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Tricia

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BS Slarver

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Nice article and god bless the weekend warriors !
The area has many guests who make the trek to the Catskills every weekend some from much farther south than LI. Our skier accommodations see weekenders and midweek skiers who regularly come from as far as southern PA
I had a chance to tour the progress of the Belleayre gondola lift installation last week as well as have an interview with management.
They are still expecting to have the lift completed this year and the new trails are cut and seeded. I must say I am not a big Belleayre fan and was apprehensive about its positioning but now that I've gotten a first hand look I think it will be a game changer for the mountain and a welcome addition for the skiing public looking to access that portion of the mountain.
 

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Nice article and god bless the weekend warriors !
The area has many guests who make the trek to the Catskills every weekend some from much farther south than LI. Our skier accommodations see weekenders and midweek skiers who regularly come from as far as southern PA
I had a chance to tour the progress of the Belleayre gondola lift installation last week as well as have an interview with management.
They are still expecting to have the lift completed this year and the new trails are cut and seeded. I must say I am not a big Belleayre fan and was apprehensive about its positioning but now that I've gotten a first hand look I think it will be a game changer for the mountain and a welcome addition for the skiing public looking to access that portion of the mountain.


NY State has three great mountains under its mismanagement - Gore, Belleayre and Whiteface (it may have others).

It would be a good thing - for NY State, skiers and those local communities - if these mountains were operated by someone who actually knew what they were doing (get rid of some of the bureaucracy and self-enrichment and incompetency) and also look to add them to a multi-mountain pass.
 

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Since I don't have personal experience of trying to get away for a weekend of skiing from Long Island I don't have much to talk about on this topic, but I thought this was an interesting take from a freelance writer:
Skiing and snowboarding weekend getaways When the temperature drops, a special breed of people doesn’t hunker down, TV remote in hand. These people look up to the sky and pray newsday.com


If you are interested in learning more about the ski scene in NYC - or in general - or in simply reading a great piece of writing - then take a look at the article in the current issue of Powder Magazine titled New York State of Mind - What it Takes to Be a Skier in the Big Apple.
 
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LKLA

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Aren't they on the Max Pass?


Yes, which costs $700 and limits you to FIVE days at each mountain. Not the greatest pass - or the cheapest.

Regardless, the pass is a minor issue when it comes to NY State owned mountains. Mismanagement.
 

Jully

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Yes, which costs $700 and limits you to FIVE days at each mountain. Not the greatest pass - or the cheapest.

Regardless, the pass is a minor issue when it comes to NY State owned mountains. Mismanagement.
What pass would you add them too? $629 (original price) for 15 days (20 if Windham counts) across those mountains is more days than the average pass user would use the pass for.

Most multi mountain passes cost in that ballpark. Epic Local, Peaks Pass, are all right there. Boyne's New England pass is nearly 2x that much (not relevant for NY though).
 

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Which mountain pass is better is a fairly trivial issue given everything else that goes on - or does not go on - at these three mountains.
 

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@LKLA ... couldn't agree more and have many diehard skiing friends based out of the apple.

As a full time resident of the catskill community for 27 years we have been employed by Belleayre and others in the region that compete for skier visits believe me, I hear ya.
I think we went down that state ski area slope last year so I'm not going wanting to rehash the whole state being in the ski business.

@Jilly - you are correct, Belleayre, Gore and Whiteface are all on the maxpass, partly why we will be skiing them more frequently this year.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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If you are interested in learning more about the ski scene around NYC - or in the ski scene in general - or in simply reading a great piece of writing - then take a look at the article in the current issue of Powder Magazine titled New York State of Mind - What it Takes to Be a Skier in the Big Apple.
I tried to check it out but I am not a subscriber and can't access full features. :(
 

LKLA

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I tried to check it out but I am not a subscriber and can't access full features. :(

You run a ski website and you don't subscribe to Powder ogwink I would think they would be sending you a few copies for free ogsmile Something must be done!

It should be available on their website for free in a few days - they post articles after a few weeks.

It's a great article that looks at one slice of the NYC ski scene. Very funny.
 
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crgildart

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When I lived there they had a tour bus that ran down Jericho TPKE from Riverhead through Queens to Huntahhh and back. It was pretty cheap too. Had to get there early to catch it in Huntington but definitely a rolling après ski party most of the way back.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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You run a ski website and you don't subscribe to Powder ogwink I would think they would be sending you a few copies for free ogsmile Something must be done!

It should be available on their website for free in a few days - they post articles after a few weeks.

It's a great article that looks at one slice of the NYC ski scene. Very funny.
I actually got Ski, Skiing, and Powder for several years, but when I moved to Tahoe I didn't forward the subscription, which means that my practice husband is probably enjoying them. (except for Skiing because that is shut down).
I do tend to pick up a hard copy when I happen upon it, but I haven't happened upon it yet.
 

karlo

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trying to get away for a weekend of skiing from Long Island

For the NY metro area, Long Island is tougher, especially the farther east and south you are. But, I think the key point of the article may be the how-to-get-there section, referencing Sundown Bus Trips, http://www.sundownbustrips.com/cgi-...atabase=ski_trips.exm&template=ski_trips3.htm. Pretty nice. As far east as east-of-Wantagh Parkway.

Another well known bus service, servicing Manhattan (maybe more) is OVRRIDE, http://ovrride.com/. They even run trips out West and to Japan. On that page, I notice Whistler, Jackson Hole, Snowbird, Niseko. Great way for like minded skiers and riders to meet and go on a great trip together.

Why isn't there a snow-train to Vermont? Don't get me started.
 

TonyC

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Long Island must be a masochistic place for a skier to live, having to drive through NYC to ski anywhere. And the best eastern skiing farther north is not mentioned in the article because it's too far away for a weekend drive.

Skiers in a location like this do have one advantage though. NYC is a very competitive market for airfares. Seriously, if you can afford to live most places in Long Island, you're probably better off doing most of your skiing out of Denver or Salt Lake.
 
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Tricia

Tricia

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@TonyC did you read the article? Did you understand the premise of a quick family friendly weekend of skiing between trips outwest?
 

mdf

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When I was in a ski house at Killington in the 1980s there was a loose community of seasonal ski houses. About half of the people were from the NYC area, but I don't know how it broke down by sub-area. Of course, traffic must be even worse 30 years later.
 

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Meh, at least you can get to skiing within a few hours from NYC. There are much worse places to live. I skied Bristol in upstate NY a few years ago and it was a cool, mellow vibe. I'd love to go back and check out some more of the local hills up there like Hunter.
 

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@TonyC did you read the article? Did you understand the premise of a quick family friendly weekend of skiing between trips outwest?
I did. I also know that there's an endurance threshold beyond which most people aren't willing to drive for a short trip. Liz lived in NYC for 27 years and her most frequent weekend destination was Killington. She loves Stowe but it was just too far from NYC. The writers of the article clearly understood that and thus put Gore and Okemo as the outer distance limits from Long Island.

Core2's former home in upstate New York is far more skier friendly. At some point the quality of what's within reasonable drive distance degrades to the point that one's ski resources may be better spent flying somewhere. By the time you get to say, DC, most people would feel that line has been crossed. Many people would say the same about Philly. I see NYC metro as the borderline case and clearly Long Island is the worst part of NYC for skiing access by car. Conversely it's one of the best for easy access to JFK, which might be the best airport anywhere for competitive flights west.

I'm not imposing my opinion on anyone here. I'm explaining the thought process and many people would draw that geographic line in a different place than I did. We have quite a few NYC based skiers on this forum, and it seems to me that some of them do most of their skiing in the West and thus must have a similar thought process.

And of course it's not an all or nothing situation. Living in a borderline region means there's probably a mix between what's driveable and flights to higher quality skiing. The balance shifts gradually by location as the driving gets less convenient.
 
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