Ski the East, You Might Find Something in the Ice to Love 

Being from Summit County, Ohio, you’d think my childhood was filled with high peaks and beautiful mountains — perfect for a young skier searching for the thrill of flying down runs.

In reality, despite its name, Summit County isn’t even the highest point in Ohio and even worse, only sits at 1,320 feet above sea level — about the same height as the John Hancock Center here in Chicago. 

The ironic name of my home county makes me constantly jealous of the spoiled West Coast skiers who can easily travel to soaring ski mountains with elevations at 10,000 feet or higher. Yet, there is a certain pride in being an East Coast skier.

An East Coast skier like myself gets an excellent education on how to carve turns in ice and learns what it feels like to make a hard fall with no fluffy West Coast powder to cushion the fall.

In an actively-used group chat with my dad and brother, ironically named “Mtn Conquerors” from a ski trip a couple years ago, I asked them their opinions on the East Coast skiing versus West Coast skiing argument.

My question was inspired by the “Ski The East” slogan I had become accustomed to seeing on the backs of cars, helmets and backpacks at ski resorts in eastern states like New York and Ohio.

“Uhhh what are the cons of west coast skiing???” my older brother texted.

My dad quickly listed trust fund babies, high ticket prices and avalanches as some of the few cons of the West Coast, but he didn’t hold anything back when poking fun at our home in the East. 

“Also, the west very selfishly does very little to support the snow making technical community. They need to eat too, you know!!” my dad texted. 

In the East, I learned the gritty technique needed to ski in sub-par conditions. I believe my training made me confident and prepared to tackle the steeps out west and to be an aggressive skier through trees, bumps and smooth-groomed runs alike. 

I’ve spent most of my life skiing with my extended family at Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville, New York. My brother and I followed our dad’s and our uncles’ examples by constantly following their tracks down the run and learning to ski with meticulous approach and control.

The best skiers I know grew up in the East, which gave them the foundation they needed to excel in the West Coast mountains, so I will happily take pride in my lowly Ohio roots.

Sure, the West rarely has freezing fog, ice storms, winter rain and entire months without sun. I will admit there is no better feeling than mile-long runs above tree line, feeling your heartbeat quicken with the elevation.

But, there is something to love about East Coast skiing. Especially when my time skiing the East is filled with nostalgia and memories of skiing from sun up to well past sundown, counting the number of runs with my cousins and avoiding taking breaks, desperate to spend as much time as we could on the mountain. 

Maybe I’m just jealous of the West Coasters, but my advice is to ski the East — you might find something worth loving amidst the ice.

Feature image courtesy of Julia Pentasuglio