Royal Mountain of Johnstown, NY, located halfway between Albany and Utica and not far off the Thruway in the foothills of the Adirondacks, has become our 11th discount partner in the Snowology Club! They will be be providing each of our subscribers with one 50% off discount that can be used any day through the end of this season including holidays!
If you are already a Premium Subscriber to Snowology you can access all of the discounts from our partners in the Snowology Club page of our site including instructions on how to redeem. We currently also have 50% discounts available for Berkshire East, Catamount, Stratton, Titus, Magic Mountain, Mount Southington, Bromley, Whaleback, and Snow Ridge, plus a 20% discount for Glade Optics, and more are on their way shortly.
Snowology
More About Our Friends at Royal Mountain
Royal Mountain was first founded in 1956 on an east facing ridge where the Adirondack mountains begin. In 1970 it had fallen on hard times and then 19 year old Jim Blaise purchased Royal for just $30,000, but as the story goes, it would become much more expensive than that. Over time snowmaking and more lifts were added, and in 2000 a 14 year old young man named Jake Tennis started working there on weekends. Jake loved the dynamics of operating the business and Jim recognized his drive and chose him to become his successor. Jake ended up getting a degree in civil engineering and used his knowledge to help improve Royal as more investments were made into the ski area including lining all of the trails with modern fan guns. In 2020 he and his wife Brooke became the new owners of the ski area fulfilling Jake's 20 year dream, and Jim, then 69 years old and 50 years into the venture, stayed on as an employee to finish his life's work.
Stories like this seem uncommon now with way part of the industry currently operates, but this is what the ski industry largely has been over most of the last 90 years in the Northeast. Royal Mountain remains a mom and pop operation, but one where the new owners have pulled them into the 21st century in order to keep up with the expectations of skiers and riders and stay successful. Gone are the days of living from storm to storm to build snowpack; Jake and his fleet of fan guns has already laid down 4 feet of snow across the entire mountain and will be finished topping off the base depths within a week so that he can last through Easter break in early April to give the kids something fun to do as winter changes to spring.
Royal Mountain features 575' of vertical with 26 trails and 4 lifts spanning 70 acres of trails, parks, and glades, and they operate just on weekends and holidays. Don't let their size fool you, Royal offers appropriate terrain for first-timers, to beginners, intermediates, and advanced skiers and riders. Since lifts lines are rare you can lap their trails continually and rack up more vert than you might on a high speed lift at a busy resort with lines. The fall line trails like Royal and the Challenge are in fact quite steep and consistently so, and when the natural snow stacks up Royal has some excellent glades dispersed throughout the mountain. Since they are closed midweek except for holidays, if you miss out on the weekday pow it will still be waiting for you in the trees untouched on Saturday morning. This is one of the only places where you can regularly score some mid-season Saturday AM freshies after the natural snowpack builds.
Most who regularly go to Royal see them as their local mountain where they bring the kids to learn to ski and recreate. You can even get yourself fed for just $5, and combine that with a beer for just $10 with the tip. Royal's trails aren't busy, but their snow is great as that is Jake's pride as a snowfarmer. If he thinks it may be a little too icy on the steeps, he'll just flip a switch and light up some guns to resurface a little and then groom it all out. Between you and us, Jake might get a little carried away at times in making snow. You don't often find that at smaller independents in more snow-supportive climates, but Royal is an upgraded version of the local mom and pop ski hill, and this is why you should put them on your list to visit if you are looking for new experiences, or if you want to get your kids on the snow then Royal should be exactly the type of place you want to find.
Jake and Brooke have been friends of Snowology for the past couple of years. We love their passion, energy, and drive, and their pride of ownership shows through. We want to make sure that everyone in Upstate New York knows about this place because it's overlooked by too many even just down the road in the Capital District. Royal is a good way to beat the crowds without sacrificing challenging terrain or spending more than you can afford, and of course with the discount they are providing to Snowology subscribers you can ski a full day there for just $30. Welcome to the club Jake, Brook, Jim, and the entire Royal Mountain family!
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