New York Ski Areas Ready For 2019-20 Season - New Lifts, Looks & Efficiency

Ski areas across New York State had a busy summer season in anticipation of the 2019/20 ski season with several ski resorts upgrading snowmaking systems, adding new lifts, and more. Here is a round-up of what’s new for the 2019-20 season:

Central New York and the Finger Lakes

Woods Valley just outside of Rome completed a new, $1 million expansion for their snowmaking reservoir capable of holding over 13 million gallons in water, adding to their snowmaking with new energy efficient snow guns, piping, water hydrants, and a new pump house to increase their snowmaking coverage by 50%. See more at woodsvalleyskiarea.com.

Greek Peak and Toggenburg Mountain wrapped up a six-year, $6.5 million dollar improvement campaign that included new snowmaking pipes and tower snow guns. Customer-facing improvements include a new website, catering and landscaping. The mountains’ partnership with SNOW Operating, which focuses on terrain-based learning, continues. Greek Peak recently announced that their target-opening day for the ski seas is “White Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving. Check out greekmtnresort.com for skitog.com for more information.

This year, Bristol Mountain will host the 2020 and 2021 U.S. Aerials Freestyle Championships. These events are slated for March 14, 2020 and March 13, 2021. Welcome the United States’ top athletes as they compete for the National Championship title over four days of competition, culminating with finals on Saturday (March 14, 2020 and March 13, 2021, respectively). Spectators will have ample opportunity to watch athletes soar to heights over 50 feet in the Bristol Valley. Also Bristol Mountain has invested in snowmaking upgrades replacing older fan guns mor efficient ones that can produce more snow on their Upper Rocket trail. This lets them make more snow in the same time frame than before. They also worked on the High Point Terrain Park including a permanent judge building for the aforementioned aerial competition. Also, some trail widening was done along with Summit Center parking improvements. See more at bristolmountain.com.

Western New York

Cockaigne Resort in Cherry Creek opens for the 2019-20 season with a new lodge, outdoor concert venue, terrain park, and snowmobile adventure park connecting to the extensive Southern Tier trail system. The new lodge offers full-service dining and “The Loft” bar. Concerts are planned at the new Fire & Ice outdoor stage in 2020. See more at cockaigne.com.

Holiday Valley in Ellicottville completed over $3.3 Million in upgrades for the 2018/19 ski season, expanding their snowmaking system with 107 new HKD low energy snow guns. Their snowmaking system now includes approximately 800 snow guns, making it the largest HKD automated snowmaking system on the East Coast. A new Pisten Bully 600 winch cat joined the resort’s snow grooming fleet, and energy-efficient LED lighting was installed on five trails for 55 fixtures. This season features a newly renovated Mountainside Grill cafeteria for better traffic flow along with a fresh menu is ready to go for the season. Holidayvalley.com is also getting a brand-new look with improved user-friendly ecommerce. On November 8-9, Holiday Valley will also host their 16th annual Beer and Wine Festival featuring over 40 craft breweries, food trucks, and more. See holidayvalley.com for more.

Holimont Ski Resort in Ellicottville got a new groomer along with running new water lines and improved drainage. Upgrades to their mountain biking infrastructure, a new ski school director, and terrain park manager round out Holimont’s updates for the 2019/20 ski season. Find out more at holimont.com.

A new “Magic Carpet” conveyor lift was added to Buffalo Ski Center in Colden’s learning center and bunny hill. The resort also expanded their snowmaking to cover nearly 80% of the trails. Updates to guest amenities include cafe’ service in the main lodge and childcare. Check out buffaloskicenter.com for more information.

At Swain Resort in Swain, new “SNOGO” Bike Rentals and lessons will be offered. In addition, new energy efficient snow guns provide more snow coverage across the mountain. For more information check out swain.com.

Catskills

In the Catskills, Windham Mountain has a new look with a new logo and branding. Windham focused on guest-focused experiences in their updated; including upgrades their fixed-grip triple chair that serves beginner-intermediate terrain. Their high-speed quad was relocated, new  automated snowmaking was added to several trails, a new booster pump house, as well as 10,000 feet of new pipe were also added. Guest facing changes include room renovations at The Winwood Inn, and a newly reinvented restaurant, Tavern 23. A brand-new 33-foot diameter “Umbrella Bar” with room for 125 guests in heated comfort was added to the patio. See more at windhammountain.com.

At Plattekill Mountain in Roxbury a new conveyor, lift was added to the Snowtubing Park, as well as snowmaking and electrical upgrades for increased snowmaking capacity. They have also expanded their private mountain rental offerings to include offsite private lodging, catered meals, and full meeting space facility in addition to a private ski day on the mountain. Check out more at plattekill.com.

Belleayre Mountain in Highmount completed a $14.6 million renovation of the Discovery Lodge, added a new lift and a new beginner teaching area. Alleviating long lines and overcrowded spaces, the improvements will increase seating capacity in the cafeteria and lounge areas, and add new restrooms on the main level of the lodge. Additional upgrades are planned, including modernized and expanded space for kids’ programs, and a new patio area with a new outdoor ticketing area. Belleayre is also introducing RFID for direct-to-lift capability. See more at belleayre.com.

Hudson Valley

In the Hudson Valley, Mount Peter in Warwick added a new learning area along with conveyor lift, the Sun Kid carpet. Mount Peter also added additional low-energy lighting. Check mtpeter.com for more.

Catamount in Hillsdale now accepts The Indy Pass, a nationwide ski good at ski areas around the country. They’ve expanded their snowmaking on five trails including three double-diamond trails. Two new snowmaking ponds and a new Prinoth Leitwolf groomer increase snowmaking capacity and grooming. A new 11,000sq.ft. lodge with more capacity and food service will offer a bar, fireplace, and more. This fall, the Catamount Zip Tour opened, offering the longest continuous zipline span not only in New York State but also in the entire United States. The CataMonster zipline is5,523 feet long and descends 1,000 feet. Check catamountski.com for more information.

Adirondacks

In the Adirondacks, West Mountain in Queensbury made a number of changes for the ski season, including adding a new cafeteria, a new quad chairlift along with a new triple chair. The NW Lodge was renovated, and two new PistenBully Groomers including a winch cat were added to their fleet. On the snowmaking front, 150 new energy-efficient SMI snow guns along with 20,000 feet of snowmaking pipe were added. An aerial adventure course is new this year as well. Check out westmtn.net for more!

At Gore Mountain in North Creek, new RFID technology will offer direct-to-lift access this year. Additionally, a new warming cabin was built on Burnt Ridge Mountain in partnership with the New York Ski Education Foundation and Town of Johnsburg. A new freestyle cross course that meets FIS standards for competitions was added on the lower portion of the mountain. Gore will host the NorAM Cross Tour on February 3-7 2020. See goremountain.com for more.

At Oak Mountain in Speculator, 3,330 feet of snowmaking pipe was added, expanding their snowmaking on three trails. Check out more details at oakmountainski.com.

At SKI/NY there are a number of exciting updates for this season. The SKI/NY Ski & Ride Passport Program will no longer have any blackout dates for participating ski areas! The Learn to Ski & Ride Passport Program will still have blackout dates at select ski areas. Full details at iskiny.com.

SKI/NY will also offer discounted tickets this season at iskiny.com. Look for those in early December. Also, SKI/NY will be featuring ski areas learn to ski and snowboard packages for the season as well and Ski & Stay info too.

Also SKI/NY is once again hosting the annual Discover NY Ski Day on January 16th 2020. This program offers discounted tickets starting at $12 and learn-to-ski or snowboard packages starting at $25. Ticket sales begin in mid-December at iskiny.com.

SKI/NY returns as headline sponsor at the NYC Parks Winter on February 1, 2020 in Central Park. This event introduces alpine sports to tens of thousands of people in the NYC area. Find out more at iskiny.com or https://www.nycgovparks.org.

Finally SKI/NY has new look and a new website debuting for the 2019-20 season. This website will be cutting edge with the latest in design and ease of use at iskiny.com. This site will feature video, mountain information, webcam links, ski reports, ticket sales and more.