Grooming at Hickory Ski Center?

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I think that the earth just tilted on its axis for a moment:
http://www.nyskiblog.com/2010/10/ski-hi ... oomer.html

Hey, I'm plugging a page on Harvey Road! :-"

I never thought I'd see the day that Hickory would get so modern with its grooming. I'm also not so sure that I'm fond of the idea, for it's one of the things that gave Hickory its charm. Will the place now ski like everywhere else?
 
Admin":2rj4gcij said:
I think that the earth just tilted on its axis for a moment:
http://www.nyskiblog.com/2010/10/ski-hi ... oomer.html

Hey, I'm plugging a page on Harvey Road! :-"

I never thought I'd see the day that Hickory would get so modern with its grooming. I'm also not so sure that I'm fond of the idea, for it's one of the things that gave Hickory its charm. Will the place now ski like everywhere else?
Click to expand...

Admin - thanks very much.

I spoke to Bill Van Pelt tonight. It sounds to me like you may be ok with where they end up.

Here's what he said, I'm curious about what you and others familiar with the hill will think.

According to Bill, Hickory has always had grooming on it's more moderate slopes. It's the expert terrain ... Winfall, Jack Rabbit, Top Notch, Grand Teton, Upper Beatnik and Hare ... all the terrain off Lift C plus Hare from the Summit... where there has traditionally been no grooming. (He chuckled about it ... "was it a vibe, or just the lack of groomer that could handle the pitch?")

It's his intention not to groom the expert terrain, except for what he calls "maintenance-grooming." I'd never heard the expression before, but he uses to mean grooming only as a last resort. After a major r**n/freeze event etc. It's his feeling that they can extend the season, make the mountain more viable if they do a minimal amount of work with the Winch Cat.

He's agreed to talk to us more in-depth, so I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for the link.
 
Keep up the good work Harv, I'm been pretty busy to participate on forums these days, hoping things get better on that front.
 
For maintenance grooming it makes sense. A winch cat is a hell of an investment solely for that purpose, though. Sure, a lot of the terrain he's talking about has a double fall line but I find it hard to imagine that it can't be done without a winch -- I've seen far steeper terrain groomed without one.

This makes me think of one of the best grooming stories I remember. When I was patrolling at Jay in the early 90s one of my fellow patrollers, known as "Peachey," had been out drinking one night and decided to ride a few laps with groomer Dave Heath, who was tilling Can Am, Jay's steepest run, without a winch. He was the only cat driver at Jay willing to do so.

Anyway, as Peachey recounted things they started descending the Can Am headwall at 20-25 mph when he looked out the passenger side window.

"Uh, Dave?" Peachey asked. "Dave...the track's not turning on this side."

Dave, your typical stoic northern Vermonter, looked out the driver's side window and replied calmly and matter-of-factly, "Ayuh. I got tha same problem over heah."
 
I spent some time on Saturday up at Hickory with the GM Shawn Dempsey.

That place feels like the little engine that could. Things are coming along.

We did some Q&A in the base lodge, and then headed out on the hill for an ATV ride.

Part 1 is here:

Q&A with Shawn Dempsey of Hickory Ski Center.

2BaseLodge2.jpg


In the next few days will be publishing a photo tour, and a few other items of interest.
 
Admin:

A couple years ago, I asked about what happened to your feature on Hickory. I think it was from 2003, because it was what inspired me to ski there the following season. Was the final determination that the article disappeared into the internet ether?

And yeah, even off-season pix from Hickory make you want to go. I love the shot above with the river. Not to get all weepy, but just think of a time (30-ish years ago) when there were literally hundreds of those kind of places throughout the northeast. I'm still hoping and praying that they figure out a way to resuscitate Bobcat.
 
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