Willard Mtn, NY 02/06/01

[nelsap]

Well, as usual, we got shafted by another snowstorm in eastern NY. Only 6-8" at Willard, and 4-5" in the valley. Certainly not the 1-4ft at other resorts! <BR> <BR>I decided to try out Willard Mtn since it was my day off, and hadn't skied that one yet. Willard is a funny place. Its really in the middle of nowhere...you drive thru 20-30miles of dairy farms, then voila-a 500' vertical hill appears! To the west of Willard is the Hudson Valley, to the east the Taconics/Greens. <BR> <BR>The mountain is served by a Borvig double, and a rarely functional Hall T-bar. A few pony lifts serve the beginner terrain. Two wide slopes are complemented by some other narrow terrain. There is one thinned out easy glade. Vertical is 400-500'. <BR> <BR>I was one of only a dozen skiers. When I showed up at the lodge, it was completely deserted. I mean completely...not one person in the lodge! Took me a minute to find the ticket counter, where a lone employee was. <BR> <BR>The snow was mostly untracked. I was psyched, then a bit disapointed when I found out how heavy and wet the snow was...like cement! Its near 40 degrees, and turning in the stuff was next to impossible. I told my skis to turn, but they wouldn't. One trail was groomed, so I stuck mostly to that...about 30 times. The area reminds me a bit of the East Bowl at Cranmore. <BR> <BR>If the snow was packed it certainly would have been a bit more fun...the narrow stuff looked good, but was almost impossible to turn in. I'll try it again sometime. <BR> <BR>Think snow, <BR>Jeremy - NELSAP.org