By Mike Brookins
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at 9:27 p.m.
Read more: Local, Community, Environment, Weather, Entertainment, Outdoors, Ski Central
So much for a January thaw! The ski and snow board industry is heavily dependant on what Mother Nature provides. And from New Years day through the end of the month, she has been sweet to Central New York. Natural snowfall has been approaching record levels to date as we sailed past 100”. And at the same time the cold has been persistent, allowing for resorts to make snow at their whim. What will next month and the rest of the season bring. We’ll find out this Monday, February 2nd, Groundhog Day. If Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow down at Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania, we’ve got six more weeks of winter. That, my friends, would be six more weeks of snow, and good. Phil sees his shadow most every year, but didn’t back in 2007. His accuracy falls well short of ours in the Action News 3 weather center, correct only 39% of the time.
This week at a ski area near you….Brantling will be holding their annual snowmobile appreciation night on Saturday at 8pm. And sticking with the snowmobile theme, Snow Ridge will hold a hill climb the same evening. It will be under the lights. You can catch the Super Bowl right here on WSTM NBC-3. For those who want to spend the day on the slopes, there is a party to celebrate the big game at Bristol on Sunday. And lastly it is a big race weekend at Greek Peak; Saturday being their homeowner’s race. On Sunday will be the Joan Skiff memorial race along with the first team NASTAR race.
It’s been a very slow start to my ski season but looks to get much better. Day number two for me was spent on the beginner run at Four Seasons Golf and Ski Center in Fayetteville. This week’s ski report was filmed on their slopes. While I usually am in search of big mountains, this family resort has a lot going for it. It’s local and only took me twenty or so minutes to get there from downtown Syracuse; in a snowstorm no less. There are eight tubing runs for those who don’t want to slap on the boards. And while there is a ski lift, the best way to learn to ski is on their surface conveyor lift. Not leaving the ground can make your first time on skis much more pleasing. I think I may take my little girls there later this winter for their first runs ever. And coming up in a few weeks I will be heading off to ski Utah. I’ll have more on my trip in the weeks ahead. Happy trails…
