SKI areas throughout the northeast got off to excellent starts thanks to Mother Nature putting us on an early track toward winter.
Vermont’s ski and ride season is off to a stronger start than the last four years combined. Almost all areas are open and expect to have between 70- 100 percent of their trails ready for skiing and riding for Christmas week.
Snowsports neophytes and potential first-timers have just run out of reasons for not learning how to ski or snowboard. Now through Dec. 21, Okemo Mountain Resort in Vermont is offering complimentary learn-to-ski and learn-to-snowboard group-lesson packages. It may sound too good to be true, but there really isn’t a catch. After receiving a foot-and-a-half of natural snow in early December, Okemo Valley Nordic Center is open for the season.
Windham Mountain and Hunter Mountain, two ski resorts operating just eight miles apart in the Catskills, have designed a promotion aptly named the Winter Card to offer skiers and riders a chance to experience both resorts.
The Winter Card offers two days lift access to Windham Mountain and two days lift access to Hunter Mountain for $119, which works out to just $29.75 a lift ticket. The card is for sale through Dec. 24 at HunterMtn.com and WindhamMountain.com.
New this season, Belleayre, the state-owned ski area in the Catskills, has formed its first freestyle program for people who are interested in pushing their skills in the terrain park, half-pipe and moguls.
High Peaks Cyclery is hosting a telemark skiing and alpine touring demo day at Whiteface on Sunday. Also this weekend, Whiteface will offer two days of adaptive ski clinics for anyone interested in teaching the visually challenged.
Catamount, on the New York/Massachusetts border, is going green like many areas across the country are doing. The ski area will be powered by 100-percent wind-generated electricity.
Mountain Creek is going through a major terrain park expansion with a new, all-mountain 60-acre park that will encompass both South and Bear Peaks, and result in five additional intermediate trails returning to the backside of Vernon Peak.