Skiing near Ohio

[Greg]

This post is mostly for IndyJones.

Can't make it to Vail? Your next-best resort is neither steep nor far

11/16/03

Susan Glaser
Assistant Plain Dealer Travel Editor

Here's a question that will get all you skiers out there wishing for the white stuff:

Which U.S. city is centrally located between the two states boasting the largest number of ski resorts?

Denver? Nope. Too far west.

Manchester, N.H.? Try again. Too far east.

Cleveland? Yes!

Point your car in any direction, and you'll find hundreds of places to schuss within an easy drive of Northeast Ohio.

New York state, with 50, and Michigan, with 44, have more ski resorts than Colorado (27) and New Hampshire (20) and everyone else.

Quantity, alas, doesn't always equal quality - and no resort within a few hours' drive of Cleveland can compete with the Vails and the Stowes in altitude or scenery. But the most popular regional resorts offer an affordable alternative, with amenities that are nothing to shake your skis at.

Whether you're looking for expert slopes, cross-country trails, full-day child care or on-site lodges, there's a resort for you nearby.

"Pretty much the difference out West is the vertical drop," said Lou Cayet, past president of the Erie Shore Ski Club, a group of more than 300 Greater Clevelanders who ski together - near and far - every winter. Take away the altitude, and the best regional ski resort is as much fun as any.

Cayet's favorite place to ski nearby is Ellicottville, N.Y., 215 miles east of Cleveland in western New York. The town is home to two resorts: Holiday Valley, consistently ranked among the top Eastern resorts in Ski magazine's annual poll of readers; and HoliMont, a private resort that is open to nonmembers during the week only.

"They call Ellicottville the Aspen of the East," said Cayet. "It has that type of flair to it."

New this year to Holiday Valley: a 10-chute tubing park, about four miles from the ski portion of the resort; a new high- speed quad chairlift; and a relocated halfpipe.

Last season, 557,000 skiers and snowboarders tackled the slopes at Holiday Valley.

It is the busiest resort in New York. The number is just shy of the resort's record year in the winter of 2000-2001.

Nationally, the sports of skiing and snowboarding attracted a record 57.6 million visitors last year, according to the National Ski Areas Association. The increasing appeal of snowboarding - boarders now make up nearly 30 percent of visitors - is largely the reason ski resorts continue to do so well. The number of snowboarders has more than quadrupled since 1988, from 1.3 million to 5.6 million, according to the association.

Increasingly, ski resorts are spending money to attract and keep these young sliders. (Last year, 68 percent of boarders were 24 or younger.)

New this year at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, Pa., is a terrain park for the youngest kids, just learning to snowboard and ski.

"We see the snowboarder number increase every year," said Denise Neckers, assistant snow- sports director at Peek'n Peak resort in Clymer, N.Y. "It started with just the younger kids. It's crossing every age and gender category."

Indeed, when Cayet, of Brook Park, took up skiing 15 years ago, most resorts still had dedicated slopes just for boarders. Now, only a very few resorts restrict access to just skiers.

"You learn to ski around them," said Cayet, who skied as a child, then took up the sport again as an adult.

"I figure if you live in cold weather, you'd better enjoy it. It gives you something to do besides lying on the couch."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

sglaser@plaind.com, 216-999-4240

Source

 

[IndyJones]

That's cool! Thanks for posting that. I need to go out to some of those resorts sometime.

 

[Greg]

We have a lot of info on the Western NY resorts. Have a look here:

http://skiing.alpinezone.com/resorts/ny/