Relief efforts for the NY families and communities that are victims of Hurricane Irene's destruction are being organized now.
The Red Cross needs volunteers for storm relief in northeastern New York, and is offering fast-track disaster relief training to volunteers who can assist in the relief effort.
Donate online to the Red Cross. and specify that your contribution goes directly towards Hurricane Irene relief in northeastern New York.
Text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Or contact one of their local chapters for more information:
We're getting into that gear lust time of year again. My wish list is usually a compilation realistic acquisitions and pipe dreams. One must-have and affordable piece of gear for this season is a boot bag that can be worn as a backpack. My current boot bag is falling apart and I'd like to replace it with something that has a lot of capacity and leaves my hands free. As a dad, I'm a pack mule on a lift-served ski morning. I posed this same question in the Gear Forum, and got a near unanimous answer. The Transpack. I'm looking at the TRV Pro, pictured above. This piece of gear isn't just fantasy — I'm getting it, and soon.
While the new boot bag may well be in my possession very soon, new skis are probably a fantasy. But I'll suspend reality, and proceed with the tradition of Labor Day gear lust.
I assumed I'd finally have a ski for powder last year when I picked up a pair of Icelantic Pilgrims. Going from at 78mm ski to the 90mm Pilgrims, I was sure I'd be floating on top in 12-18 inches of snow, but the Pilgrims just aren't powder skis. Don't get me wrong, the Pilgrims changed my game. They required me to ski aggressively and, eventually, I did. By March when I went to Jay Peak I was holding my own with true expert skiers. And when I got my chance at the Slides in April, I went all out.
"We got a helluva workout skiing and riding the pomas, on our feet the whole time with no rest between runs. After lunch it started to snow hard...really hard. The new snow coated all that tracked crud we produced throughout the day. We squeezed out as many runs as our bodies could take..."
Early in 1934 the Mt Mansfield Ski Club formed a safety committee to act as hosts and guides on the mountain. They informed skiers about trail conditions and waxing techniques. Members wore a triangular yellow shoulder patch that became a badge of distinction, and many volunteered to wear the emblem. By spring, the club learned that an educated squad with first aid training was essential requirements for an effective patrol.
That season, skiable snow was in short supply in the southern Adirondacks. Finally in late winter significant snow fell, and on March 4, 1934 the first ski train headed to North Creek from Schenectady carrying members of the Schenectady Wintersports Club.
Two months after the formation of the Mansfield's safety committee, the Gore Mountain Ski Patrol was born. Lois Perret, a registered nurse, arranged to have ten strong skiers carry first aid kits in their knapsacks. A first aid station was set up in one of the cars of the ski train in North Creek. Toboggans for transportation of injured skiers were located in strategic places on North Creek's ski trails. Eventually, members of the SWC's patrol joined the National Ski Patrol and procedures developed by the club’s patrol were incorporated into the NPS System.
NYSB spoke with Whiteface General Manager Bruce McCulley, on the status of maintenance and improvements taking place on the mountain this summer.
NYSkiBlog: Bruce thanks for your time. What's going at Whiteface this summer?
Bruce: As usual, we're very busy this summer with annual maintenance — lifts, snowmaking, trails, plus our vehicles, electrical, and buildings. We'll inspect every inch of our snowmaking pipe, replace any cracked air/water hydrants. We'll pull pumps, rebuild packings, repair any leaking valves, brush out our lines and refurbish snow guns as necessary. We'll do compressor maintenance, and clean silt from our intakes.
Every year we maintain all of our grooming equipment, servicing the engines, wheel bearings, doing track work, and hose and tiller barrel replacement. In addition we've got to service all our trucks, excavators, dozers, buses, plow trucks, and ATVs.
"On the gondola ride up, we discussed strategy. I was skeptical about conditions at the top, based on yesterday's ski. EDeO said "today is not yesterday" and he pushed us to hit Lies right away. When we saw the corduroy above the headwall, we hit it full speed. The entire length of Lies was in incredible shape. Carveable to a full ski width..."
Over the last ten years, Gore Mountain has had more terrain expansion than any mountain in New York. At the same time, the mountain has made significant strides adding to snowmaking — increasing water supply, pumping capacity and snow-gun efficiency. We spoke to Mike Pratt, General Manager at Gore and asked him about this summer’s plans for snowmaking improvements.
NYSkiBlog: You've made incremental progress on snowmaking over the past several summers. What's going on this year?
Mike: We're undertaking our most significant snowmaking upgrade since we tapped into the Hudson River in 1996. We're buying and installing 130 new fixed location HKD Impulse Tower Guns.
These guns have extremely high energy-efficiency ratios, multi-flow operational flexibility, enhanced cold weather energy savings and 30’ towers to gain hang time as well as pivoting and lean out capability. We demo'd one on on Echo last season. The performance was excellent.
NYSkiBlog: Where are you going to put them?
Mike: The new guns are going on Sunway, Otter Slide, 3B, Quicksilver, Sleighride, and Sagamore. Currently there are 50 fixed guns on those trails that are being displaced. We'll refurbish them and move them up to Sleeping Bear and Pete Gay on the North Side.
We're also installing fan gun receptacles at towers 2, 3, and 4 of the Gondola. This will allow us to move our fan guns into place and cover the Arena quickly. The air/water guns that are freed up will also be moved up the mountain.
While Alta and Snowbird deservedly get most of the attention from Salt Lake City locals and visitors alike, I've always been a fan of the Cottonwood Canyons' darkhorse ski area: the aptly-named Solitude.
Detractors complain about the mountain's goofy topography and inefficient lift system, but lots of snow, elbow room, and varied terrain always work for me. Guest author Bryan Luftglass takes us on a tour of his home away from home:
Slide Skiing • Adirondack Backcountry • April 8, 2011
"An April storm inside the Blue Line yielded close to a foot of new snow. With a five foot base, we scored great powder turns on north facing slopes all morning long. Later the warm spring sun yielded a creamy afternoon descent..." —skimore
With the departure of Joe Bastardi, it looks like Henry Margusity may be the new go-to-guy for long-term winter weather forecasting at Accuweather. He just posted the map above with his preliminary call for snowfall during the winter of 2011-2012. Obviously it's a long way off, but we like the way it looks. An excerpt from the full forecast:
"The basis of the forecast is on the prediction that a weak La Nina will be forming this fall and continuing through the winter. While the pattern will be similar to last year, there will be changes in the pattern that will lead to the heavy snow areas shown on the map.
I am not convinced that blocking will be prevalent across Greenland this winter, however, with the trough axis predicted to be in the Midwest, that will lead to storms developing along the East coast and racing northeast. The cold will be back in the Appalachians, and that will lead to heavy snow in that area. The major cities will probably be fighting many mix precip storms with the snow lovers along the I-95 corridor pulling their hair over heavy snow versus ice and rain."
Catskill Park spans 700,000 acres inside the "blue line" in Delaware, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster counties in New York State. Over 40 percent of the land within the blue line is Forest Preserve owned by the state and managed by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Another 5% is owned by New York City to protect four reservoirs that are within the park.
The park boundary stretches from near the Hudson River just west of Kingston NY to the East Branch of the Delaware River. Its northern extreme is at Windham and its southernmost point is near the Rondout Reservoir. In contrast to the Adirondack Park, the Catskill Park doesn't include every peak of the Catskill Range. Only 33 of the 35 highest peaks are inside the Catskill Blue Line.
The park is governed by Article 14 of New York's constitution, which stipulates that state land can't be sold or transferred and must remain "forever wild." Under the Master Plan, state land in Catskill Park is organized into management units that are primarily given one of four classifications: Wilderness, Wild Forest, Intensive Use or Administrative.
"At the summit of Whiteface there's a sense that the runs drop perilously from the ledge sculpted into the side of the mountain. On this particular day clouds shrouded the valleys below and the High Peaks rose in the distance. I photographed this lone snowboarder as he admired the dramatic view from along the ledge..." -takeahike46er
Matt is a photographer and adventurer from Queens, NY. He's most comfortable on a remote high peak with his skis pointed over a cornice, imagining a snowy and trackless descent. He's always loved skiing, but it was a visit to a remote, abandoned, high-altitude mining town in Colorado where he learned that traversing the winter world on skis is a great way to challenge yourself in the outdoors.
Cornices are hard to find near New York City, but Matt has discovered his own path in the outdoors that has resulted in the same feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. He's found that photographing adventurers enjoying themselves outdoors can be as rewarding as accomplishing goals alone. While he loves to ski, Matt also enjoys the outdoors in all seasons, camping, hiking, surfing, paddling and watching baseball when the time is right.
NY Ski Blog is for the rest of us - regular people with a sense of adventure who happen to be crazy about skiing. If you want to connect with us, follow us:
