The Holiday Valley Thread

Any of you ny fellas want to meet up with miskier and Ciscokid at Holiday Valley Ellicottville NY next Jan? Not much more vert but more than Mich

SkiRay?

Ciscokid wrote

Any of you ny fellas want to meet up with miskier and Ciscokid at Holiday Valley Ellicottville NY next Jan?

I would. Long shot for me but I would love it.

When? First weekend in January is the NYSB annual meeting at Plattekill.

Harvey wrote

Ciscokid wrote

Any of you ny fellas want to meet up with miskier and Ciscokid at Holiday Valley Ellicottville NY next Jan?

I would. Long shot for me but I would love it.

When? First weekend in January is the NYSB annual meeting at Plattekill.

Does that mean Jan. 5-6, 2019?

Harvey wrote

Ciscokid wrote

Any of you ny fellas want to meet up with miskier and Ciscokid at Holiday Valley Ellicottville NY next Jan?

I would. Long shot for me but I would love it.

When? First weekend in January is the NYSB annual meeting at Plattekill.

More likely towards the end of January

marznc wrote

Harvey wrote

First weekend in January is the NYSB annual meeting at Plattekill.

Does that mean Jan. 5-6, 2019?

Likely, yes. It is usually the closest Plattekill operating day to Jan 8. Still TBD this far out.

Ciscokid wrote

Any of you ny fellas want to meet up with miskier and Ciscokid at Holiday Valley Ellicottville NY next Jan? Not much more vert but more than Mich

SkiRay?

Holiday Valley is my local mountain. I would be happy to meet up and show people around the area.

JonC wrote

Holiday Valley is my local mountain. I would be happy to meet up and show people around the area.

I'll save Harvey from asking . . . maybe a TR next season?  I've heard good things about Holiday Valley on other forums, mostly from folks who drive from the midwest.

Didn't realize there is a Holiday Valley Conditions thread.

http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Holiday-Valley-Conditions-tp3585760.html

Since were driftin' a bit - what's the skinny on ellicotville? I've heard good things about both the town and the mtb trails? Wifey has been bugging me about doing a niagara falls rv trip and ive been lukewarm to the idea but maybe a stop there would tip the scales..

The mountain bike trails in Ellicottville are excellent. There are 30-40 miles of trails that range from mellow single track to really technical rock gardens. You can ride out of Holiday Valley or there are DEC lots either at the base of the ridge. You can also drive to the top and cut out 7-800 feet of climbing from the Eagle trail lot. If you have any specific trail or route questions, let me know. The trail organization is WNYMBA; a quick google will load up their site which has access to maps and all that. Camping is also available in the state forest that houses the trails.  

The town of Ellicottville is cool with some good restaurants and a good brewery. The brewery expanded a couple years ago, as did their prices. I suggest eating elsewhere and drinking there.

Niagara Falls is only really worth it if you go to Canada.

Ciscokid wrote

Any of you ny fellas want to meet up with miskier and Ciscokid at Holiday Valley Ellicottville NY next Jan? Not much more vert but more than Mich

SkiRay?

Are you local to Holiday Valley or do you stay overnight?

I've enjoyed a few of their beers. I'm especially fond of the blueberry ale

JonC wrote

The town of Ellicottville is cool with some good restaurants and a good brewery. The brewery expanded a couple years ago, as did their prices. I suggest eating elsewhere and drinking there.

Niagara Falls is only really worth it if you go to Canada.

For the boat trip under Niagara Falls, the advantage to starting on the American side is that there aren't as many people over there.  So less crowded or a shorter wait.

I grew up seeing the falls from the Canadian side driving from NYC.  So for me, the view from the American side was worth a trip as an adult in the 1990s.  A lot less commercialized as I remember.

MarzNC

Thanks for messaging me! This would be AWESOME! Cisco - we have known each other virtually for about 6 years - so that would be great if we can make that happen.

Thanks for the tips all, will post up a ride and report if it happens  My Dad is from Watertown and did a few falls trips as a kid on the "way" to see the grandparents. The coolest was a winter one (of course) with columns of ice/spray building up and collapsing on themselves

gorgonzola wrote

Thanks for the tips all, will post up a ride and report if it happens  My Dad is from Watertown and did a few falls trips as a kid on the "way" to see the grandparents. The coolest was a winter one (of course) with columns of ice/spray building up and collapsing on themselves

Ooh, another reason to make the drive in the winter time.

I was totally intrigued by the fact that Watertown has a big city park designed by Olmstead, the man who designed Central Park in NYC.  Stuff looked very familiar as I walked around briefly.  I went the long way to Lake Placid a few years ago in the late spring just do to something different from driving straight up the Northway.

As a kid a trip to Watertown was not complete without a trip to the zoo in that park with the cousins, thanks for stirring up some great memories!

marznc wrote

gorgonzola wrote

Thanks for the tips all, will post up a ride and report if it happens  My Dad is from Watertown and did a few falls trips as a kid on the "way" to see the grandparents. The coolest was a winter one (of course) with columns of ice/spray building up and collapsing on themselves

Ooh, another reason to make the drive in the winter time.

I was totally intrigued by the fact that Watertown has a big city park designed by Olmstead, the man who designed Central Park in NYC.  Stuff looked very familiar as I walked around briefly.  I went the long way to Lake Placid a few years ago in the late spring just do to something different from driving straight up the Northway.

I shouldn't have made it sound like the American side isn't worth it, but I would like to be prepared with a passport if I were making the trek.  The coolest time I have seen the falls was 2 or 3 years ago when they were completely frozen over from top to bottom with very little water coming through.  

Buffalo also has some great Olmstead parks that are definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.  Delaware Park and  Forest Lawn cemetery are nearly connected and great to walk or ride bikes through.  The surrounding neighborhoods are also really cool and worth an afternoon of exploring.  There is some excellent architecture with multiple Frank Lloyd Wright homes and a great neighborhood with Olmstead designed parkways radiating out from the park.  Buffalo has a lot going on, great food, and is worth a day if you're in the vicinity for Niagara Falls.  

Back on task, if there is an Ellicottville meet-up, I will definitely be there and would be happy to show folks around.  There's a lot of lodging through the resort with packages and also some private rentals in town that are nice.  As far as the resort goes, it spans a relatively wide area and has some nice fast quads.  Mostly intermediate terrain but there are some steeper pitches that usually hold good snow and there are usually bumps on a couple of them.
 
Holimont is also a great spot to ski but is private on the weekends and doesn't have night skiing.  With adequate notice and some string pulling it would be a possibility, though.  If this were a weekday thing, it would be worth it to try and get a day there.  They usually have better snow due to less traffic and the tree skiing is much better.

A Holiday Valley trip will happen for Cisco and myself. We are both pretty flexible with dates. The weekend ticket deal they have had the last few years is for $125 you get from 4-10 on Friday, 8-10 on Saturday and 8 or 9 to10 on Sunday. Holi Mount could be in the cards for us either Thursday or Friday morning. I have been to Holiday Valley twice and I feel it’s skis much bigger than 750’

I haven't Google Maps'd it but that's a long haul for me I'd like to keep my eye on the NY Ski Blog Buffalo weather page and hit it when the lake effect is in, you guys flexible on the timing?

I definitely want to hit Holimont. How do we set that up?

Harvey wrote

I haven't Google Maps it but that's a long haul for me I'd like to keep my eye on the NY ski blog Buffalo weather page and hit it when the lake effect is in you guys flexible on the timing?

I definitely want to hit Holly Montu especially if they've got good trees. How do we set that up?

I know a bunch of folks there that can check me and potentially a guest or two in on the weekends.  It's part of the same general ridge so you can xc ski or skin from resort to resort if you wanted to.