Holiday Valley - What's The real scoop?

[skiersleft]

I've made fun of Holiday Valley in the past. It's preposterous that it often makes it to the top 10 eastern resorts in ski magazine. It's vertically challenged (750ft). So it's obviously not even close to the real top resorts in the east.

however, when I checked their website, it does seem to have some things going for it. Although it lacks vertical, it seems to be quite big. 290 skiable acres, which is bigger than many eastern resorts. Also, I've heard that the town of elicottville is actually quite a cool ski town. And it gets lake effect, so pretty good amount of natural.

So, can anyone with personal experience chime in. Is this a pretty good ski hill in spite of its vertical challenge? Is elicottville a really cool ski own? How's the natural?

 

[jrmagic]

I used to ski there once or twice a week while attending college in Buffalo. I can't speak much for the town as we were bussed in and bussed out by the school's ski club but I have heard similar rumors from others that it was a fun town. As for the mountain.... in that region it is far and away the best choice and draws lots of folks which is why it ranks so high on Skimagazine's poll. Not that I give that any real credibility to that based on their target audience. It is what it is. From what I remember, it skied pretty big for its size and had a nice diversity of terrain including a fun bump run (IIRC) names Devil's Funnel which had some interesting lines due to the funnel shape. Some decent steep terrain and some fun tree shots that were off limits which may or may not have changed since then. Their night skiing was pertty good with major areas of the hill open whihc provided enough diversity to keep things interesting for intermediates through advanced skiers. They don't have any legitimate double black terrain eventhough some of their trails are marked as such though relative to the rest of their terrain, they are the marginally more difficult. So all in all its a fun mountain but unless you were on a business trip or visiting family within a 2 hour radius there's no reason to go there unless you jsut want to add another notch in the belt.

 

[jimmywilson69]

What jrmagic said. From what my buddy told me the trees are in play now, which may be inflating their acerage. The trees are also thined of underbrush so there's quite a bit of them to be had, and they really add to the experience.

Ellicotville is a super cool town.

That being said, it's 7 hours to there from southcentral PA, It's 7.5 hours to Killington. Enough said.

 

[JimG.]

I used to ski there once or twice a week while attending college in Buffalo. I can't speak much for the town as we were bussed in and bussed out by the school's ski club but I have heard similar rumors from others that it was a fun town. As for the mountain.... in that region it is far and away the best choice and draws lots of folks which is why it ranks so high on Skimagazine's poll. Not that I give that any real credibility to that based on their target audience. It is what it is. From what I remember, it skied pretty big for its size and had a nice diversity of terrain including a fun bump run (IIRC) names Devil's Funnel which had some interesting lines due to the funnel shape. Some decent steep terrain and some fun tree shots that were off limits which may or may not have changed since then. Their night skiing was pertty good with major areas of the hill open whihc provided enough diversity to keep things interesting for intermediates through advanced skiers. They don't have any legitimate double black terrain eventhough some of their trails are marked as such though relative to the rest of their terrain, they are the marginally more difficult. So all in all its a fun mountain but unless you were on a business trip or visiting family within a 2 hour radius there's no reason to go there unless you jsut want to add another notch in the belt.

How far from Buffalo?

My oldest son is at RIT and we're both looking for excuses for me to go skiing up around there together.

 

[skiersleft]

How far from Buffalo?

My oldest son is at RIT and we're both looking for excuses for me to go skiing up around there together.

1 hours and 15 minute drive. Pretty close.

 

[JimG.]

1 hours and 15 minute drive. Pretty close.

Not bad...I think Bristol is also near there.

 

[Downhill Threads]

Hey JimG... yeah, Bristol is probably the closest to RIT (I live in Rochester). But Holiday Valley is worth the extra half hour(ish) of driving if you have the time. Definitely the most fun mountain in Western New York. It's kind of a mini-version of a VT mountain. Little bit of trees. Little bit of bumps. Little vit of vertical. But its all spread out nice and does get really decent lake effect snow. And they have great deals for college students. I think Sunday night was the cheapest if I remember right.

The lodges are nice and well maintained, and the people are friendly. The town is quaint, but has some fun spots to hit after a day on the slopes and a couple cool ski-themed bars.

For those NOT in Western New York, it's probably not worth the drive if you can get to VT in the same amount of time. But for us in WNY, it's definitely nice to have considering the alternatives around.

Now we just need it to snow!!

 

[JimG.]

I'll probably hit both.

 

[Breakout12]

Hey JimG... yeah, Bristol is probably the closest to RIT (I live in Rochester). But Holiday Valley is worth the extra half hour(ish) of driving if you have the time. Definitely the most fun mountain in Western New York. It's kind of a mini-version of a VT mountain. Little bit of trees. Little bit of bumps. Little vit of vertical. But its all spread out nice and does get really decent lake effect snow. And they have great deals for college students. I think Sunday night was the cheapest if I remember right.

The lodges are nice and well maintained, and the people are friendly. The town is quaint, but has some fun spots to hit after a day on the slopes and a couple cool ski-themed bars.

For those NOT in Western New York, it's probably not worth the drive if you can get to VT in the same amount of time. But for us in WNY, it's definitely nice to have considering the alternatives around.

Now we just need it to snow!!

I respectfully disagree. We drive an additional 50 minutes to go to Bristol over HV. 680 vs 1200 feet is enough of a reason for us.

 

[mattchuck2]

Ellicottville Brewery is awesome.

Mountain is okay. short runs, not much character, but they have night skiing and decent bumps. Very nice lodging, bars in walking distance, excellent mountain biking in the summer. All in all, it's not a great mountain, but I like it more than say, Stratton. It's better than Bristol, too, IMO

 

[Breakout12]

Ellicottville Brewery is awesome.

Mountain is okay. short runs, not much character, but they have night skiing and decent bumps. Very nice lodging, bars in walking distance, excellent mountain biking in the summer. All in all, it's not a great mountain, but I like it more than say, Stratton. It's better than Bristol, too, IMO

So does Bristol, with more open at night than HV (all but one trail open). I'm also lead to believe that Bristol's terrain park is excellent.