Law student new to NYC = not much time or money, but really need to ski! Any thoughts?

Hi I'm from Seattle and used to having a decent hill 45 minutes from the city that offers night skiing. Although this year has been terrible there, I'm not having much better luck here since I can't find anywhere to go. Any thoughts about decent skiing within a couple hours drive of NYC? I'm going batty here, especially since I couldn't ski over winter break in Seattle. Does anyone have any advice or thoughts? I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks so much, Steph

[dmc]

Here's a good article from Ski Mag about skiing in the Catskills which is a couple hours fro NYC...
http://www.skimag.com/skimag/travel_...931922,00.html
If you end up coming to Hunter - send me a PM and I'll show your around...

[ALLSKIING]

For a day trip I would also have to go with the Catskills. Great mountains and only a few hours from the city.

Thanks so much, it can be tough to get the inside word. Your thoughts are very much appreciated!

Steph

[BrockVond]

Originally Posted by sdobler

Any thoughts about decent skiing within a couple hours drive of NYC?

I'd recommend Belleayre in the Catskills and Elk Mountain in the poconos. Both are relatively uncrowded compared to other resorts that get a lot of NYC traffic.

[rjc1976]

Living in NYC, you are pretty much left with 3 options when it comes to day trips:

As already stated, the Catskills (NY) is probably your best choice for close-to-home skiing. Each place there definitely has it's own flavor -- Hunter, Windham, Belleayre, Plattekill, Bobcat, and Cortina (this last one is not worth it). With the exception of Windham, you can't find night skiing here, and even at Windham it's limited. Do you have a car? If not, buses do also run to these areas from Manhattan.

You mentioned night skiing, which brings us to option 2 -- PA/NJ. Mountain Creek is only 47 miles from NYC, and it has 100% night skiing. Your other option is the Poconos area and Elk just north of the Poconos in PA. All these locations have night skiing as well. Avoid Mountain Creek on weekends at all costs. The only reason you'd choose this place during the day on a weekend if you love terrain parks. That's where it excels beyond the other mountains.

The last option you have for day trips is the Berkshires (MA). These mountains tend to be smaller than the ones in the Catskills, but they are still a nice option for day trips. Jiminy Peak is the largest and most popular. Catamount is an option to avoid some of the crowds.

Here are my personal picks when it comes to day trips --

Night skiing -- Mountain Creek and Blue Mountain
Challenge -- Hunter and Plattekill
Cruising -- Windham and Elk

[thetrailboss]

Welcome to AZ, sdobler. Hope you will be able to contribute when you can. Do get out and ski!

[dmc]

Cortina has just reopened but only very limited... I think they have a park... And thats it.. Now upper mt skiing...

[Big Game]

transfer schools...NYC is way too expensive...and student loans are non-dischargable...you got those for life...like herpes...try Vermont, Quinnipiac, Uconn, then you'll be closer to a lot of great hills. if you're in your first year, don't worry, you get used to the language of law. If you're in your second year you should have figured out how to massively slack. If you're on law review and all that crazy bs, you're on that slippery slope to selling out. If your in your third year, don't waste time studying for the bar...use micro-mash exclusively...3 hours a day is all its takes. Manage your time well, stay away form study groups, make sure you get your priorties right -- life first, law school, second.

[dmc]

I actually love NYC... And miss it... Until tonight when I was out walking around and checking out all the stars...
Now - not so much...