Buffalo Ski Center: Indy Pass Opens a Door

Coming off a great MLK weekend of skiing, the Great Lakes were firing snow into their usual inland targets. I spent the early part of the week watching the forecast, trying to time where and when to get out. In Western New York, the band was setting up most consistently over Buffalo Ski Center and Kissing Bridge, with snowfall rates that were hard to ignore.

I’ve been interested in Buffalo Ski Center’s history and the area as a whole for a few years, but I had never ridden there. The challenge was always access, being semi-private made it tricky to plan around. That changed this season when BSC joined the Indy Pass, instantly moving it from “someday” to “must visit.”

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Oak Mountain: Let’s Go!

I’ve been public about my goals for this season, shooting my mouth off about all kinds of things. Ski 100 days. Ski every ski area in New York in three years. Do more backcountry.  Tele ’til I’m smelly. Probably some others that I’ve forgotten. But then reality showed up. Now you can watch me backpedal.

Oak Mountain

One of my big promises was based on my idea that it is Time to Ski New York.  As the editor of NYSkiBlog, recently retired and relocated to the mountains, I feel it’s incumbent on me to ski all of New York, to be informed.

It’s become clear to me, that when it’s snowing, I’m more motivated to drive a distance to ski a new area. I want to have the best chance to tell a great story.

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Chasing Powder on The Tug

The lake effect storms that normally blow across Ontario and dump feet of champagne powder onto the Tug Hill Plateau have been somewhat lacking this season. Mother Nature has had other plans, sharing the snowfall in the Adirondacks, Western NY, and the Catskills. There have been small and intense bands here and there, but not what we are used to seeing coming off of Ontario in November and December.

North Slope
Snow Ridge

This was the case for until just days after Christmas. The National Weather Service of Buffalo released their highly-anticipated Expected Snowfall map. As a Tug Hill local, you could say the map was very exciting. Dry Hill, Snow Ridge, and Woods Valley saw a forecast for 12-18” of new snow.

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