March TR: Hickory Mountain, NY (pics, soapbox internet evangelizing and jibberjabber)

**ex-powderbroker** · 03-13-2011, 10:53 AM

Rewriting this TR after a computer crash, Daniel Day sets the mood on one of Hickory's neighbors:

After much debate, I skied Hickory with another Maggot from Brooklyn two weeks ago where we skied 12" of fresh all day with 123 other people that bought tickets.

Hickory from the road:

first tracks:

noon tracks:

3pm tracks:

Even with all that snow, the crowds left us this mighty poma line:

After our good experiences, we couldn't really pick between the epic hall to MRG for what could be death crust, almost guaranteed spring conditions at Huntah (on a Saturday no less), or a return to Hickory where 32" during the week had been soiled with some rain on top.

What would you choose?

I was on my rock skis, with no idea what to expect but after laying in some track on this 600' vert cut I thought we chose wisely.

I love the view from my pole.

We let the snow dry out and get a little more consistent while we hit Winfall by poma 2 about ten times. Love the view, Lemmy Caution starts out.

Radam flashes the Magic attitude here:

Practicing some pondskimming:

Hickory is one of the only 1200' mountains anywhere with a BC gate.

Seen last week:

This week

So I talked to a patroller and told her to sack up and ski it with us. The approach worked, and she didn't think it was fair to let the best skiers on the mountain not have access to the terrain over there.

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We stayed away from the cliffy stuff and just hit the unmolested woods over and over.

it's unbelievable how long that decent is from softwoods to the birches, to the river into the notch.

It really deserves more respect as one of the signature runs in the NE.

kinda flat hardwoods near the end:

Hey everybody, watch me rip the shit out of this line!!!!:

Winter wonderland last week:

This week it looked more March so it's censored.

Drinking in the lodge is fine, as long as you bring your own beer!

gf of radam, radam, lemmy caution

get amped, catskills john in back

There was only one thing left to do before heading back to BK:

Two meals here in the half sandwich, 4.50.

Deja Vu? Priceless:

^^^ Lemmy Caution

So basically, Hickory is an amazing place and should get some maggoty love like Shames, Magic, Silverton. It just has the terrain and vibe and snow. You drink your own beer and pack your own lunch if you don't want a burger (which are pretty tasty) and for $45 you ski 25-35 degree untracked trees all day. But, they need 150 skiers a day to be successful, and they can only get 125 for blowery goodness and about 80 for yesterdays rewarding but more challenging spring day.

If you live in NY, have steeze, there's no reason not to follow the weather and check it out...

bonus links!!!

mags on Hickory:

their big tele fest:

some other guys TR from Feb if you want more pictures

**_Aaron_** · 03-13-2011, 12:27 PM

Nice work Matt. Looks like fun times.

**Tunco** · 03-13-2011, 01:11 PM

Sweet TR, though I would add a stop at Dirty John's in Glens Falls for some dirt dogs. But thats just me.

**lemmycaution** · 03-13-2011, 01:58 PM

hands forward dammit!
we will see how hickory reconciles their plans to expand and the maintaining of their great vibe. agreed though- a great mountain for sure. and great skiing with everyone.

**ex-powderbroker** · 03-13-2011, 02:10 PM

Aaron!!! Are you coming back for spring touring in the whites this year???

**raisingarizona13** · 03-13-2011, 03:06 PM

Nice! I love small unknown east coast mountains that are cool like that. Looks like some good skiing.

**Harvey44** · 03-13-2011, 03:23 PM

Got to love the rope across the western boundary with the "open" sign hanging from it.

**St. Jerry** · 03-13-2011, 04:59 PM

What a coincidence. I Alpine toured up Hickory today. Will be back.

**pointedem** · 03-13-2011, 05:01 PM

killer. that place is great.

**GetAmped** · 03-13-2011, 05:34 PM

Nice TR ML. With the incredibly deep snowpack still up there, the skiing should be very good right through March and into April. The big question is: who's going to get after it? Report from yesterday is that the Spring Follies are now scheduled for March 26. I will be up there then unless something crazy happens.

**thin cover** · 03-13-2011, 05:38 PM

awesome, place looks righteous and have heard you raving for weeks now, I am in for the next trip and stoked to ski with getamped again

**icelanticskier** · 03-13-2011, 06:19 PM

stellar stoke ML! looks like a true gem!

rog

**BigDaddy** · 03-13-2011, 09:39 PM

Hickory looks awesome... love the old time vibe and having it all to yourself. Gotta cherish those kind of days!

Just one question... is there a "Meat Store of the East/West and South", too?

**tBatt** · 03-13-2011, 10:33 PM

I still need to get out to Hickory at some point, but it's hard to cough of the cash when I'm poor as shit and can usually get a free ticket to Gore. Hopefully next winter break they'll have a decent snowpack before I head out to school

I'm surprised you hit the Meat Store of the North and not Oscars! If you're up in the area, definitely head to Oscars. It's about a mile further North on 28.

**ski_adk** · 03-13-2011, 10:43 PM

Jacobs and Tony's have the best ground beef anywhere. Nothing like a hand-packed fresh J&T's burger on the grill. So glad I still have some in the freezer.

And oh yeah, I hear this was the year for the Dacks. Way to get after it.

**radam** · 03-14-2011, 06:57 AM

nice shots ml! Saturday was fun but my legs were cooked by the end of it. Definitely looking forward to a return trip, hopefully when conditions are closer to pow (or corn) and a little further from mank. But oh how fun the mank was...

Helldawg · 03-14-2011, 07:02 AM

Definitely comparable to Silverton...

But srsly, looked fun.

**gpcharles** · 03-14-2011, 07:05 AM

sick hick(ory) stoke.

looks like some nice stuff to huck your meat off behind the meat store

jgb@etree · 03-14-2011, 07:06 AM

Originally Posted by Helldawg

Definitely comparable to Silverton...

But srsly, looked fun.

Check your spare

**GetAmped** · 03-14-2011, 07:42 AM

Originally Posted by tBatt

I still need to get out to Hickory at some point, but it's hard to cough of the cash when I'm poor as shit and can usually get a free ticket to Gore. Hopefully next winter break they'll have a decent snowpack before I head out to school

I'm surprised you hit the Meat Store of the North and not Oscars! If you're up in the area, definitely head to Oscars. It's about a mile further North on 28.

That's probably because I didn't tell them about Oscars. But you are absolutely right; for smoked meats and cheeses it's hard to beat. But for a deli sandwich I'm all about that huge sub...

**GetAmped** · 03-14-2011, 07:48 AM

Originally Posted by radam

nice shots ml! Saturday was fun but my legs were cooked by the end of it. Definitely looking forward to a return trip, hopefully when conditions are closer to pow (or corn) and a little further from mank. But oh how fun the mank was...

The key to Saturday was definitely speed; you wanted to be the hammer, not the nail. Skiing fast and stomping hard made it all give way underneath fairly consistently and, unlike most days at Hickory, there was almost nothing toothy to worry about. I normally expect to put some good dings in my base when I go there, but on Saturday I didn't touch anything but soft, deep snow all day.

**radam** · 03-14-2011, 08:29 AM

^^ for sure. Speed helped big time. But I definitely preferred things after they got cut up a bit. Or maybe that was just after the warm temps did their thing. Whatever the case it was a fun day and a good sign for spring skiing to come.

**Grape_Ape** · 03-14-2011, 08:38 AM

I have always wondered about that place. It is now on my list.
Thanks for the report. That place seems really chill.

**Woodlandclown** · 03-14-2011, 08:39 AM

Was strongly considering going down on Saturday but didnt for many different reasons. Hickory was one of the first places I ever skied and definitely want to get back there soon. Hopefully this year..

**Harvey44** · 03-14-2011, 07:48 PM

Great TR ml242. I think there are two female patrollers at Hickory - wonder if you met Hickory Chick.

Whether you agree with the expansion or not, you can kinda see how they have no choice. I think Hickory only operated 12 days last year - hard to sell seasons passes without some snowmaking.

Hickory is one of my favorite hills. It's got more usable vert and trees than many other hills that size. And it's a rare mountain, run primary for the love of skiing.