For years, the engine that powered the rope tow at the Ski Bowl in North Creek – believed to be the first rope tow in New York State – lay abandoned in the woods a few hundred feet from the access road to the state-owned Gore Mountain Ski Center. [Read more…] about North Creek Ski Bowl Getting New Lodge, Lift and Zip Coaster
winter sports
Catskills Ski Resorts’ Early History
The history the Catskills as a winter sports destination dates back to at least the 1920s, but the attempt to create a year around vacationland did not meet with immediate success. In fact, some spectacular showings at a few of the hotels over the ensuing years notwithstanding, the effort was still largely hit or miss well into the 1950s.
Grossinger’s had entertained more than 850 guests over the Christmas-New Year holidays in 1929, and had its largest weekend ever up until that time, winter or summer, on Washington’s Birthday weekend in 1941, but no hotel – not even Grossinger’s – was able to do that kind of winter business on a regular basis. [Read more…] about Catskills Ski Resorts’ Early History
Peter Bauer: It’s Time To Pass A Constitutional Amendment For Mount Van Hoevenberg
Protect the Adirondacks supports a proposed Article 14 Constitutional Amendment for the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex outside Lake Placid.
At the Mt. Van Hoevenberg complex, the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) currently manages around 1,220 acres of Forest Preserve classified as Intensive Use by the Adirondack Park Agency (APA). Abutting these lands is 319 acres of land owned by the Town of North Elba. Together this complex houses the Olympic bobsled and luge track, cross-country skiing and biathlon trails, and associated facilities, with most of the intensive buildings and facilities located on the town lands. [Read more…] about Peter Bauer: It’s Time To Pass A Constitutional Amendment For Mount Van Hoevenberg
A History of Snowmobile Racing in New York State
In the motor toboggan era – the time before the advent of the modern snowmobiles we know today – motor sleds had been too slow for racing excitement. As a result they remained strictly utilitarian vehicles racing only occasionally for promotional purposes. Motor toboggan and later snowmobile maker Polaris traveled each year at the end of the 1950s to trapper festivals at The Pas, Manitoba where they helped organize ad hoc races.
“We tried to rig them a little bit so we had a zig-zag effect,” David Johnson said, remembering one of the first informal races, “one guy ahead, and then the other, and so on, at a terrific speed of about 20 miles per hour.” In February 1959, Johnson won the first organized men’s race on an oval at The Pas and in 1960, the first cross-country race was held there. [Read more…] about A History of Snowmobile Racing in New York State
Winter In the Catskills: The Columbia Ski Resort
It is unlikely that when he built the hotel with the spectacular vistas in 1891 John Harms Knapp envisioned it ever being a year-around resort, let alone one that advertised “superlative skiing,” and yet that is exactly what the Columbia Hotel in Hurleyville in the Catskills became in the early 1960s.
And of all the ski areas in Sullivan County — from Glen Hill to Christmas Hills — the Columbia’s was among the most successful, albeit for a relatively short time. [Read more…] about Winter In the Catskills: The Columbia Ski Resort
Adirondack Avalanche Warning, Adirondak Loj, Information Center Closed
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that backcountry downhill skiers, snowboarders, and others who may traverse slides or steep, open terrain in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks should be aware of and prepared for avalanche conditions.
The Adirondack Mountain Club has closed Adirondak Loj and the High Peaks Information Center, both at Heart Lake in the High Peaks, indefinitely over COVID concerns.
[Read more…] about Adirondack Avalanche Warning, Adirondak Loj, Information Center Closed
The Borscht Belt in Winter: Catskills Winter Resorts
Although the number of Sullivan County hotels open during the winter months increased significantly beginning in the 1940s, there were attempts to market the county as a winter resort long before that. [Read more…] about The Borscht Belt in Winter: Catskills Winter Resorts
Featured Trail: Foxy Brown XC Trail In Jessup River Wild Forest
The Foxy Brown X-Country Ski Trail is a 5.6-mile trail located within the Jessup River Wild Forest, in Piseco (in the town of Arietta, Hamilton County).
After traveling along the Piseco Airport runway, the trail routes users primarily through over a newly built bridge across a muddy bog and northern hardwood forest. To complete a loop, users will follow the trail just north of the runway and should be sure to check for oncoming aircraft before traveling back to the trailhead and parking area. [Read more…] about Featured Trail: Foxy Brown XC Trail In Jessup River Wild Forest
Snowmaking Has Begun At Whiteface Mountain
Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington has turned on the snow guns today, Tuesday, November 17th.
Crews have begun snowmaking at Mid-Station on Upper Valley, Lower Valley and Fox Trails. Plans are to continue snowmaking efforts through Wednesday evening as temperatures allow. [Read more…] about Snowmaking Has Begun At Whiteface Mountain
Empire State Winter Games Cancelled
The 41st Annual Empire State Winter Games, originally scheduled for January 28 – 31, 2021, have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [Read more…] about Empire State Winter Games Cancelled