Holiday Valley, NY 1/21/20-1/22/20

I hadn't skied Holiday Valley in 4 years i have been wanting to get back there. So after doing some research i found a studio condo on Airbnb a half mile from the entrance with all the fees for $85 a night. That made the trip more affordable.
We arrived around 1:30 in the afternoon on the 21st and we were booted up and on the lift by 2pm. The crowd level was very low. i never waited more than 2 people to get on a lift. It was cloudy and around 24 degrees with no wind  so they had random snow guns going all over the mountain.  There were lots of 10-15 foot piles of snow off to the sides, my guess is they are not going to push them out until it is needed.

The snow was mostly packed powder with very little ice to be found.


My favorite part has to be the Tannenbuam area with all the pine tress, the runs are not steep but it is just gorgeous place to ski.




 


There signature steep run The Wall was not ready yet, They did get it open on Friday

The runs off of the Eagle Quad also were not open so they could make snow on the runs, which was too bad because the runs in that area have a decent consistent pitch. You can see them in the background of this oic.

We skied until 8:30ish and went into town to eat at the Gin Mill which had good food, cold beer and live music.

On Wednesday morning it was 9 degrees out, but sunny and no wind. The snow was very firm for the first part of the day and softened up after lunch. The crowds were still very light, which allowed you get gets lots of runs on.













It was a great two days of skiing. I was told that the weekend of the 11th they got a lot of rain and they lost a lot of snow and between the natural snow that feel and cold weather to make snow they have recovered nicely. Holiday valley only being just over 5 hours from Ann Arbor, Mi. I need to try and get here more often. I feel it ski much bigger than 750 feet vertical, It is so spread out which really helps.
 

 

Looks like you had the place to yourself. And the snow doesn’t suck either. If junior ends up at SUNY Buffalo, that may be our rendezvous spot, assuming he’s still willing to ski with me at all.

That Tannenbaum sector is purdy. Reminds me of the Queen Bess Woods at Solitude.

Brownski wrote

Looks like you had the place to yourself. And the snow doesn’t suck either. If junior ends up at SUNY Buffalo, that may be our rendezvous spot, assuming he’s still willing to ski with me at all.

It was pretty empty. Never said the snow sucked, just its was very firm on Wed. morning due to the very cold night

Mi Skier wrote

There were lots of 10-15 foot piles of snow off to the sides, my guess is they are not going to push them out until it is needed.

Snowmakers often let whalebacks "perc" (percolate) for a few days after they stop making snow.  The idea is to let excess moisture drain.  That's why the back side of a whale is often icier than the front.