Greek Peak 1-27-2017

I should admit that until recently I wasn't all that interested in Greek Peak. I knew it existed, that it was someplace out near Syracuse and that it was supposed to be pretty good. New York and New England have so many good mountains that it was hard to get to all of them and, once you've got a few favorites, you tend to keep going back to the same places again and again. Maybe it's a result of officially hitting middle age but recently I resolved to explore some new territory. The enthusiasm expressed by Greek's loyalists on the NYSkiblog's conditions forum convinced me to put it at the top of my list.



When I realized that my son's midterm schedule would give him Friday off, the obvious thing was for us to go skiing. After some deliberation, I decided we would go check out Greek Peak together. We knew conditions wouldn't be ideal. Though we've been blessed with a few good storms this winter, we've had our share of warm weather as well. I'm not the kind of guy that needs everything to be perfect to have fun though, and I'm trying to raise my kids to emulate that, so we rolled out of bed early and got on the road before seven.



The drive out Route 17 and Interstate 81 is of course beautiful, full of rolling hills, farmland and shallow rivers. My son built a little Fleece-blanket nest in the passenger seat and went right back to sleep. We arrived at the mountain in Virgil, NY Around 9:30. It was 31 degrees and overcast but the sun was peeking under the clouds on the horizon. We booted up, got our tickets and headed for the main lift, a fixed grip quad with a conveyor to make loading easier. It was the first time I ever saw a loading conveyor up close. I gotta admit it made loading a breeze. I wasn't worried about junior but, if we'd had my ten year old with us, the conveyor would have provided a little extra peace of mind.





Our first run was down Iliad, straight down the mountain under a closed double lift. The corduroy was pretty hard but the un-groomed strip down skiers' left was buttery soft. It was a fun, fast run. We hit a couple more trails off the quad and then steered ourselves over to Lift 3, then Lift 4. We found a nice fast cruiser off of Lift 4 called Trojan. This is where Pro2860 caught up with us. He seemed like a great guy, very generous with guidance like all the Greek locals. We did some laps there. Like the area under the quad, the groomed surface was kind of loudish but there were strips of fresh, soft snow here and there on the trail's edges. It was fun skiing and I found a little lip at an intersection near the bottom of Lift 4 where I could get a little air. If was fun.





After that we got serious about skiing every open trail on the mountain before lunch. I have to admit I was frustrated by how many trails that seemed to have enough cover were closed. Here and there I saw cool terrain and inviting glades that were closed. The snow cover wasn't great so I do understand where management was coming from I guess but I was torn between just dropping in on closed trails and setting a good example for my son. I was temped to do a little climbing when we skied under chair 2 (not turning) and discovered a completely freshly covered, ungroomed trail called Atlas. Junior noticed on a sign at the base area that Lift 2 was supposed to open at 3 PM. I figured I could wait.



We were the second or third chair when they opened the lift but were disappointed that the only trail open off of it was a green cruiser. It was a cool trail but we were looking for a little more. So I found myself trying to justify myself: "You know that just because somebody older and more experienced skis a closed trail doesn't mean that you should right?" My son assured me that he understood. He promised me he that if I hit Atlas or Aesop's Glade (also closed) he would not imitate my behavior and continue to respect closures. In spite of this, on our second or third ride on Lift 2, I spied another closed trail, a broad green cruiser covered in fresh snow, and found myself asking Junior if he wanted to poach it with me on our next run. We had a laugh at my hypocrisy but soon enough my son was following me through a closed terrain park off of lift 2.




We quit around four in the afternoon and got on the road. It was another fun day of skiing but we could see that Greek would have a lot more to offer with more snow on the ground. Though it was just a taste, I can see why the place inspires such loyalty from its fans. We look forward to returning.



Sent from my iPad

Glad you made the best out of it Brownski and enjoyed your time in the Valley. Cool you hooked up with Pro, yoour right, he's a chill dude. Hopefully on your next visit we will have some snow and we can show you around.

It has been forever since I was there. It looks actually pretty nice! Considering that that area of NY doesn't sport much vertical the terrain looks really good.

A couple more pics I should have included. I think these show better how awesome the place must be after a big dump. Me and Junior both really liked Chair 2 and the terrain underneath it.

Brownski

Cool! It looks like a fun place with some snow. When I was a kid growing up out east I always wanted to go there but with Vermont at a comparable driving distance I never made it.

Nice report Brownski! You really do have to ski it to believe it

gorgonzola wrote

Nice report Brownski! You really do have to ski it to believe it

I agree. Now that I've seen it I really want to get back there after a storm.
RA, that's exactly how I felt til last Friday. There are so many options out there....