Start spreading the news, because it is shaping up to be a season full of new capital improvements at New York ski resorts.

In Ski NY’s 2023-24 capital project announcement, they detailed the major projects that are happening across the Empire State. This includes new chairlifts, snowmaking upgrades, and major renovations.

Here are the biggest improvements coming to New York ski resorts this winter. But first, here are some honorable mentions:

• Bristol Mountain opened up a year-round freestyle training facility. Called the Greater Rochester Amateur Athletic Federation (GRAFF) Summer Aerial Freestyle Training Site, it includes one of the few water ramps in the country. Other improvements include a redesigned skier bridge on the Milky Way trail, along with widening and making snowmaking upgrades to the Upper North Star trail.
• The Hickory Ski Center is getting ready to reopen this season for the first time in years thanks to an investment from the Indy Pass and us here at Unofficial Networks.
• Maple Ridge began a three-year, $3 million snowmaking project. The first phase, which happened this summer, resulted in the installation of a new snowmaking pipe system, which will increase their snowmaking capacity by up to 39%.
• Plattekill widened and added snowmaking to the I Think I Can trail. Other improvements include a new maintenance building, new decking for the base lodge, and new demo gear.
• The Windham Mountain Club went through a luxury-focused rebrand. New restaurants are opening across the ski resort, which includes an Italian Alps-themed dining facility around the mid-mountain area.

5. Gore Mountain: Gore’s major project this offseason was the replacement of their beginner chairlift. In its place is the Bear Cub Quad, which is double the length compared to the old chairlift. The conveyer-load quad chairlift gives beginners more terrain to check out and allows for easier access to the Sunway Chair. The new chairlift is making its debut tomorrow, December 16th. In addition, two magic carpet lifts have been added to the learning area, allowing for a simpler learning progression process.

To prepare for their major improvements to the North Creek Ski Bowl next year, they made significant snowmaking upgrades in this terrain pod.

4. Belleayre: The old Lift 7, which was a fixed-grip triple chairlift, was replaced with a new fixed-grip quad chairlift. The Overlook Quad, which opened earlier this season, has increased rider capacity and reliability. In conjunction with the new chairlift, they added a skier bridge, making access to Lift 7 much easier.

Major snowmaking improvements were also made. These included replacing 27,000 feet of snowmaking pipe, along with adding 250 HKD Impulse R5 tower guns and 5 SMI Super PoleCats.

3. Holiday Mountain: For years, the Catskills ski area appeared to be on the brink of closing. Most of the terrain and lifts across its three peaks were closed, but the ski area has been given new life thanks to new ownership. This offseason, they’ve spent millions of dollars to update the mountain. This includes restoring major snowmaking improvements, creating a new snow tubing slope, restoring neglected ski trails, updating their chairlifts, and renovating their base lodges.

Next winter, they will be installing a new chairlift, which they acquired from a ski resort in Virginia. Click here to learn more about all the projects they’ve worked on this offseason.

2. Holiday Valley: They’re celebrating like they’re in New Orleans this winter at Holiday Valley, as they have opened a new chairlift. The Mardi Gras Express was replaced this offseason with a high-speed six-pack chairlift, providing Holiday Valley with more capacity and further modernizes its lift fleet.

Other improvements included a new PistenBully 600 groomer, upgraded snowmaking equipment, a renovation of John Harvard’s restaurant, and room renovations at the Inn at Holiday Valley.

1. Whiteface: Probably the biggest chairlift project in New York this past offseason was The Notch. This high-speed detachable quad chairlift starts at the Bear Den base area, has a mid-station on the Borren trail, and the top terminal drops riders off next to the Legacy Lodge. The lift allows beginners to make their next steps toward big-mountain skiing. It also gives more tenured skiers and riders a reason to park at the Bear Den base area, as they can now reach the upper mountain much easier from that side. This chairlift made its debut last weekend.

The Bear Den Learning Center also saw some updates. The Cub Carpet lift was reoriented to make it easier for beginners to reach. In addition, the Falcon Flyer triple chairlift received some updates.

Other additions include a haul rope replacement and new grip hardware for the Cloudsplitter Gondola, 150 new high-efficiency snow guns with water/air lines, and two new PistenBully 600W snow cats.

Image/Video Credits: Whiteface Mountain (Featured Image), Holiday Valley (Header Image), Gore Mountain, Belleayre, Holiday Mountain

The future of Holiday Valley Resort in New York is bright. In a video from last week, Holiday Valley’s President & General Manager, Dennis Eshbaugh, detailed how the 2022-23 season went, and described what the future holds for them. While their snowfall this season was down 30% compared to other years, they were able to make up the deficit thanks to their great snowmaking system.

In terms of this offseason, the major project will be the replacement of the Mardi Gras Express. The high-speed quad, which opened back in 1996, will be replaced by a detachable high-speed six-pack chairlift from Doppelmayr. This will add needed capacity to the main base area. Work on the project began last year, and the goal is to have it open in time for the Ellicottville and Holiday Valley Fall Festival. The old Mardi Gras chairlift will be moved to another ski resort, which will be announced by Holiday Valley later this year.

Other offseason projects will include renovations to The Inn at Holiday Valley and John Harvard’s at the Tamarack Club, the acquisition of a new PistenBully 600 snow groomer, and continued snowmaking upgrades.

Holiday Valley will also have a busy summer. Some of the events they’ll host include the Happy Half Marathon, Holiday Valley Mudslide, and the Ellicottville Fall Festival. Their summer attractions include chairlift rides, an aerial adventure park, a mountain coaster, a golf course, mountain biking trails, and more. Congrats to Holiday Valley for another successful ski season!

Image/Video Credits: Holiday Valley Resort, Ashley Baron

^Holiday Valley Trail Map

Holiday Valley Ski Resort is a popular resort near Buffalo, NY.

The resort posted this behind-the-scenes video of the daily responsibilities of a lift mechanic, and It’s pretty neat to see how much goes into maintaining newer high-speed lifts.

Ski lift technology has come a long way since the days of a rope tow attached to an old tractor engine

Even with all of the high-tech gadgets I find it somewhat humorous that the lift mechanics essentially slap the wheels and belts with a wooden stick to make sure things are working correctly.

Remember to thank a lift mechanic the next time you see one!

Turns out offseason improvements can be a great way to get tax breaks. The Buffalo News reports that Holiday Valley Resort in New York is requesting a tax break from Cattaraugus County. The resort will be spending $2.94 million on new equipment and minor building/infrastructure improvements at the resort. Most of the money (around 90%) will be spent on new equipment(i.e. a new ticket system, snowmaking upgrades, groomer, and a splash pad for their pool area), with $225,000 will be going towards infrastructure and $100,000 on renovations. They are seeking $235,000 in sales tax breaks for the purchases of new equipment in order to “maximize its investment, providing a better guest experience and attracting additional customers to the resort.”

This news brings up some interesting questions about the ski industry and tax breaks: Do all capital improvements get tax breaks? Do new lifts give tax breaks to ski resorts? Did Holiday Valleys Yodeler lift replacement for the 2021-22 season become a tax break? Will they seek a tax break for their six-pack chairlift that’s coming in 2023? Based on some initial research, it does look like something that Holiday Valley has done in the past. It’s an interesting concept that isn’t discussed much in the ski industry, and I’ll be researching it further in the future.  Image Credits: Holiday Valley Resort 

“Carnegie Deli is iconic. We love that guests of these resorts can pair their on-mountain memories with the power of food memories. Not only do you crave a big meal after a hard day skiing, but you crave an experience you can share with family and friends.”– Marisa Flynn, Carnegie Deli Brand Director.

Carnegie Deli is regarded as one of the most quintessential food experiences in all of New York City thanks to its well-known pastrami and corned beef sandwiches. The deli has recently been expanding its reach, which includes being available at various ski resorts across the Northeast. Last year, Carnegie Deli brought its Pastrami and Corned Beef sandwiches, cheesecake, and cookies to Windham Mountain. According to Perishable News, their reach is now expanding to more New York ski resorts, along with Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts. Their food is available at the following locations:

• Windham: Seasons Restaurant(Pastrami, Corned Beef, and Potato Knishes) and Mountain Express Cafe(Just the Pastrami).
• “Whiteface Mountain: The 2nd floor Main Base Lodge Solarium within the Taste NY Café.
• Gore Mountain: Inside the Tannery Restaurant, the most convenient dining option on the mountain, featuring two spacious dining rooms and a large outdoor deck with a slopeside view of the Base Area.
• Belleayre Mountain: At Draper’s, which is located in the Overlook Lodge on the main level.
• Holiday Valley: At McCarty’s Café and the John Harvard’s Brew House dessert menu.
• Jiminy Peak: Inside the Crane Lodge.”

Image Credits: Jiminy Peak, Whiteface, Carnegie Deli

After replacing the Yodeler lift with a high-speed quad this winter, Holiday Valley will continue with its lift replacements in the near future. The New York ski resort announced that the Mardi Gras Xpress, which opened in 1996, will be replaced by a high-speed six-pack. Construction will begin this summer and will be completed by September 2023. The Mardi Gras lift services beginner, intermediate, advanced, and terrain park runs.

“The Holiday Valley lift system has been recognized by our guests as one of the best in the East. The Yodeler Quad Express lift built-in 2021 raised the bar. The Mardi Gras 6-pack will give skiers and snowboarders an exciting new experience, with quicker access to the top of the mountain.” 

The official announcement is below…

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Image Credits: Holiday Valley

Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, New York opened for the season last Friday. With this opening came the unveiling of the Yodeler Express, a four-person detachable quad that replaced a fixed-grip quad. The resort held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and had some sparkling cider with guests to celebrate the occasion. Apparently, the lift ran smoothly, didn’t deal with any mechanical issues, and guests are stoked about it. The lift mostly services advanced terrain but also features some easy and intermediate runs. It’s a great addition for a mountain that frequently ranks as one of the top ten mountains on the East Coast according to Ski Magazine. Videos and photos of their opening day are below.

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Image/Video Credits: Holiday Valley

Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, New York is replacing the Yodeler Quad with a $4 million dollar Dopplemayer detachable quad. The Yodeler services easy, medium, and mostly advanced terrain. Here is Holiday Valley’s reasoning for the change:

“The biggest reason for this improvement is that even though this lift services many of our more challenging runs, many beginners use the lift to return back to the base area after skiing in the Tannenbaum area. A high-speed lift loads and unloads at a much slower speed so beginners will have an easier time loading, resulting in fewer slows and stops. “

Holiday Valley has been posting descriptive videos detailing the construction process. At this point, the skin of the base terminal is being put on, the haul rope has arrived, and the foundations to the lift towers are beginning to be poured.

Meanwhile, the Warming Hut that was originally situated at the top of the new lift has been moved a few hundred feet over to the left to accommodate the change. Holiday Valley created another impressive video, which is a time-lapse of the building moving with the help of rails and wheels.

Image Credits: Holiday Valley

Check out this GoPro footage of two kids getting their season passes temporarily pulled at Holiday Valley Resort in New York.

Do you think they were in the wrong?

It seems like the whole incident could have been avoided if the trail was closed properly. They also stopped when the patrollers flagged them down, which should have been a clear sign to ski patrol that they they weren’t trying to break the rules.

The captions say that the kids got their passes back, and the manager of the hill stated that they “shouldn’t have had their passes taken.” Good.

We can all appreciate the incredible work that ski patrol puts in to keep us all safe, but unjust discipline like this example can leave some with a bad taste in their mouth.

No matter what side you land on- Remember to thank a ski patroller the next time you see one. They keep all of us safe every day we’re on the slopes.

The “double-stager” pondskim is dangerous for so many reasons and we absolutely love it. I mean– who would think that putting a icy speed bump in the middle of the run could cause so much pain….

*Video courtesy of Matt Weaver