It’s in Jersey, first of all, that crease of bland sprawling chainstrips and shipyards and chemical industry tucked between ever-beating Manhattan and the vast treed infinity to the west, the East Coast’s version of flyover country, a noplace you must drive through on your way from New York City to anywhere south or west.
I skied Mountain Creek in its Vernon Valley daze 1973 - 1974 a toxically ski deprived, over worked medical student living in Brooklyn. I had a ski racing resume including McGill University so I moseyed over to the ski school office to see if they had work for me - they sent me to the race program hut who welcomed me in and boom, I was hired for weekends - my only time availability. My colleagues - wait I had none as they previous race director died in a tragic accident when he hit a bamboo which shattered and pierced his heart (the second person I knew to suffer this fate - no two survived). I loved coaching and skiing at Vernon Valley. A grand of vert ain’t nothing - infact more than enough. There was always plenty of snow and my skis escaped unscathed. I worked with a group of five that was eager to learn and rapidly improved. One was so enthralled that I referred him to GMVS (Green Moutain Valley School) which had recently started what would become a long and still going run in a refurbished barn in Waitfield VT. Vernon Valley was an excellent experience offering very good skiing with a wide variety of steepness. Mountain Creek - twice as big, two mountains and modernized has to be better the one drawback being SCUDS - skiers causing ultimate destruction.
Beginning in the 24/25 NYSkiBlog will begin a series of articles focusing on the benefits of driving south to ski. Plattekill, Magic and Killington will be prominently featured.
I skied Mountain Creek in its Vernon Valley daze 1973 - 1974 a toxically ski deprived, over worked medical student living in Brooklyn. I had a ski racing resume including McGill University so I moseyed over to the ski school office to see if they had work for me - they sent me to the race program hut who welcomed me in and boom, I was hired for weekends - my only time availability. My colleagues - wait I had none as they previous race director died in a tragic accident when he hit a bamboo which shattered and pierced his heart (the second person I knew to suffer this fate - no two survived). I loved coaching and skiing at Vernon Valley. A grand of vert ain’t nothing - infact more than enough. There was always plenty of snow and my skis escaped unscathed. I worked with a group of five that was eager to learn and rapidly improved. One was so enthralled that I referred him to GMVS (Green Moutain Valley School) which had recently started what would become a long and still going run in a refurbished barn in Waitfield VT. Vernon Valley was an excellent experience offering very good skiing with a wide variety of steepness. Mountain Creek - twice as big, two mountains and modernized has to be better the one drawback being SCUDS - skiers causing ultimate destruction.
Beginning in the 24/25 NYSkiBlog will begin a series of articles focusing on the benefits of driving south to ski. Plattekill, Magic and Killington will be prominently featured.
In the interest of time, we'll allow the generalizations about NJ to stand. We're busy MTB'ing down here. https://nyskiblog.com/forum/attachments/20230813_175718-jpg.20824/