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The Daily OrangeWinter wonderland at last
Local ski season takes off after warm start
By Heath D. Williams
Posted: 1/22/07, 9:52 PM EST Section: Feature
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It was mid-January, a time when the skiing season is usually in full swing, especially in the cold winters of Central New York. Until recently, however, warm temperatures left skiers like Flynt, a sophomore magazine journalism and international relations major, feeling empty and craving their winter sports fix.
"A week ago, all of the slopes were green," said Flynt, a member of the Syracuse University Ski Team, which trains at Toggenburg. "It was so disheartening."
Although unseasonably warm temperatures kept local ski resorts like Toggenburg either closed or limited to weekend hours for most of December and January, recent cold temperatures and snowfall have hit the mountains and made skiers like Flynt hopeful for the coming months.
One of the worst
Cyndy Sisto, marketing and sales director at Toggenburg, which is located in Fabius, said things were definitely looking up after a dismal beginning of the season for the ski business.
"It was one of the worst I've ever seen," Sisto said. "And I've been working here since 1981, and I grew up here, so I've seen my fair share of winters."
As of Monday, Toggenburg had only six of its 24 trails open for skiing. Sisto added more trails would be opened this weekend and that crews were busy making snow all this week.
The month of December and the beginning of January were among the warmest the Central New York region had ever seen. The average high in December in Syracuse was 44 degrees, compared with an average of 32 degrees in December of 2005, according to the National Weather Service.
Syracuse also saw 53 inches of snow in December 2005, compared with 12.1 inches in 2006.
Greek Peak Mountain Resort in nearby Cortland also felt the effects of the warm early winter. Greek Peak opened for the first time this season on Dec. 9, but had to close on Jan. 7, due to poor conditions.
"When we were open, it wasn't optimal conditions at all," said Kevin Morrin, executive director of snow sports and sales at Greek Peak. "Our attendance in December was down 20 percent from last year. It just wasn't good out there."
Not only was the warm weather a problem financially for the resorts, the temperatures didn't bode well for avid skiers like Renee Storiale, president of the Syracuse Ski and Snowboard Club.
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