January 2026 Outings from the NY-NoJ Ski Committee
For such a small committee, we did our best to offer a good selection of outings for NYC Metro skiers…
The Annual MLK Weekend Cross Country Ski Outing was held in the Western Adirondack region, from Friday January 16 through Monday January 19.
Our group stayed in warmth and comfort at a large motel in Lyons Falls, NY, right smack in the middle between the Tug Hill Plateau on the west and the Adirondack Park on the east. This part of NY State happens to be the snowiest region in the US east of the Mississippi River! It’s all thanks to the Lake Effect Snow Machine.
It was cold, but there was snow—and lots of it. One group went a few minutes down the road to spend the day at the BREIA ski trails, west of Boonville. These are groomed trails made available for absolutely free. There are no rentals, but at one location there are loaner setups available (classic only, I think). Conditions were spectacular; first-rate, top-notch!
Another group set off for the Ha-De-Ron-Dah Wilderness Area in the western Adirondacks, just west of Old Forge. We found deep snow, but not a lot of room for our cars. We did manage to get everybody safely parked, and off we went. The snow was great, about a foot deep of fresh snow over a good solid base. The Great Forest of the Adirondacks was a true winter wonderland. This is Indian Brook, about a mile in from the trailhead:
The skiing was rugged, but we were having a good time.
Unfortunately, the local beaver population decided to throw us a curveball. They had dammed up Indian Brook, submerging the trail under at least 2 feet of water. We pondered our predicament, but we decided it wasn’t safe to try to ski across the pond, and it would take way too long to try to bushwhack around the beaver pond. So, with regret, we turned back. Plan B was to get back to the cars and head farther east to Fern Park in Inlet, NY. The town maintains a great network of rugged cross country ski trails there, complete with trail grooming and a warming hut (which doubles as the warming area for the indoor ice-skating rink), all free of charge.
It wasn’t crowded and not much of it had been groomed yet, so it gave us a ‘backcountry-esque’ ski experience. Everybody agreed it was a very good day!
After the MLK Weekend trip was over, it was time for the Midweek Tug Hill Ski Tour Outing, from January 20 through 23.
We stayed in a cozy lodge (basically a house share) on the western edge of the Tug Hill Plateau, close to the shore of Lake Ontario. Once again, Mother Nature had a surprise in store for us. Would you believe? … It snowed 7 FEET in 7 days! It just kept snowing and snowing. The first day it was snowing so hard the snowplows couldn’t keep up.
Three of us decided to take a little hike on the skis, crossing through the local high school’s ball fields to a nature walk beyond the school property. It was kind of scrubby and too close to I-81 near the start, but the loop veered off to the east into a nice forest with hemlock and yellow birch trees, far enough from the highway that it began to feel peaceful. The deep, soft snow sure did enhance the feeling.
The next day was our big one. Some of us decided to go to the Osceola Ski & Sport Resort for a day of top-notch groomed-track Nordic skiing, while another group went a bit north to the Rodman-Barnes Corners Ski Trails to see if we could break trail to the Inman Gulf (a beautiful chasm with a large waterfall). When we got there, we found that not only had the trails not been groomed at all, but we were the first ones there! There was an honest 2 FEET of fresh, unbroken snow on top of a firm, deep base. The snow must have been an honest 4 feet deep.
Trail breaking was going to be arduous, so we decided on a Plan B… We skied to the first hill and spent two hours climbing and skiing down in all directions. A couple of us made turns down the hill, doing our best to make fluid telemarks, while others skied around in the deep fluff, enjoying the wintry goodness of it all.
After we tracked out that hill, we decided to do some plain old cross-country skiing, but it was cold and after about an hour more we decided to call it a day. Back to the lodge for hot food and good company.
For the last weekend in January, an intrepid group of backcountry skiers headed up to Western Massachusetts for the Southern New England Backcountry Ski Touring Weekend, Saturday January 31 and Sunday February 1.
On Saturday, the group took on the famous Thunderbolt Ski Trail on Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts at 3491 feet elevation. The T-Bolt is a 2 mile, 2200-foot climb to a scenic stone shelter on the summit, followed by a thrilling ride down the wide ski trail. One section includes a 35-degree slope. That’s steeper than any double-black run at any commercial ski resort. Ski it if you can!
Sunday, one group peeled off for a day at Prospect Mountain, which is a Nordic center that used to be a small-town ski hill back in the day. Skiers can choose between first-class groomed trails for cross country skiing or skinning up the old downhill ski trails to make turns coming back down.
A second group headed for the Beartown State Forest Ski Trails, which is a new ‘backcountry zone’ with trails designed specifically for alpine touring and telemark skiers, as well as snowboarders with touring split-boards. It was cold, but the snow was good, and many turns were made!
The winter’s only half over, and there’s still a lot of snow around. Check the NY-NoJ Chapter Ski Outings Calendar for what’s coming up.
Upcoming outings are also announced on the Hudson Valley NY Skiers Google Group (not officially affiliated with the AMC).
As Adirondack ski legend Jackrabbit Johannsen used to say… Ski! Ski! Ski!