and others. I still enjoyed myself even though the conditions were not the best.

In the Northeast, the weather has been a little different this season. We have had only 2 real large snow storms and some smaller storms with just a few inches here and there. After the warm spell in Decmeber, it has been very cold during Januaty and February. All ths snow we have gotten has remained which made for very good skiing. Now, with the rain and a couple of days of real warm temps followed by a cold snap, we need snow. We need the "Big Dump". It would be nice.

Today, there is a N'oreaster moving up the coast but it looks like very little snow for the Adirondacks. I just hope Vermont, New Hampshire and the resorts in Maine pick up a substantial amount. This ski season is is winding down. The days are longer and those March storms are so unpredictable. We are looking forward to some good warm days with great spring skiing.

The Ski Traveler