A new 2500′ run, improved night skiing, a faster, better lift and more snowmaking are among the improvements the resort will be rolling out this year.

All in, the resort spent more than $4 million. You can read more details about the upgrades here.

If you live in southern Ontario and you haven’t checked out Holiday Valley, you really owe it to yourself to visit at least once. Personally, I equate the resort with Ontario’s Blue Mountain, but with better facilities, much better runs, and fewer lines. While both are similar in vertical, hence I draw the equation, Holiday Valley is a lot more fun to ride.

You can find more information on Holiday Valley, including a write-up of my visit, here.

The location

Given the proximity to Toronto, I don’t know why people bother with Blue Mountain. Holiday Valley is a little over three hours by car via the Peace Bridge if the lines at the border are short (which they were both ways). If you’re familiar with Ontario or Western New York highways, the route looks something like this: 401 > QEW > Border > I-90 > 219. It’s a pretty easy drive (though we missed our hotel on the way in and had to double-back through town more than once).

The conditions

As I mentioned yesterday, day one featured warm temperatures and soft, slushy snow. Since it was mid-March, this was to be expected. We still had a great time, as our crew was just happy to be riding in March, and we were happy to pull off a last-minute trip.

On day two, things cooled down a bit, turned slightly icy, and some snow moved in. It made for a much speedier day than day one, but also meant we couldn’t pop into treed areas (of which there are many in Holiday Valley) because everything in the woods was frozen.

All in all, the conditions were good and the snow base was stable.

The resort

Holiday Valley features 750 feet or so of vertical rise, meaning it’s just a wee bit taller than some of the larger hills here in Ontario. Holiday Valley has places like Blue Mountain (and other resorts in Ontario) beat, though, in many many areas.

• Variety of runs: There are more than 50 runs at Holiday Valley, ranging from easy greens to truly double diamond (“The Wall” is a serious sheet of ice that is not to be taken lightly). There are few Ontario results with 50+ runs, if any. Moreover, there are several areas of the mountain that feel completely separate from the others, and each run ends at a relatively speedy lift. Bonus: no. lift. lines. at. all. There’s nothing like coming down a run at Blue Mountain to see a HUGE, 15-20 minute lineup for a lousy 700 feet. Never happened once this weekend.
• Ability to “wander”: As if 50+ runs wasn’t enough, most areas are separated by trees which are easy to explore. There are many glade runs as well.
• Excellent on-mountain facilities: There are plenty of areas to get food and beer, and the lodges have a warm, welcoming feeling (as opposed to the cafeterias that are predominant in major Ontario resorts).
• Five terrain parks: Need I say more?

Food and accommodations

We stayed at the local Wingate By Wyndham in Ellicottville which was reasonably priced, featured spacious rooms and were very clean. The staff can get a little ornery if you’re too loud at 2:30 in the morning, but we won’t get into that. While there is no bar or restaurant to speak of in the hotel, the location is great and the hotel offers a free hot breakfast every morning. The breakfast runs until 10am, and it’s outstanding.

The town of Ellicottville itself serves as an excellent ski resort village. There are several local bars and restaurants; we went to at least four. The Ellicottville Brewing Company has an excellent selection of beer and food, though it gets packed quick – go early. I recommend the Double Diamond for after-dinner/late-night drinking. I must say, I was extremely impressed with the Double Diamond, which apparently is a new-ish bar in the neighbourhood. When I walked in, there was a cool duo playing guitar and bongos while singing popular songs. In the back, a bunch of shredders had set up a rail and a box, carted in some snow, and were throwing themselves off a mini-ramp. Hopefully I’ll get some photos up of that experience.

Short but sweet

Okay, although I’m fawning over this place, the reality is that Holiday Valley features a mere 750 feet of vertical. As a result, the runs are still quick and you spend a lot of time on lifts. But for a resort in the east that’s nowhere near a real mountain, Holiday Valley is pretty darn good. In fact, check out their 2007 Ski Magazine rankings:

• Lifts – 2nd in the East, 9th in the Nation
• Dining – 4th in the East
• Grooming – 9th in the East
• Terrain Parks – 12th in the East

Not bad for 750 feet! I’m definitely going back.

Highlights so far:

• Shredders throwing down in the back room of the Double Diamond bar;
• Getting my ass kicked on what appeared to be a really low, wide box but discovering it was actually ridged and difficult;
• Taking on a halfpipe, and the halfpipe winning (I’m not very good at this terrain park thing just yet);
•  Stomping some awesome landings on a run called Moonshadow, which is just lip after lip. It’s a run intentionally designed to throw skiers and riders of huge lips, and it’s completely awesome.

Despite the slushy conditions, I’m having a great time. It is so worth the three-hour drive; it’s only a little farther than Blue Mountain time-wise, and the space, runs and facilities are totally superior to anything I have seen in Ontario.

More when I’m back.

Being so close to the border, it’s not out of the ordinary to take a day trip to a Target, Sabres game, or MRI clinic. Tomorrow I’m taking advantage of this proximity with some friends to hit Holiday Valley, a popular ski resort in western New York, for the weekend.

The vertical rise of Holiday Valley is only 750 feet, making it not much larger than Blue Mountain here in Ontario. But from what I understand, Holiday Valley has a couple of distinct advantages:

• There are 56 runs, compared to Blue’s 34;
• Many runs cross the mountain, making them seem longer (judging by a trail map, anyway).

Of course, going to Blue means you stay in the province, so there’s no border line-ups or currency exchanges to worry about.

More on Holiday Valley over the weekend, or shortly thereafter. Hopefully I’ll get a post or two in while I’m there.

(Interestingly, Holiday Valley actually had a small avalanche of sorts this winter [or at least that's what they're calling it].)