Harv's NY/VT Pictures Thread

[Tony Crocker]

I was not familiar with Royal Mountain Ski Area. Looks like a decent place - especially those in Utica/Rome or Albany, New York.

No more than 500 vertical per my Google Earth file. Length to vertical ratio is 4-1, adequate for powder skiing unless it's really deep. Don't skiers ever get bogged down at Snow Ridge and McCauley, which have similar dimensions in the bull's eye of Ontario Lake effect? I'm not trashing NY in a general way here. I similarly measured Plattekill's 1,000 vertical fall line at 3-1, which is excellent for skiing powder.

 

[Harvey]

I was not familiar with Royal Mountain Ski Area. Looks like a decent place - especially those in Utica/Rome or Albany, New York.

Royal has surprising width when it's all in. Good trees.

 

[Harvey]

Don't skiers ever get bogged down at Snow Ridge and McCauley, which have similar dimensions in the bull's eye of Ontario Lake effect?

Yes we do.

The top of Snow Ridge is flat, and they often groom it. McCauley and Titus do it too.

The most untracked powder I skied in a day was at Snow Ridge, like 7000 vertical feet of largely untracked 400 feet at a time. Once you get the track set at the top you just keep slicing.

 

[Harvey]

New Years Day at Woods Valley

Oneida County

Woods before 1st chair

Freya's Woods

Valkyries

Broadway

Robert

Woods Valley, NY: Jan 1 2026 - 100 Inches Baby!

A day after (I missed) the powfest in the Syracuse sidecountry, I drove out to Woods Valley to meet @Robert on his home turf. Not a bad consolation prize, as Woods Valley has picked up where they left off last year, totalling 110 inches of snow so far this season. I love driving through the...

nyskiblog.com

 

[Tony Crocker]

The most untracked powder I skied in a day

lift served was at Mt. Baldy, Mar. 21, 1991. 22,000 vertical untracked. Thunder Mt. is 1,000 vertical but the chair is 2.4 - 1 ratio, so there is plenty of room for good powder fall lines even if you spread out a lot. In the afternoon the steep lower runs, also ~1,000 vertical were opened. Even though I do not expect to repeat this performance, it does illustrate that peak powder days are often achieved on short notice at a local joint you know extremely well.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I've spent a lot of time on Google Earth today with Stuart's post on China and South Korea. Thus I've looked up these NY ski areas. Woods Valley is another 500 footer, but at 6-1 ratio. I'm not buying that you get much deep powder on that. Hopefully there's lots of grooming of the flats to get you to and from whatever short pitches can handle powder skiing.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

In addition to the in-action pix, I love the quiet wintry atmosphere in this one -- Harv usually takes an "approach shot" like this near the ski area. I drove through the exact still life recently along the NY/PA state line (but it could be anywhere in the rural northeast or Quebec).

 

[Harvey]

In addition to the in-action pix, I love the quiet wintry atmosphere in this one -- Harv usually takes an "approach shot" like this near the ski area. I drove through the exact still life recently along the NY/PA state line (but it could be anywhere in the rural northeast or Quebec).
View attachment 48551

I also love this shot. (It was actually on the way home.)

I started doing it because of the way I write. I usually have something to say before first tracks and it gives me an image to "cover" the text.

 

[ChrisC]

In addition to the in-action pix, I love the quiet wintry atmosphere in this one -- Harv usually takes an "approach shot" like this near the ski area. I drove through the exact still life recently along the NY/PA state line (but it could be anywhere in the rural northeast or Quebec).

I also love this shot. (It was actually on the way home.)

I feel the photo typifies the scenery of rural, agrarian upstate New York. Lots of farms like this in the Catskills, Finger Lakes, and other areas.

I don't identify it as much with New England since most states (especially VT, NH, ME) are too mountainous, and the soil too poor to support farming the way New York does.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I feel the photo typifies the scenery of rural, agrarian upstate New York. Lots of farms like this in the Catskills, Finger Lakes, and other areas.

Exemplifying the close connection between farms and skiing in upstate NY, you can see Bobcat's looker's-left ridge to the right in my 2004 photo. A second sign was still there when I drove past in 2013 but no idea if it still stands.

 

[EMSC]

This has to be a near perfect year to visit the tiny places in NY. Enough snow to be fully open (or close), and ski them at their absolute best with likely no one around.