Relocate from NJ to Albany/Upstate NY?

[rfarren]

But I've also made the point that while some former Sunbelt residents (ie. admin's wife) would complain about PNW weather, I think most northeasterners would find it an improvement.

I'm not sure that's true. I know it doesn't get bitter cold in the PNW, but it rains a lot during the winter, and is very grey. A bunch of my friends moved back to NYC from seattle and the weather was their main reason for doing so, among others. The coldest 40 degree weather I ever felt was in Vancouver. The humidity was bone chilling. Mind you that I had just come back from whistler where it was a lot colder, but it just felt colder that Whistler.

On the other hand, I for one wouldn't mind being in the PNW. I would prefer Seattle, although I know Portland might be better situated for skiing. For some reason though I just didn't like Portland.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Seattle is better than Portland overall for skiing IMHO. Whistler is weekend commute distance. Crystal is probably top-10 in North America for steep terrain, and if you can cherry-pick it for powder days like Larry Schick does it's very impressive.

Portland is better only for the spring at Bachelor and limited summer skiing at Timberline.

 

[rfarren]

I just thought Portland was closer to skiing than Seattle.

 

[skimore]

I did some mapquest...3 hours from Syracuse to our place near Gore vs 4 hours 50 minutes from here in downtown NJ. Pretty good, much easier drive with way less traffic.

From Syracuse I've done Gore in 2 hrs 30 min, but usually about 2 hrs 45 mins. You'd have some some more conveinent BC options in C Adks with the better snow due to the lake

 

[rfarren]

I did some mapquest...3 hours from Syracuse to our place near Gore vs 4 hours 50 minutes from here in downtown NJ. Pretty good, much easier drive with way less traffic.

From Syracuse I've done Gore in 2 hrs 30 min, but usually about 2 hrs 45 mins. You'd have some some more conveinent BC options in C Adks with the better snow due to the lake

The Western Daks get nailed with snow. I think the mountains on the west side of the daks get around 200 more inches than whiteface does. It's one of those micro-climate things, where lake effect is constantly nailing it. I'm not sure what the terrain is like there, I know the mountains aren't as high as the hp region, but they may be amazing for back-country.

 

[rfarren]

The Western Daks get nailed with snow. I think the mountains on the west side of the daks get around 200 more inches than whiteface does.

I was wrong. Snow ridge averages 230" a year. That's on tug hill. My guess is that the higher mountains directly to the east get a fair bit more snow though.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I just thought Portland was closer to skiing than Seattle.

In ascending order of quality/reliability:
Snoqualmie/Alpental <1 hour from Seattle
Stevens Pass 2 hours from Seattle (haven't skied there, it's smaller than Hood Meadows but probably better than the other 2 Hood areas)
Mt. Hood areas 1 hour from Portland
Mt. Baker 3+ hours from Seattle (not as big as Meadows, but 650 inches of snow with some serious steeps has to count for something)

Crystal Mt. 2 hours from Seattle, 4 hours from Portland
Mt. Bachelor 3.5 hours from Portland
(subjective call here, Crystal has killer terrain, but Bachelor's snow conditions are much more consistent)
But I think the key is that most skiers would consider Seattle/Crystal within day commute distance and Portland/Bachelor beyond it. I view both Crystal and Bachelor as among top 10 in North America (I'll probably get some arguments there), thus my high opinion of the PNW as a region for skiers to live.

Whistler/Blackcomb 5+ hours from Seattle. Similar to L.A. to Mammoth or NYC to what, Killington? Draw conclusions accordingly.

There are a couple of small Oregon areas between Hood and Bachelor (Hoodoo and Williamette Pass) that I don't know much about.

 

[BigSpencer]

Just as in most all areas close to country/woodlands, get outside the towns/cities and there are nice things to be found as you head south, west, north. Eastern burbs..already pretty crowded by 80s(if I remember right). Grew up NE of Troy(in 60s).
ADKs are beautiful....

$.01

 

[skimore]

The Western Daks get nailed with snow. I think the mountains on the west side of the daks get around 200 more inches than whiteface does.

I was wrong. Snow ridge averages 230" a year. That's on tug hill. My guess is that the higher mountains directly to the east get a fair bit more snow though.

I would guess that it's in the 100 inch range more than WF. You get up above 2000 on the west side and there's always tons of snow. I 've been to both area's within the same time frame and there is a dramatic differnce. Here's a pic of W Adk in Jan. WF doesn't have this kind of coverage in Jan, much less anytime of the year

 

[Harvey]

...You get up above 2000 on the west side and there's always tons of snow....

I'm not ashamed to admit that skimore is my hero. He's got flexibility, serious skills, and access to a reliable microclimate.

To drift this thread yet again...skimore's post reminds me of a quest I've been on for a long time. I'm looking for a snowfall map of New York State that measures the long term average. Ideally it would be reasonably his-res, detailed, and include county lines but not a lot of other detail.

So far this was the best I could find, and it doesn't really suit my needs:

http://harvey44.blogspot.com/2009/09/ne ... l-map.html

 

[Tony Crocker]

That map looks pretty useful to me. Actually, skimore's location does fit Harvey's preferences rather well. Not a lot of vertical but a lot of snow. Since he's on teles he can more easily earn turns for the pow. Tug Hill probably isn't steep enough for much avalanche danger either.

Somewhere east of Tug Hill the larger Adirondacks must start, presumably with the same or more 250+ snowfall with orographic uplift. Why has a real ski resort never been proposed for this region? I'm guessing the Adirondacks got locked up as wilderness some time ago.