West Mountain Ski Getaways

Located just outside the southern edge of Adirondack Park, a few miles south of Glen Falls, West Mountain offers over 1000' of vertical, eight lifts, and a high-efficiency light system for night operation. As good as the lighting system is (it helps eliminate many of the dark spots you may remember from other night skiing adventures), you'll also want to visit by day. There are beautiful views of Lake George and the Hudson Valley, and a panoramic window to the higher peaks of the Adirondacks to the north.

Since it's just three miles west of I-87, visiting West Mountain isn't difficult. Once there, you'll find 22 trails, a terrain park, and a family tubing area. Snowmaking covers 70% of the terrain, and the water source is the Hudson River, so there's little worry about not having enough. A full range of teaching programs, with special programs for kids and women, are available from the professional snowsports school, which also offers telemark instruction.

The tubing park, terrain park, and a wide and gentle beginner area are set just above the main lodge and customer service building, a little bit apart from the main mountain. There's another lodge that anchors the rest of the terrain, of which just over half is rated intermediate. Midway is one of these; it runs top to bottom off the triple chair and is a fine fast shot down the mountain. Holy Mackerel, off the summit double, is another worthy cruiser.

Tougher stuff includes A.O.A., top to bottom off the triple, and Cure, off the summit double, which merges into Holy Mackerel. Only the two black diamond trails, Holy Mackerel, and a couple of shorter trails aren't lit at night.