Toggenburg 2/11-2/12

One of the joys of being a ski race parent is getting to visit many of the small ski areas throughout NYS that I would not ordinarily visit. This past weekend I had the pleasure of spending two days for a ski race at Toggenburg in Fabius, NY. Togg has a vertical of about 650 feet and is located along a ridge line about ½ hour south of Syracuse. Also in the vicinity are Labrador and Song mountains. The area is quite scenic and is made up of rolling farmland separated by forested ridges.


Togg is suffering from the same fate as all mountains in the NE this winter with snowfall way below average. Despite virtually no natural snow we found the hill to be well covered with manmade snow Saturday morning. While there were some icy spots they had done a good job of chopping things up and you could get an edge in almost anywhere.  The runs are fairly short so you can do laps in about 7-8 minutes.


Pricing for tickets varies depending on how long you would like to ski which is perfect for a small hill like Togg. The people there were quite friendly and welcoming despite being invaded by 100 or so racers and their families.

As the day progressed Saturday the temperature dropped and it started to snow. Finally, the lake effect machine began cranking and by the time we were ready to leave an inch or two had fallen. After tuning some skis we returned to Togg to dine in their famous Foggy Goggle bar/restaurant. The restaurant was packed and they do a good job of serving some interesting meals. The seafood looked quite good but I opted for a creatively prepared burger made from local beef raised in Fabius. The burger was cooked to order and quite delicious. They also had a nice selection of beer including some tasty offerings on tap from Empire Brewing Company in Syracuse.
Outside it was quite cold and snowing and they were making snow along Doc’s Run. Things looked so good I was wishing I still had my ski gear with me!



The snow continued overnight and we picked up a few more inches. Upon arrival Sunday I was impressed that the guns were still blowing and that large whalebacks had developed all along Doc’s run.


Of course I headed straight for the whalebacks thinking they would be nice creamy manmade mounds given the single digit temps. Unfortunately, I hit the first one at full speed only to find out it was wet and deep. My skis submarined into the gak and I launched headfirst off the top of the whale. After regaining my composure I continued on down the line only to find the remaining snow either saturated or solid. After consulting with my resident snow making expert who was back in NJ covering our front yard with a fresh layer of manmade, it seemed they may have been trying to run their tower guns with water only. I am not sure if that was it and if so what is up with their air supply but it is too bad they missed an opportunity to make some nice snow. After that first run I learned that if you stayed far enough away from the whales the mix of manmade and natural was several inches deep and skied quite well.  

Togg also has a very robust adaptive ski program called ARISE & Ski. It is truly impressive and inspiring to see people with various disabilities out learning to ski and conquering the mountain. There were many people both days at various skill levels from beginner to expert in the adaptive program taking lessons and cruising around the mountain.

Togg also did a great job of running a large two day slalom and giant slalom race on the Kneeknocker trail.


 All in all it was a very enjoyable experience at a small family friendly hill in central NY. The mountain is perfect for a few hours of skiing and would be a great place to teach young children how to ski. At the end of the day Sunday I picked up a very tasty cup of coffee from the coffee bar that is centrally located in their lodge and headed home.

Nice TR on Toggenburg. They do a good job there. We do have a nice little hamlet of ski areas here in CNY.

Nice TR, thanks. The last time I was there, it snowed about a foot and a half. There's not enough vert there for that much snow. It was fun nonetheless. I can remember skiing over some bumps and not being sure they were there, "Hey, feels like there's bumps under here, are there bumps under here?". And yes Camp, we are fortunate to have such nice little places close to home. I'm lucky to be equally close to Elk. Anyone who is interested in checking out Togg, or Song, or Shawnee, or Plattekill, can get tickets for $18.75 here http://wicz.incentrev.com/ Or get half off at the Full Belly Deli. I've never been, but I like the name. It helps take the sting out of the current high gas prices if you have to travel very far. I drove to, and skied,and returned from, Plattekill for $60. Two hundred miles round trip.

I'd like to hit Song sometime. It would remind me of taking my Son there when he was learning to board. That, and the time I went there with a buddy from work. Neither of us could really "ski" at the time. They closed rt 81, we had to take it home. The first tractor trailer that passed me took me by surprise. I was doing about 45mph, the truck passed, I said, "I hope I'm still on the road, because I can't see an F'n thing". After that if I saw a rig coming up, I'd come to a near stop with my flashers on, wait for the dust to settle, and carry on. In spite of the fact I saw every truck coming in my mirror, and knew better now than to just keep going, my buddy alerted me, "Bob, Bob, there's another one coming!", all the way home. I thought it was funnier than hell, my buddy must have been pretty shook up by that first truck. It was thirty years ago, wow, I'm old.

Didn't know you could run guns without air. Certainly would be cheaper.  I know you use less air the colder it gets.  

After skiing some hills with considerably less vertical I consider a true 650 to be legitimate vert. When you add it "local beef" (?) what more could you ask for?  The concept of eating on the hill seems to be growing.  Was talking to Danielle at Plattekill tonight and they are doing quite a good dinner business on Saturday nights.

I checked the Togg site and couldn't find it. What the annual snowfall in an average year?

Oh yea... check another on off The List!

Thanks zach.

Harvey44 wrote

Didn't know you could run guns without air. Certainly would be cheaper.  I know you use less air the colder it gets.  

After skiing some hills with considerably less vertical I consider a true 650 to be legitimate vert. When you add it "local beef" (?) what more could you ask for?  The concept of eating on the hill seems to be growing.  Was talking to Danielle at Plattekill tonight and they are doing quite a good dinner business on Saturday nights.

I checked the Togg site and couldn't find it. What the annual snowfall in an average year?

Oh yea... check another on off The List!

Thanks zach.

 Vert is closer to 500. You can use snowfall average from Song or Lab if either has posted. All 3 of those do about the same