Jack Fogarty, left, and his grandson Paul take the first ride up the new T-bar lift at Mount Pisgah Ski Center, with help from Pisgah Manager Charlie Martin. Photo: Chris Knight, courtesy Adirondack Daily Enterprise
(01/10/12) The lack of snow has been a big story for snow sports so far this winter, but there was some good news for skiers and snowboarders this past weekend in Saranac Lake.
A new ski lift at Mount Pisgah Ski Center took its first riders up the slopes on Saturday morning. The new T-bar was two and a half years in the making and was funded by a combination of state grant funding and community donations.
As Chris Knight reports, supporters say the project will help breathe new life into this small, family- and kid-friendly ski hill.
With
one hand on the T-bar and the other holding his ski poles, 73-year-old Jack
Fogarty of Saranac Lake leande down to his 3-year-old grandson Paul and gave
him a little advice, "Keep
your feet together and lean against the bar," he said. "Hold on.
There will be a little jolt. ... Here we go."
Just
like that, the two Fogartys - separated by seven decades, both all smiles -
began the first ride up the new T-bar lift at Mount Pisgah Ski Center on
Saturday morning. Charlie Martin is Mount Pisgah's manager. "It's
official," he said. "We have a new lift, and it's running really
well. Now we just need to get some snow so we can stay open."
A
few sprinkles of rain were coming down Saturday morning, and only one trail was
open at the mountain, but those who showed up to use the new T-bar, like Jack
Forgarty, were grateful. "I'd
like to thank all the people who donated money to make it available. The people
in Saranac Lake are really supportive of the ski area, and the village is
supportive and they've worked hard," he said. "They've done a nice
job here. It'll last a long time."
Mike
Phelabaum, who's been snowboarding at Pisgah with his brother
since the late-1990s, said the new T-bar is a great addition to the mountain. "We've
seen this whole process for over a decade go down," he said. "It's
pretty cool. We remember riding this thing when we were 5 years old, the old
T-bar. So, it's nice to see something new."
Charlie
Martin said he expects the new lift will also bring some new faces to the
mountain. He said some people stopped coming to Pisgah because the old lift,
which had been in place since 1960 and broke down often, was just too
unreliable. "I'm
seeing a lot of returning people in the middle aged group coming back buying
passes because they want to ski for a couple hours. They don't want to stand in
line for 45 minutes to make one or two runs. This lift is going to bring
serious reliability and a lot of fun to the mountain."
Martin
said the new T-bar is just one of several upgrades and new offerings that are
planned at Mount Pisgah, including 6 miles of nordic ski trails, a half-mile
handicapped access and snowshoeing trail, and, in the future, a ski jumping
hill.
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