Tog, Lab, Song. Yawn. The three of them are pretty similar. Quick access to Syracuse. 40 years ago these places could get away with limited snowmaking to fill in the gaps, now they need it just to stay open. And frankly I have been unimpressed with the amount and quality of the snowmaking at any of them. The last time I skied Song at night it was frightening how many lights were not working. Labrador has the most terrain of the three, and some long difficult runs, but nobody has ever been able to convince me that they have a decent bunny slope for beginners. Tog is the smallest, but is close to the wealthier east side suburbs of Syracuse, and that was its customer base for years.
Frankly, Greek Peak's owners should sell Tog to upgrade Greek. Yes, Greek installed a nice 4 person chair 10 seasons ago, and has upgraded the snowmaking and some of the lights. But the rest of the lifts are ancient, much of the lighting still is 40 years old, and there is no lighting on the east side, which is one of the longest beginner/intermediate slopes in NY. Chair 4 is ~50 years. Chair 5, which services the east side was installed in the late 1970s. The oldest is Chair 2. It was installed around 1960 and "reengineered" (shortened) about 20 years ago. And while Greek has the only dedicated chairlift serving a great beginner slope in CNY, the Alpha Slope, the chair has been there since 1970 and can't be slowed for beginners to load. Sitting on the side of Alpha for the last 2 (or 3?) seasons is a used triple that was bought from another area. Why is it still sitting on the ground rusting? Management doesn't really say. But the rumors fly that the current owners need cash, that buying out the other owner was a really poorly timed expense. And will someone please tell me why the family of managers who put the place in bankruptcy (2 or 3 times since 1960) are still there???
When given the choice, no rational skier would choose to crowd into a tram (or any public transportation) and stand cheek to jowl with a crowd of masked (or unmasked) strangers. (Does this thing really carry over 100 people at a time?) On a 3 week ski trip to Innsbruck, we took one ride up Axamer Lizum's "Funicular", and immediately made the decision to avoid the thing, and anything like it, the rest of the trip. And that wasn't during a pandemic. Whether the tram hangs from 50 feet up or rides on rubber and/or steel wheels on a track, these things suck. Do I want to ride with 100 strangers in a crowded and uncomfortable bus, or would I rather ride in a 4 person gondola sitting, or on a plain old chairlift? These days I choose the chairlift. Really.
I strongly disagree that the Cannon tram should be replaced by a gondola. The tram is, and has always been, much more a tourist attraction than a ski lift; it's one of the biggest draws of Franconia Notch State Park, and with the exception of two trails that are rarely open, it isn't actually necessary as a part of Cannon's lift system. So the decision of what to replace it with needs to be driven by summer tourism much more than skiing, and in that context the tram offers views and a sense of drama that a gondola can't match.
Tog, Lab, Song. Yawn. The three of them are pretty similar. Quick access to Syracuse. 40 years ago these places could get away with limited snowmaking to fill in the gaps, now they need it just to stay open. And frankly I have been unimpressed with the amount and quality of the snowmaking at any of them. The last time I skied Song at night it was frightening how many lights were not working. Labrador has the most terrain of the three, and some long difficult runs, but nobody has ever been able to convince me that they have a decent bunny slope for beginners. Tog is the smallest, but is close to the wealthier east side suburbs of Syracuse, and that was its customer base for years.
Frankly, Greek Peak's owners should sell Tog to upgrade Greek. Yes, Greek installed a nice 4 person chair 10 seasons ago, and has upgraded the snowmaking and some of the lights. But the rest of the lifts are ancient, much of the lighting still is 40 years old, and there is no lighting on the east side, which is one of the longest beginner/intermediate slopes in NY. Chair 4 is ~50 years. Chair 5, which services the east side was installed in the late 1970s. The oldest is Chair 2. It was installed around 1960 and "reengineered" (shortened) about 20 years ago. And while Greek has the only dedicated chairlift serving a great beginner slope in CNY, the Alpha Slope, the chair has been there since 1970 and can't be slowed for beginners to load. Sitting on the side of Alpha for the last 2 (or 3?) seasons is a used triple that was bought from another area. Why is it still sitting on the ground rusting? Management doesn't really say. But the rumors fly that the current owners need cash, that buying out the other owner was a really poorly timed expense. And will someone please tell me why the family of managers who put the place in bankruptcy (2 or 3 times since 1960) are still there???
When given the choice, no rational skier would choose to crowd into a tram (or any public transportation) and stand cheek to jowl with a crowd of masked (or unmasked) strangers. (Does this thing really carry over 100 people at a time?) On a 3 week ski trip to Innsbruck, we took one ride up Axamer Lizum's "Funicular", and immediately made the decision to avoid the thing, and anything like it, the rest of the trip. And that wasn't during a pandemic. Whether the tram hangs from 50 feet up or rides on rubber and/or steel wheels on a track, these things suck. Do I want to ride with 100 strangers in a crowded and uncomfortable bus, or would I rather ride in a 4 person gondola sitting, or on a plain old chairlift? These days I choose the chairlift. Really.
I strongly disagree that the Cannon tram should be replaced by a gondola. The tram is, and has always been, much more a tourist attraction than a ski lift; it's one of the biggest draws of Franconia Notch State Park, and with the exception of two trails that are rarely open, it isn't actually necessary as a part of Cannon's lift system. So the decision of what to replace it with needs to be driven by summer tourism much more than skiing, and in that context the tram offers views and a sense of drama that a gondola can't match.