Hickory Conditions

The most treacherous section of Grand Teton (far skier's left off poma 1) is skier's right near the top. There's a pile of boulders that are particularly toothy and what looks like some inviting untracked snow is a trap! Otherwise is just the normal Hickory tombstones here and there. There are some big ones on Upper Beatnik that can really mess with anyone that's not expecting them. Saw a couple of bloodied warriors last time I was up there.

It's definitely a good idea to go up in the fall for trail work volunteer days to see what it looks like without snow. Hickory depends on those workers to clear trails, you get to spend a day climbing a mountain with some good people and everyone gets a voucher for a ski ticket so they can come back and enjoy the fruits of their efforts.

Nicky Z wrote

is that air technique 'gorilla' or 'guerrilla' ?

From Hickory's FB page:

DEAR OTHER MOUNTAIN SEASON PASSHOLDERS:

Psssst…we know you’ve heard about us. We know you’re curious to find out what all the buzz is about. We know you’d cheat on your home mountain if we made it worth your while…We won't tell.

This Sunday (March 1st) 2014-2015 season passholders from any ski resort are invited to come experience Hickory. Simply present your pass at the ticket window and get a $30 all day lift ticket. To inject even more fun, we’ll be keeping a tally of which resort has the most passholders ski Hickory on Sunday. Each person from the winning resort will receive a voucher for one single day lift ticket good for the rest of the 2014-2015 season!

Details can be found at: www.hickoryskicenter.com/#snow-report

Hickory Faithful, SHARE this post and help us grow the family!

That is pretty cool! Hickory marketing

Shared on NYSB's Facebook.

Saturday Hickory had the best non-powder day conditions I have skied this year.  Windfall was soft bumps top to bottom, no ice, fantastic coverage.  

How's it look for this weekend?

Hickory has the coverage.  If they get snow instead of rain this weekend it should continue to be great.

I skied Hickory for my first time Saturday afternoon, 3/14. After the firm conditions I encountered down at West Friday evening I was pleasantly surprised with the conditions. Apparently the groomer had flattened some moguls on the blue trail far skiers right of Poma 2. This is where I found the best snow to be as it was a nice loose granular. The difference between man-made and natural was made obvious to me Saturday as I found the snow at Hickory to be much dryer. I can only imagine what this place must be like with prime conditions... let's just say "I'll be back" just have to convince my bros, which shouldn't be a problem. Oh yeah, where were you guys? Had the ENTIRE place to myself. Just me & ski patrol (I was told I was one of TWO paying customers) kinda surreal having my own private mountain...

Soft creamy corn on Saturday, March 21.  Sunny with hero corn bumps.  Even the trees skied well.  It won't last long though.

from there facebook page

"Hickory will be operating both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. To allow the sun to work its magic softening up our deep spring base, lifts will spin starting at 11:00 am both days.

It’s still winter up at Hickory, the lower mountain has near 100% coverage and will be machine groomed, and the upper mountain is very skiable with late season spring conditions and granular conditions, which warmer temperatures should soften up to a nice corn snow by the time lifts start spinning. Come enjoy what remains of this epic winter and ‪#‎skithelegend‬!!! $30 lift tickets both days!"

A lot of productive work days at Hickory this fall. I saw quite a bit of carpeting from construction debris up on the mountain covering some of the nastier boulder nests and crags. Saw Pete of Pete's Pipe up there about a week ago doing a bit of work on his eponymous trail. Pretty impressive that this guy in his 70s is lugging around a chain saw up there. Did some work on the lower part of Jackrabbit to the make the exits off that steep left headwall more sendy. And you can now take that left side and still go through the woods to the right to get back to Poma 2.

You're welcome.

GetAmped wrote

A lot of productive work days at Hickory this fall. I saw quite a bit of carpeting from construction debris up on the mountain covering some of the nastier boulder nests and crags. Saw Pete of Pete's Pipe up there about a week ago doing a bit of work on his eponymous trail. Pretty impressive that this guy in his 70s is lugging around a chain saw up there. Did some work on the lower part of Jackrabbit to the make the exits off that steep left headwall more sendy. And you can now take that left side and still go through the woods to the right to get back to Poma 2.

You're welcome.

Sounds good!  (Thank you).

I admit I am confused about the carpeting on the boulders?

Back when I first skied at Hickory, it was arguably rockier than it is today. For example, much of Grand Teton was stepped slabs of uncovered rock that would not hold snow. So for those areas, and similar ones on Winfall, old carpet was used to both help protect ski edges and provide something for the snow to stick to. The granite slabs on Teton are still there, but now they are covered by about a foot of dense moss.

"Dear Hickory Friends,

Hickory will not be operating for the winter of 2016-2017. The increasing costs of insurance, government regulation, and maintenance have made it impossible to operate Hickory as it has in prior years. It is an unfortunate truth that Hickory simply cannot sell enough lift tickets (even in a great winter) to cover the rising costs of overhead. That said, the future is bright for our favorite Adirondack ski hill. We look forward to reopening Hickory for the winter of 2017-2018 under a re-imagined model aimed at engaging a broad-based community of skiers and families.

We appreciate the loyal support of all our Hickory Faithful during this transition. Hickory is a wonderful place that is worth preserving and we look forward to securing its success for future generations."

HAHAHA what government regulation do tell. Poma lines don't even have to get inspected.

Sorry to hear this news. Thanks for finding out.
Is the birthday gathering still on for this weekend?

My family has been involved with Hickory for years.  Actually the poma's and T bar lifts at Hickory have to be inspected every year.  The cable must pass each year and each tower has a safety switch that has to be operational, along with communication lines from top to bottom and the return springs on each poma or t bar unit.  It's amazing what a rodent can do to electrical wires over the summer.  The lodge needs to pass DOH inspection for occupancy and the Kitchen must also meet DOH inspection criteria to serve food.  Then there's the water well and disinfection system, which must be sampled regularly, with data submitted to DOH and the disinfection system must pass DOH inspection.  I'm probably missing some others.  So it takes pretty much constant maintenance to keep on top of everything to keep current with all the requirements.  So there is alot more regulatory approvals than most think for a ski area without chairlifts.    

ml242 wrote

HAHAHA what government regulation do tell. Poma lines don't even have to get inspected.

Really ml ? Just had some extra snarkiness laying about did ya ?

K man wrote

My family has been involved with Hickory for years.  Actually the poma's and T bar lifts at Hickory have to be inspected every year.  The cable must pass each year and each tower has a safety switch that has to be operational, along with communication lines from top to bottom and the return springs on each poma or t bar unit.  It's amazing what a rodent can do to electrical wires over the summer.  The lodge needs to pass DOH inspection for occupancy and the Kitchen must also meet DOH inspection criteria to serve food.  Then there's the water well and disinfection system, which must be sampled regularly, with data submitted to DOH and the disinfection system must pass DOH inspection.  I'm probably missing some others.  So it takes pretty much constant maintenance to keep on top of everything to keep current with all the requirements.  So there is alot more regulatory approvals than most think for a ski area without chairlifts.

Thanks to all those who help Hickory run. Thanks for the post K man, informative and interesting.

Hickory still needs that big shot of cash. Crowd funding seems like the only plausible ( and quite viable ) source. New chairs and snowmaking everywhere is the only thing that will work.

Crowd Funding. Crowd Funding. Crowd Funding.



Hickory...... It's Hard !!!

Crowd Funding. Crowd Funding. Crowd Funding.



Hickory...... It's Hard !!!