Greekpeak 3 -23 and Song Mountain 3-24

[tekweezle]

I was in western NY so I said why not try some of the local hills.

Got to Greekpeak around 7:40pm. they close at 9:00. it was a cold, sub 32 degree night. Managed to do 5 runs on hard pack groomers. skiing at night is extra challenging because every turn is potential disaster as you skid on glare ice. slow lifts so it was literally 10 minutes up, 2 minutes down. but other than that, i could see how this place could be fun with some lake effect snow. it looked like the mountain could ski bigger than it was-there were short steep runs that i couldn;t get to but definitely looked challenging. they had some decently long groomers that went sideways. almost had a "squaw valley" type of vibe to it. certainly in the class of a hunter mountain. they also had an extended area with a mid mountain lift. all in all, a good recon mission. i;ll go back next season.

next day, got to Song mountain at about 1:30pm and skied till 4:00pm. You can see the resort from i81 highway and it sure looks inviting. the snow report said they got 6 inches of snow on friday and they were closed sunday so i figure there might be some untracked left. the conditions were decent aside from the base being a little thin and hard pack. coverage was good on their main trails. the sun warmed up things. however, as I was freelancing off the side of the trails and on some of the less tracked ones, you couldn;t help but wonder what rocks lay underneath. fortunately, i didn;t hit any and managed to do about 10-15 top to bottom runs. there looked like there were all sorts of tree skiing possibilities. i amused myself by skiing the tracks for a closed poma lift where there was soft undisturbed snow. all in all, another decent recon mission. this area would be a good place to bring beginners and those learning to ski as all the trails are sufficiently wide and friendly-in an Windham sort of way. there looked like alot interesting tree and off trail areas as well.

 

[skimore]

I was in western NY so I said why not try some of the local hills.


next day, got to Song mountain at about 1:30pm and skied till 4:00pm. You can see the resort from i81 highway and it sure looks inviting. the snow report said they got 6 inches of snow on friday and they were closed sunday so i figure there might be some untracked left. the conditions were decent aside from the base being a little thin and hard pack. coverage was good on their main trails. the sun warmed up things. however, as I was freelancing off the side of the trails and on some of the less tracked ones, you couldn;t help but wonder what rocks lay underneath. fortunately, i didn;t hit any and managed to do about 10-15 top to bottom runs. there looked like there were all sorts of tree skiing possibilities. i amused myself by skiing the tracks for a closed poma lift where there was soft undisturbed snow. all in all, another decent recon mission. this area would be a good place to bring beginners and those learning to ski as all the trails are sufficiently wide and friendly-in an Windham sort of way. there looked like alot interesting tree and off trail areas as well.

there ain't no poma there.....they call that a Tbar

trees were skiable early Dec, but not since

here is pic from Dec

 

[campgottagopee]

I was in western NY so I said why not try some of the local hills.

Got to Greekpeak around 7:40pm. they close at 9:00. it was a cold, sub 32 degree night. Managed to do 5 runs on hard pack groomers. skiing at night is extra challenging because every turn is potential disaster as you skid on glare ice. slow lifts so it was literally 10 minutes up, 2 minutes down. but other than that, i could see how this place could be fun with some lake effect snow. it looked like the mountain could ski bigger than it was-there were short steep runs that i couldn;t get to but definitely looked challenging. they had some decently long groomers that went sideways. almost had a "squaw valley" type of vibe to it. certainly in the class of a hunter mountain. they also had an extended area with a mid mountain lift. all in all, a good recon mission. i;ll go back next season.

Glad you liked my local hill and please do come back next year. Hopefully you can catch it during the day to check out some of our "nooks and crannies".

 

[tekweezle]

yeah, wished I got to both resorts a little earlier.....

 

[campgottagopee]

This may be splitting hairs but I'm just trying to give you a better sense of direction. Greek and Song are Central NY ski areas. WNY areas would be more like Bristol, Holiday Valley or Swain. That's been buggin' me so now I feel better.

 

[jaywbigred]

I was in western NY so I said why not try some of the local hills.

Got to Greekpeak around 7:40pm. they close at 9:00. it was a cold, sub 32 degree night. Managed to do 5 runs on hard pack groomers. skiing at night is extra challenging because every turn is potential disaster as you skid on glare ice. slow lifts so it was literally 10 minutes up, 2 minutes down. but other than that, i could see how this place could be fun with some lake effect snow. it looked like the mountain could ski bigger than it was-there were short steep runs that i couldn;t get to but definitely looked challenging. they had some decently long groomers that went sideways. almost had a "squaw valley" type of vibe to it. certainly in the class of a hunter mountain. they also had an extended area with a mid mountain lift. all in all, a good recon mission. i;ll go back next season.

Gotta go back during the day and ski the steeper stuff and the many fun spots that you cant ski at night (unless theres a full moon, good coverage, and your feeling frisky).

Btw, I have to take issue with you dubbing a "sub 32 degree night" as "cold." Aren't we skiers thicker shelled than that? To me, cold is something below 10 degrees, and thats during the the day. At night, especially at GP, where I spent many a night during college, anything above 5 is a blessing. Also, I don't think there is any more ice at night than during a normal overcast CNY day...

 

[campgottagopee]

Gotta go back during the day and ski the steeper stuff and the many fun spots that you cant ski at night (unless theres a full moon, good coverage, and your feeling frisky).

Btw, I have to take issue with you dubbing a "sub 32 degree night" as "cold." Aren't we skiers thicker shelled than that? To me, cold is something below 10 degrees, and thats during the the day. At night, especially at GP, where I spent many a night during college, anything above 5 is a blessing. Also, I don't think there is any more ice at night than during a normal overcast CNY day...

True dat---you a Red Dragon or Bomber???

 

[tekweezle]

Gotta go back during the day and ski the steeper stuff and the many fun spots that you cant ski at night (unless theres a full moon, good coverage, and your feeling frisky).

Btw, I have to take issue with you dubbing a "sub 32 degree night" as "cold." Aren't we skiers thicker shelled than that? To me, cold is something below 10 degrees, and thats during the the day. At night, especially at GP, where I spent many a night during college, anything above 5 is a blessing. Also, I don't think there is any more ice at night than during a normal overcast CNY day...

forgive me. I am a "downstater" everything north of westchester is "upstate" to me. everything outside of manhattan is the suburbs and we still call manhattan "the city". imagine my surprise when i found out that the only football team that actually plays in the state of NY is the buffalo bills.

according to my altimeter watch, it was actually 24 degrees that night when i checked it. temps wise, it was good and comfortable. conditions wise, it was a little challenging navigating the refrozen ice but I had my trusty ice skis so no prob. it was probably about 40-50 degrees during the day..