Courtesy West Mountain
By LEE COLEMAN
West Mountain ski center in Queensbury is preparing to open early this season with a larger variety of trails to offer skiers.
“We are really going to try to open early, but it depends on the weather,” said Spencer Montgomery, co-owner and managing member.
He said 4,000 feet of new snowmaking pipeline has been added on the Frolic trail to replace older piping that was in disrepair. The goal is to open more terrain on the Northwest Base area along with the Main Base, which traditionally opens first. The mountain also offers a large snow-tubing park for young people.
Ski center workers have been running compressors on the snow guns, testing pipelines, checking power and lighting for the popular night skiing, and cutting back the trail edges. All is ready to make snow when the temperature allows.
In recent years, West Mountain has offered year-round programming, with adventure courses, mountain-biking trails and scenic rides to promote use of the mountain in spring, summer and fall.
Sara and Spencer Montgomery have spent more than $20 million on improvements to the ski center since they took over operation of the mountain in 2013.
The couple is also hoping to gain final approval this year for a $190 million, 60-acre “ski-and-stay” resort at the northwest base of the property near the existing Northwest Base Lodge. Montgomery said planning for the Woods at West Mountain started four years ago. Plans include an 80-room hotel, 64 condominiums, 52 custom and duplex homes, along with a new high-speed lift, ski store, coffee shop and restaurant.
The project would be built in five stages over a 10-year period.
Montgomery said $350,000 has been spent on stormwater testing, traffic, soil and other environmental studies. Peter Luizzi is a partner in the large-scale development. So far, the Queensbury Town Board has approved the concept, and in April the town Planning Board recommended rezoning of the property. The project goes back to the Town Board for the required rezoning and then back to the Planning Board for site-plan review.
Some neighbors have expressed concerns about the impact of the project on their property. Montgomery said these concerns can be mitigated. He said there are “lots of falsehoods” being spread about the impact of the project.
“There is no future for West Mountain without this new project,” Montgomery said. “I’m optimistic, but we have to expedite the approval process,” he said.
Farther north, preparation work and improvements have been made at the state’s Gore Mountain in North Creek and Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington for the ski season.
One of the biggest improvements at Gore Mountain is the Station, a new base lodge at the North Creek Ski Bowl that will open this season. It features seating space, a retail shop, lockers, grab-and-go food options and a year-round, full-service restaurant and bar.
Ian Tomasch, sales and marketing manager at Gore, said work on the new building started in May 2024. The restaurant will be run by the owners of Southpaw Bistro, located on South Street in Glens Falls.
Work continues on the construction of the Topridge Quad Lift, which replaces the Topridge Triple Chairlift and will be operational this ski season.
Another Gore improvement is a new 375-car parking lot installed directly below the existing Lot G parking lot.
Gore is also planning a new zip coaster, which combines the thrill of a mountain coaster and a zip line as the rider transitions from cable to rail, traveling up and down the mountain during spring, summer and fall. Gore also offers chairlift rides and hiking and biking trails for year-round mountain activity.
At Whiteface Mountain, which is operated by the state’s Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA)—as is Gore—the Little Whiteface and Mountain Run chairlifts have been replaced with a new SkyTrac lift.
Major snowmaking upgrades at Whiteface include more powerful and energy-efficient equipment. A total of 115 additional high-efficiency snow guns have been added along with 15 mobile units. New state-of-the-art trail-grooming vehicles have been purchased to improve trail conditions across the mountain, according to a statement from ORDA.
The Legacy Lodge has also been renovated with new siding and decks. The Bear Den has been upgraded with a new heated patio and expanded learning area to enhance the family experience at the Olympic mountain. These improvements strengthen Whiteface’s reputation as the East’s premier vertical mountain.