MLK Weekend in North Creek

Actually, the house we had was in Chestertown.

Every year my parents try to get the whole family and some friends together to go skiing in the 'Dacks. Traditionally we would wait until Presidents week or even mid-March, but with hectic job schedules, college and grade school combined, this was the only opportunity that we knew was going to work for all of us.

Most of the crew headed up early in the day, but my dad and I headed up after work on Friday. We left Oneonta at 5:30 and arrived in Chesterton by 8:10 The cabin was surrounded by the North Way behind, and the Schroon river directly in front.  Something about the highway noise combined with the fact that the cabin was surrounded by a river and other houses just didn't seem right. The inside however had a very unique floorpan, and felt very appropriate as a ski cabin.  

The upstairs loft had 5 beds, and a 6' ceiling. Perfect for the five kids. (myself included)


 I was disappointed to find out no one else was interested in skiing Gore the following day (Saturday). I didn't realize this, but my father had packed XC ski equipment for everyone without any mention of it. My original plan was to ski Gore Saturday and Sunday, and meet up with Snoloco on Saturday. I reluctantly choose to blow off my dear friend Snoloco, and instead XC ski with my family, and the rest of my group we were rendevoising with.

We ended up going to Garnet Hill Saturday which was very enjoyable.  I have been there in the past but not in a few years, so I was surprised to see what looked like a brand new PB-100 groomer coming out of the woods toward the lodge. I forgot to get a picture of it, but here is another one.


 As I headed toward the lodge, I was surprised to see Brant Lake Ed step out of the beautiful new machine, and head my way. I immediately set down my stuff and re-introduced myself.  He seemed to remember me very well from when we met at Gore last spring. We talked for a few minutes and discussed skiing among other things. The new owners of Garnet Hill purchased the grooming machine used with a few thousand hours on it, but it looks like it's in stellar condition. Garnet Hill had good snow coverage as usual, but it felt exceptionally good coming from less than 3 hours away with no natural snow on the ground.



The whole crew.


Talking to Ed, he thought that MLK Sunday was statistically the busiest day of the season at Gore, and he was surprised that we would choose that day. Saturday night I received a test message from Snoloco saying "You didn't miss much. Conditions were awful with boilerplate ice and rocks everywhere." So, maybe it wasn't such a bad day to miss out on Gore. Read Snoloco story here. http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Whiteface-1-15-17-Admitting-I-was-wrong-td4098103.html

Sunday however turned out to be a fantastic day at Gore. I was on the gondola by 8:10 and it was not busy yet. They had resurfaced Hawkeye, Lies, Uncas, and were working on Pine Knot and Topridge. Guns were fired up on Chattiemac by Mid-day.  Topridge was definitely the run of the day. Tons of consistent gun pow with lots of sunlight that allowed me to ski way above my skill level with few hazards involved.  



The Dark Side was also great fun. There seemed to be enough natural coverage for that area to be open without snowmaking, but Hullabaloo, Lower Darby, Santanoni, and Wood In all had solid snowmaking coverage. Hullabaloo as usual was also one of my top picks.  That part of the hill and the old lift is fascinating to me.





Me on top of Lies. You can see there is snowmaking going on top ridge and Pine Knot.



I didn't see any rocks other than at the flat section of the very top of Cloud. The Northwoods area trails got pretty skied off by mid-day but that's expected for such a busy weekend. There were no crowds on the other chairlifts off the Northwoods area. One of my favorite things to do is to sip some coffee or hot chocolate in the Saddle Lodge before heading out for the last runs before the bell.


Me and Gregp

Monday morning my brother Joe, GregP and I headed over to Dynamite Hill to check out the old place I fell in love with before building Woodstream about 7 years ago. This summer Dynamite got a new handle tow to replace the old rope tow that was built and donated by the town of Chester rotary club who origionally developed the hill.  I honestly liked the old lift better, but the handle tow is probably more reliable.



Dynamite hill is now operated by the town of Chester which is also dedicated to keeping the hill covered with snow. I think it's so cool that the town runs an operation like this. There seems to be a more winter-accepting culture in this region of the state, and I wish I could be more of a part of it.

Nice report. A few friends and I took a few runs at Dynamite Hill the previous Friday night. I also preferred the old rope tow over the handle tow. It is a great asset to the community and an inexpensive (free) way to introduce the local kids, who could not afford to go to Gore, to skiing.
Schroon Lake also has a slope with a handle tow and they are looking into adding snow making.

Nice report. Trips with big family groups are the best. You guys should definitely keep the tradition going.

Great report, Ethan. Families that ski together, stay together.

And, you know, I love the Platty product placement love on your helmet in the coffee pic!  

Thanks, Marc. I like that sticker too. Whenever I go skiing in the North country and people ask me where I'm from, I always say "near Plattekill." Not only is this relatively true, but I like to promote the place even though there are other bigger mountains I like slightly better.

And Brownski, I'm sure we will keep the tradition going. At least once a year.

Marcski wrote

Great report, Ethan. Families that ski together, stay together.

And, you know, I love the Platty product placement love on your helmet in the coffee pic!

Yes, great report..

And Marcski.. We agree..

Families that ski together stay together.. Our slogan ;)

GREAT (!!!) photo at the top of Lies.... send that to Gore.  They should put on on their webpage.

Also, it's cool that you hit Dynamite Hill too. I've never skied there but I've been fascinated by it ever since driving by years ago in summertime. We need more little community hills like that if we want the spirt to continue.

Nice Ethan, Happy you enjoyed your family weekend. Good to talk also. Dynamite is on my way home, it's a great place to play and totally cool for the local kids. It is also amazing how many folks from other areas use the hill.
Best of LUCK with your continuing season.