Are Your 2022 Ski Trips a Letdown? Here’s Why, and What To Do About It
The overcrowding and staffing pitfalls that are driving skiers crazy this season, and how to avoid them.
You expect to find ski rentals at a ski resort. But when Trevor Dearstyne, a 26-year-old executive recruiter in New York, made a trip to Hunter Mountain Resort on the second Saturday of January, there were no rentals available for his girlfriend and brother. They’d all been reserved in advance. Dearstyne hit the slopes while the others drove around to every rental shop in town. The two spent the morning hiking and shopping.
Meanwhile, Dearstyne, an Epic Local Pass holder, was dodging skiers on the Belt Parkway, the resort’s top-to-bottom blue trail. “Conditions were icy and people were flying in every direction,” he says. “It was an absolute free for all. I’d never seen anything like it.” By 10:45 a.m. the group was getting back on the road to head home, while a line of cars were still trying to get into Hunter’s parking lot. “I drove twice as long as I skied,” he said. “But the crowds and conditions didn’t make it worthwhile to stay.”