While reading through some history books, one in particular piqued my interest.
"A History of Niskayuna, NY" Volume 1 contains an undated plan for the construction of "River Park" - now known as Blatnick Park. On the plan, at 1:30 on the rotary depicted, is marked "Children's Ski Slope".
Having lived nearby for many years growing up, I've visited this park before. The hill is of decent grade, 90-120' in vertical drop depending on where you measure from. Currently, a bike path runs down the edge to river level. It would be sufficient for downhill skiing, and void of any trees. The only obstacles would be methane vents, as beneath lies an old landfill. I will note that while it is displayed on this plan, many features of this park were *not* constructed. While I have briefly looked for evidence of a rope tow, the grass there is generally knee high or much taller, obscuring anything that *might* still be there.
Now, this is the *only* mention I've come across of a potential ski hill here. I dug for this book as a vivid memory of seeing a black and white picture of a rope tow and a few skiers on this hill came back to me from several years ago. I have no knowledge of whether anything was ever actually constructed here, and this was the only mention anywhere on paper or digitally that has insofar proved that image I remember seeing might be real.
I've tried emailing the town historian for more information, though their email is currently bouncing back - so I yield to you all. Has anyone ever come across other information about lift served or organized skiing at Blatnick Park?
I'm attaching a link to the images (file size too large - don't feel like compressing):
https://imgur.com/a/DVAuz4K
