Industry News
September is on our heels, which means the collective internal clock of East Coast skiers and snowboarders is starting to tick louder. Thursday, Aug. 27 marks 100 days out from a projected Dec. 5 opening day at Titus Mountain Family Ski Center in Malone, New York — a resort in the northern Adirondacks that deserves a serious look from Indy Pass holders planning a low-key, high-value winter road trip. For skiers coming from New York state, Vermont, Quebec, or southern Ontario, Titus offers the kind of uncrowded, easy-to-love mountain experience that makes the trip feel overdue in the best way.
Titus is three mountains stitched into one resort. The lower slopes are wide and forgiving, great for warming up, skiing with mixed-ability groups, or easing into the season. To reach the Upper Mountain, you follow the connector trails, cruising across the ski bridge over Johnson Road and through the resort’s signature ski-through tunnels — a practical and clever bit of mountain design that keeps you on your toes. The pitch sharpens, the traffic thins, and the cold northern air helps keep the snow light, especially in the trees and ungroomed pockets.
Titus also has one of the more unusual offerings in the ski industry. From Monday to Thursday on non-holiday weeks, you and your crew can pool your resources and book private use of the Upper Mountain trail network through its “Own the Upper” program, with options for lift access, lodge space, ski patrol coverage, rentals, food and beverage service, and lessons. That is the sort of ski-day fantasy most people associate with heli trips or private clubs, not a family mountain in northern New York state.
Beyond the resort boundaries, Franklin County starts to feel like a drive into the past. History sits close to the road here. I am—literally—the biggest Little House on the Prairie nerd. Just north of Malone is the Almanzo Wilder Homestead, now a historical site, where Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Manly” spent his childhood. For anyone who grew up on Little House, finding that history beside a ski resort is unexpected. But there’s more.
The Malone area is also tied to the nineteenth-century Irish Fenian Brotherhood. In May 1870, Fenian soldiers gathered near Malone and crossed toward Canada as part of a failed attempt to pressure Britain by striking at British territory from the American side of the border. The roads throughout the county keep leading to surprising things. Late last summer, my daughters and I stood in the shallows of a cold local stream nearby and panned for gold. Frontier history, Fenian history, and a little gold in the water: all of it sits in the same quiet corner of northern New York state.
Before winter arrives, Titus gets one more fall marker on the calendar. The 45th Annual Titus Mountain Oktoberfest is Saturday, Oct. 3, with gates at 10 a.m. and a $5 admission (free for kids 12 and under). The base area fills up with over 80 local vendors, food trucks, and plenty of ice cold beer. It features live music, chairlift rides, a hay maze, a best-dressed contest (lederhosen required), and fireworks at dusk. The whole community shows up for the event and food and drink proceeds directly buy medical supplies for the ski patrol, with additional support going to the Adirondack for Kids charity. It is an unmatched tradition and the perfect excuse to look up at the slopes and get ready for the snow.
The clock is ticking. One hundred days to go. See you in the North Country.
