Ski resorts keep robust this winter, tourism total stays regular

A view from the top of Gore Mountain. The ski areas in the region are seeing constant traffic this winter despite capacity reductions due to the pandemic. Photo by Mike Lynch

Ski areas remain busy with reduced capacity

By Sierra McGivney

This summer, The Adirondacks and especially the high peaks were full. But the cold weather and ice didn’t freeze visitors who come to the area.

Especially during the holidays like Martin Luther King Day and the winter break on Presidents Day, places like Lake Placid and Old Forge have continued to see an influx of tourists during a global pandemic.

James McKenna, the President / CEO of Regional Office for Sustainable Tourism (ROOST), works on destination marketing across the Adirondack region. According to McKenna, the number of people traveling to the Adirondacks has remained fairly constant since the summer.

“I think [the Martin Luther King Weekend] wasn’t busy, but some people felt it was a little more activity than they expected, ”said McKenna. “We expect more vaccines to travel across the country, or even northeastern New York, and travel will increase steadily. Going forward, we feel that demand is pretty pent up, ”he added.

Ski areas open with reduced capacity

Ski resorts such as Whiteface, Titus and Gore were able to handle the winter tourism season with capacity constraints and COVID-19 logs. ((Click here for a closer look at what each resort is doing this season.)

According to Elise Ruocco, Whiteface Marketing Manager at Whiteface, the restrictions have resulted in a leveling of visitor numbers without overcrowded lodges or long lift lines.

“It was probably one of the quieter Presidents Day weekends we’ve ever had,” she said, adding that the resort ran out of lift tickets for the entire week. “Instead of being very busy on the weekends and being pretty slow during the week, it was more consistent from day to day.”

Mountain bikers will face McCauley Mountain at Old Forge in May 2019. This winter, McCauley expanded its network of cross-country ski trails to accommodate more users during the pandemic. Mike Lynch / Explorer File Photo

Visitors flock to Old Forge

Working from home and flexible working hours meant that visitors could ski during the week and not overload the mountain on the weekends. The same thing happens over in Old Forge.

McCauley Mountain Ski Resort and Snowmobile Trails are two big draws for tourism in the area. According to Michael Farmer, advertising manager for the city of Webb, there are snowmobile trails every day.

“We have three dozen paths of varying lengths twisting and crossing for nearly 500 square kilometers, and those paths access New York State paths in all directions in our system. We have the infrastructure here to accommodate thousands of snowmobilers, ”said Farmer.

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At McCauley Mountain, Presidents Day was the biggest week of the season yet. McCauley Mountain sold two and a half times as many season tickets this winter. They even suspended season ticket sales to keep the numbers down and switched to online ticket sales.

“We have more business during the week, but we’ve had several very big weekends. As soon as people see snow on the news forecast, they come, ”Farmer said

New this year, McCauley developed a 15-kilometer cross-country network and snowshoe trails to spread the word.

McCauley also tracks all visitors who come in by having skiers enter a specific number, the names of all members of the group, their address, and their phone numbers. The farmer as a skier has a great routine of remembering to wear his mask while waiting in the lift line. When he goes to the elevator, he Googles, disguises himself. If he gets off the elevator, google down, mask down.

“We find that people need constant reminders and not try to be bad.” said Bauer. “They will all be overtaken. You know, skiers are fun-loving people and they just forget about it. “

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