2017-18 Ski Season Preview

I'm not sure it can be considered a "preview" if the ski season has already started, but you can read my ski season preview in the current print edition of Adirondack Sports and Fitness, or online here:

November 2017 - Alpine Skiing Season Preview

2016-17 Ski Season Preview

The start of snowmaking at Gore and Whiteface means that ski season is right around the corner. Here's a link to my annual season preview article in Adirondack Almanack.

Video credit: Gore Mountain

Ski deals & discounts 2016

Skiing can be an expensive sport, but if you know how to take advantage of the many deals and discounts that are available you can easily ski or ride all winter without buying a single full-price lift ticket. Now that the snow and cold have finally arrived (fingers crossed!) here are the top deals & discounts for 2016 to help you hit the slopes on the cheap:

2015-2016 Ski Season Preview

It may seem like fall is reluctant to give up its grip on the northeast, but ski season is just around the corner.  Gore and Whiteface are targeting the day after Thanksgiving to start spinning their lifts, with most other New York ski areas following suit shortly thereafter.

Take a look at what’s new for skiers and riders across the region in my Ski Season Preview article on Adironack Almanack:
2015-16 Adirondack Ski Season Preview

Ski deals & discounts for 2015

With weekend / holiday lift tickets topping $80 at many of the large eastern ski areas (Stowe comes in at a whopping $108), it’s more important than ever to find ways to keep skiing affordable. If you’ve got at least some flexibility in your schedule, there’s no need to pay full rate. Listed below are the top deals and discounts I’ve found for 2015. All information is accurate at the time of publication, but be sure to check each ski area’s website for additional details.

2014-2015 Ski Season Preview

If you’re a skier or snowboarder, the best time of year is almost here. With overnight temperatures dipping below freezing, ski areas around the region have begun firing up their snowmaking equipment to prepare for the start of the 2014-15 ski season. Crews have been busy with projects all summer and fall, here’s a look at what they’ve been up to.

At Gore, the big news for this season is the replacement of the Adirondack Express triple chairlift with a new, state-of-the-art, high-speed quad. The Adirondack Express II will feature padded seats and eight fewer towers, providing skiers with a quicker, more comfortable ride than its predecessor. Just as importantly, the new AE2 will operate more reliably than the 30-year old lift it replaces. Mike Pratt, Gore’s general manager, explains: “The original Adirondack Express was the oldest high-speed lift in North America. While it served Gore skiers and riders well for many years, the cost of maintenance finally reached a point where it made more sense to replace it.” Final steps are being completed in the AE2’s installation, and Gore expects the lift to debut shortly after the mountain opens for the season.

14 Deals and Discounts for 2014

If you have flexibility in your schedule, there’s no need to pay full rate for lift tickets. Listed below are the top deals and discounts I’ve found for 2014. All information is accurate at the time of publication, but be sure to check each ski area’s website for additional details. One more tip: “like” each ski area’s Facebook page to stay up to date on additional promotions that may be announced during the season.

#14 – Price Chopper Ski Any 3 coupon books – The $149 Big Mountain passbook gets you 3 full day lift tickets good at Gore, Whiteface, Bromley, Smuggler’s Notch, Jiminy Peak and Windham. There’s also a $119 Family Mountain passbook for West Mountain, Plattekill, Belleayre and several others. These coupons are good Sunday through Friday, non-holiday.

#13 – Take Your Kids to Gore Weeks - Kids 19 and under ski and ride free with a full paying parent all week, Tuesday, January 21 through Sunday, January 26. If you miss that, there’s a second week scheduled for Monday, March 17 through Sunday, March 23. A family of 4 can ski for $150 on the weekend, $120 mid-week (note: Thursdays and Fridays are weekend rate). This is one of the very few ski discounts available on a Saturday.

2013-2014 Ski Season Preview

The ski season may be here sooner than you expect. Cold temperatures over the past several days have allowed snowmaking crews at Whiteface to get enough of a jump on the season that they may open this weekend (watch their website and Facebook page for updates), nearly two weeks earlier than their target opening date of November 29. Crews at Gore have begun snowmaking operations as well, no word yet as to whether they'll be able to move up their opening date.

Here's a look at what Whiteface, Gore and other Adirondack ski areas have in store for 2013-14. My season preview article appeared in Adirondack Almanack today:

Adirondack Ski Season Preview

A dozen ski deals & discounts for 2013

If you have flexibility in your schedule, there’s no need to pay full rate for lift tickets. Listed below are the top deals and discounts I’ve found for 2013. All information is accurate at the time of publication, but be sure to check each ski area’s website for additional details. One more tip: “like” each ski area’s Facebook page to stay up to date on additional promotions that may be announced during the season.

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: Lift ticket prices

Lift ticket prices at Adirondack ski areas for the 2012-13 season cover the entire range from free to $84. If you think eighty-plus bucks is expensive (and it is), consider the fact that season passes, frequent skier cards and other discounts bring down the actual cost per day for most skiers.

Ski Lift Ticket Comparison, 2012-13

	Daily lift ticket	Season pass	Breakeven # of days
Whiteface	$84	$739	9
Gore Mountain	$75	$739	10
Killington, VT	$88	$1049	12
West Mountain	$52	$400	8
Titus Mountain	$42	$379	9
Willard Mountain	$39	$375	10
Oak Mountain	$34	$263	8
Hickory Ski Center	n/a	$250	n/a
McCauley Mountain	$30	$239	8
Mount Pisgah	$15	$150	10
Ski Venture	n/a	$60	n/a
Indian Lake town slope	free	n/a	n/a
Dynamite Hill, Chestertown	free	n/a	n/a

2012-2013 Ski Season Preview

The 2012-13 ski season is scheduled to begin at Gore and Whiteface just two weeks from today, and other Adirondack ski areas are expected to open shortly thereafter. For a look at what's new this year at the region's ski centers, check out my 2012-13 Ski Season Preview article on Adirondack Almanack here.

Following is some additional information from Gore and Whiteface that I didn't have room for in the Almanack article:

Cross-Country Season Preview

Ski season is just around the corner, and over the past couple weeks I checked in with many of the region's cross-country ski areas. My Adirondack Cross-Country Ski Season Preview appears here, on Adirondack Almanack. If the snow this winter is anywhere near as good as last year, the backcountry options look great too. Here are some additional resources for trip planning this winter:

• Phil Brown takes a look at new slide routes in the High Peaks created by Tropical Storm Irene in his article New Adirondack Slide Guide on Adirondack Exporer.
• New backcountry ski trails have been created in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness area around North River over the past couple of years. Bill McKibben writes about the new routes here in Adirondack Life.

Also be sure to also check out this interview with Ron Konowitz, the only person to have skied all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks for some inspiration.

Season Preview Outtakes: Whiteface

Following is the fifth and final Season Preview Outtake. In this post, Whiteface Mountain's General Manager, Bruce McCulley, and ORDA’s Public Relations Coordinator, Jon Lundin, expand on some of the topics that we covered for my Season Preview article on Adirondack Almanack.com.

Jeff: I know you’re doing quite a bit of work in the base lodge this year.

Bruce: We changed the food in the J.Lohr café last year, it’s really high quality food but the kitchen is kind of marginal, so we’re renovating that. We’re bringing in new Rossignol skis from for the rental shop that will use rocker technology, and putting in a whole new racking system to organize the rental area better. We’re completely renovating the retail shop, it had been old and outdated, kind of dark.

Jeff: How about snowmaking and grooming?

Season Preview Outtakes: Willard Mountain

Following is the fourth in my series of Season Preview Outtakes. In this post, Chic Wilson, owner and General Manager of Willard Mountain, talks about social media and summer operations, among other topics.

Jeff: What kinds of changes are in store for skiers this winter?

Chic: We’ve significantly re-graded the Bunnyhop trail. I can’t even begin to guess how much dirt we’ve moved to eliminate the flat section in the middle and make the trail more skiable. We’ve shifted the whole trail over to skier’s right and built it up by about 10 feet. It should make a big difference this winter, and we’ll do more work on it next year too.

With all that work on Bunnyhop, we thought it would be a good opportunity to come up with a new name. So we reached out to our friends on Facebook with a contest, and the overwhelming consensus – 60% – was to keep it as Bunnyhop. Facebook has really allowed us to communicate and interact with our customers, to keep them engaged and feel like they are involved with Willard in the off season. That’s one reason why we’re New York’s Coolest Little Ski Area.

Jeff: How about snowmaking?

Season Preview Outtakes: Hickory Ski Center

Bill Van Pelt's investment in Hickory Ski Center two years ago breathed new life into the ski area, allowing it to re-open after having been shuttered for four winters. In the following interview - the third in a series of outtakes from my Season Preview that ran in Adirondack Almanack last month - I talk with Bill about the progress that's been made at Hickory over the past two years, as well as where Hickory is heading.

Jeff: There have been some really significant, visible improvements at Hickory since 2009, but the one question at the top of everyone's list is whether there will there be snowmaking at Hickory. That could be a real game-changer. I understand that you have approval to draw water from the Hudson River.

Season Preview Outtakes: West Mountain

Following is the second in a series of interviews with Adirondack ski area personnel. In this post, I talk with Mike Barbone, General Manager and owner of West Mountain Ski Center in Queensbury.

Jeff: Last year you installed the new SnowDAG electronic ticketing system, how has that worked out for you?

Mike: Some people resisted the idea of spending $5 on the card, but most people went along with it fine. It gives us a lot of opportunities going forward to make skiing convenient for our customers. For example, somebody could come over, park at the triple chair and make a couple runs – the RFID will allow us to do stuff like that. Why should somebody have to buy a full ticket when all they want to do is make a couple of runs? A lot of Canadian areas already use the RFID ticketing systems to do skiing-by-the-hour or even skiing-by-the-run. Now that we’ve got the system, we’ll move towards options like that. It’s all about convenience for the customer.

Season Preview Outtakes: Gore Mountain

Following is the first in a series of interviews with Adirondack ski area personnel. In this post, I talk with Gore Mountain's marketing manager, Emily Stanton. I've intentionally omitted the parts that have already appeared in my Season Preview article on AdirondackAlmanack.com.

Jeff: The snowmaking improvements this year are really impressive. Can you give an update on the status of the 30 additional guns that are slated for Showcase and Wild Air?

Emily: They have not been ordered, however they have been prioritized. There is still time, and we are hoping that order gets approved.

Jeff: What details can you give on the new terrain at the Ski Bowl?

Emily: There will be two new black diamond glades located north of the Hudson Chair. The northernmost glade will be named Ski Bowl Glade. The glade closer to the lift line will be named Hudson Glade. It will follow some of the historic Ski Bowl terrain, and will also provide a by-pass to 46er. They’re both going to be really nice, clean glades.

Jeff: Speaking of 46er, will that trail get snowmaking for this winter? You have the pipe on hand, right?

2011-2012 Ski Season Preview

With ski season less than two months away, I checked in last week with many of the region's downhill ski areas to find out what's in store for skiers this winter. My preview of the 2011-2012 ski season appears here on Adirondack Almanack.

I ended up with much more material than I could use in the Almanack article, so I'll be posting a series of "outtakes" from my interviews here over the next several weeks. The first of those should be up within a couple of days.

As ski season gets closer I'll also have a nordic preview, so stay tuned...