Alpine Skiing & Snowboarding

What’s New on the Slopes

by Eric Vohr

It’s that time of the year again, the temperature is dropping, the snow’s beginning to fly in the higher altitudes and it won’t be long before you’re storing that bike and dusting off those skis and snowboard.

As the winter season draws close, ski centers and resorts across the region are getting ready with the latest round of upgrades. And here’s what’s new on the slopes for the upcoming season.

In the Adirondacks, Gore Mountain has added four new trails: Woodchuck, a new intermediate on the High Peaks Side, offers a narrow, winding diversion from the Wood Lot trail; an expert trail, Darby’s Woods, is accessible from Lower Cloud near the Lower Darby entrance and two new glades, Pinebrook Glades and The Cave, have been cut from the Bear Mountain summit. Gore has also added 70 new tower guns, four new fan guns and a new pump for snowmaking. The new pump has provided an additional 800 gallons per minute of pumping capacity.

At Whiteface Mountain, two summit trails – Riva Ridge and Paron’s Run – have been re-graded to make them smoother and 35 permanent, low-energy power snow guns have been installed for earlier opening of the upper mountain. A new winch cat and free groomer have been added, and there will be four terrain parks for all ability levels. The superpipe on the Bear trail was repositioned to make it steeper for recreational skiers and riders, and to prepare it for the Nokia Snowboard FIS World Cup/State Farm U.S. Snowboard Cup planned for March 9-12.

Oak Mountain in Speculator is a family-friendly area with low prices. The mountain offers 14 trails, a quad chair, a new base lodge, night skiing and snow tubing. McCauley Mountain in Old Forge offers challenging trails for all skiers and riders, with 21 trails, a double chair, a snowboard park and night skiing.

At Titus Mountain near Malone, they provide family skiing and challenging terrain at affordable prices. With 27 trails, seven chairlifts, a terrain park, two lodges and night skiing, it’s a fun place to be. Mount Pisgah in Saranac Lake has 21 trails, a double-chair, terrain park, night skiing and snow tubing. Hickory Mountain in Warrensburg will not operate this winter but hopes to open for the 2006-07 season, once they determine how to get adequate funding and staff.

In Central New York, Snow Ridge in Turin offers 22 trails, four double chairs, a halfpipe, terrain park and night skiing. Woods Valley in Westernville has increased their snowmaking coverage, widened two trails and remodeled the base lodge. They offer 14 trails, two double chairs, a terrain park and night skiing.

In the Capital-Saratoga region, West Mountain in Glens Falls has expanded its snowmaking capabilities with three new tower-mounted snow guns and three movable guns. Customers can now “one-stop shop” by purchasing lift tickets, lessons and rentals in the same building. Their new rail park was introduced at the end of last year.

At Willard Mountain near Greenwich, they have added a new double-chairlift with top-to-bottom capacity, which opens two more trails – White River Run and Lookout – for night skiing. They now offer snowmaking and night skiing on 95-percent of their trails. Last year they opened their new retail shop.

Maple Ski Ridge near Schenectady is celebrating their 40th year of offering reasonable rates for families. Their environmentally-friendly snowmaking operation now covers 95-percent of the trails. Royal Mountain in Caroga Lake has 14 trails, two double chairs, a terrain park and snowmaking.

In the Catskills, Belleayre Mountain has added two new glade runs and one new double diamond/diamond trail, bringing the out-of-bounds, in-bounds. The glades are located on the upper mountain between Belleayre Run and Wannatuska, and Winnisook and Tongora. The new trail, Lift Line, utilizes the space under the Tomahawk Lift.

The additional terrain opens areas formerly off limits to skiers and riders, incorporating the features of the landscape to create a natural terrain park.

Hunter Mountain has opened its largest improvement to date, the Kaatskill Mountain Club. The new slopeside resort features 109 guest rooms, an all-season outdoor pool, health spa, fitness center, Van Winkle’s Bistro, and conference accommodations. Hunter’s two-trail terrain park is complete with a halfpipe, jib park and regularly maintained features.

At Windham Mountain, a new triple chairlift and beginner trail connect the base lodge to the new Adaptive Sports Foundation building. The bottom of White Way has been improved to give beginners more space. And they have enlarged the snowmaking pond and upgraded its pump station to increase snowmaking capacity. Windham is being purchased by investors with connections to the Windham community, and the acquisition should be complete by mid-November.

Plattekill Mountain in Roxbury has added 7,000 feet of pipe and a new pump to double their snowmaking capacity. A new natural terrain park complete with jumps, berms and drops is nestled in the woods between two trails. Plattekill has expanded the childrens’ racing program for ages 6-12, and the childrens’ ski school programs for those who can ski or ride the full mountain.

On the New York/Massachusetts state line, Catamount in Hillsdale has added the Meadows triple chair, which replaces the Mountain View double. In addition, they have widened the Walters trail, built a larger terrain park and expanded the mini training park.

In Massachusetts, Jiminy Peak showcases its new J.J.’s Lodge – the final piece in the Village Center, completing a decades-long expansion plan. The building houses condos, a childrens’ game room/eating area, ski school and food court. A new slope-side patio has a fire pit, barbeque area and space for alfresco dining. Other upgrades include suites in the Country Inn, snowmaking pipes and guns, and a new grooming machine.

Bousquet is family-friendly destination that offers 22 trails, two double chairs, snowmaking and night skiing at affordable rates. Ski Butternut has added 22 new snow guns, a third Quad chairlift on the Cruiser trail and slow zones on Nuthatch, Pied Piper and Cruiser. Berkshire East has 45 trails, three chairlifts, snowmaking, night skiing, halfpipe and a terrain park. Otis Ridge has 11 trails, one chairlift, snowmaking and night skiing.

In Vermont, Smugglers’ Notch has added more gladed terrain to Madonna Mountain for intermediate and expert skiers. Also look for Sam the Snow Snake terrain park for kids and adults, fun features in the Jibs and Jumps Terrain Park at Morse Highlands, and new rails at The Zone Terrain Park on Practice Slope. Air boarding will also make a debut on Morse. A new groomer has been added to the fleet as well as nearly 100 low-energy, high-output snow guns.

At Ascutney Mountain, they have made trail upgrades and have purchased 100 new guns and more electric compressors to increase their snowmaking capacity. Bolton Valley is making major on-mountain improvements, including a new top-to-bottom Vista Bowl quad and many acres of new glades.

Bromley Mountain is offering an all-age, all-day, all-season $25 midweek/non-holiday lift ticket. That combined with its Family Friday deal – each paying adult pays just $10 a kid for up to three kids, makes Bromley one of the best deals in the Green Mountain state this year. Burke Mountain has installed a new high-speed detachable quad chairlift, upgraded its snowmaking system, improved its base lodge and completed trail work.

At Jay Peak, their 50th anniversary season begins with the addition of ski-in/ski-out condos and townhouses in the village, and the permitting process for future expansion into the 250-acre and 1,200-vertical-foot West Bowl. Also they have upgraded their snowmaking system pumping capacity, and a new groomer has been added to the fleet.

Killington has opened the new Killington Resort Village. On-slope improvements include major snowmaking upgrades at both Killington and Pico Mountain, upgrades at the K-1 and Ramshead lodges, new tower-mounted low-energy snow guns and six new grooming machines. Also, Bear Mountain is hosting the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Championships from March 23-26.

At Mad River Glen, this year’s “nothing fancy, but important” enhancement projects include maintenance on trails, lifts, on-mountain vehicles and buildings. A new ticketing system has streamlined the operation, but traditionalists can rest assured that this will not lead to lift ticket “scanning” on the Single Chair.

Magic Mountain has invested in base lodge, trail clearing and snowmaking improvements, including 15 new tower guns that increase coverage to 85-percent of terrain. Its greatest asset is still the excellent advanced and expert terrain.

At Mount Snow, they have replaced snowmaking pipes and added a terrain park grooming machine. The resort has carved both the SoBe Gut Superpipe and tubing park into the ground, requiring less snowmaking to maintain them. Mount Snow sold Haystack to local real estate investors who plan to operate it as a private club.

Okemo Mountain has added two new trails in the Jackson Gore Peak area, increasing the resort’s total skiable acreage to 624 acres. A new carpet lift that’s tailor-made for beginners replaces the Poma lift, and a total of four new terrain park and trail grooming machines have been added.

At Stowe Mountain expect to find serious improvements at Spruce Peak including two new high-speed detachable quads, new intermediate terrain, and the first fully-automated snowmaking system in New England.

Stratton Mountain has added a new wooded backcountry course, Test Pilot, designed by U.S. Olympic medalist Bill Koch. The new trail system is rolling out just off Kidderbrook at the eastern edge of the resort. Two new “lines” of gladed terrain are being opened up off Lower Downeaster and Tink’s Link, bringing the total to 130 acres.

At Sugarbush, they have begun construction of the new Lincoln Peak Village, including Clay Brook with ski-in/ski-out lodging, year-round outdoor pool, restaurant and café. Sugarbush has increased the beginner teaching terrain on Easy Rider, and created more space around the Super Bravo and Gate House lifts to alleviate congestion.

Like the perennial arrival of Christmas, winter consistently brings new improvement to area resorts and this year is no exception. So now that you know what’s out there, all you have to do is pray for snow.

Eric Vohr grew up in Northville and currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland. He’s a contributor to SKI and Vermont magazines, the National Ski Areas Association’s NSAA Journal, and writes a ski column in numerous newspapers.

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