Driving in the Winter:
Because of the possibility of slippery road surfaces, some drivers prefer lodging that will not require them to drive up or down steep hills, in order to get to or from their favorite skiing places -- especially if their car does not have snow tires. If you're one of those drivers, keep in mind:
long hill climb with some curves on Route 73 (north-bound), not far south and east of the Mt Van Hoevenberg center, between Keene and the ski center (hill might be 1200 vertical feet in 5 miles, including some substantial sections with steepness grade around 7-8%) -- also some wind-blown gentler sections alongside the Cascade Lakes.
rather steep hill climb (but not long) on Route 73 (north-bound) immediately south of the main traffic light of Lake Placid village, intersection of Route 73 and Route 86. (hill might be 80 vertical feet at a steepness grade around 9-10%)
rather steep hill climb (but not long) on Route 73 (north-bound) immediately north of the crossing of the Ausable River between the cross-country ski centers and Lake Placid village, about 2 miles southeast from the main intersection. (hill might be 50 vertical feet at a steepness grade around 10%)
hill climb on Route 73 (south-bound) immediately south of the crossing of the Ausable River between the cross-country ski centers and Lake Placid village, about 2 miles southeast from the main intersection. (hill might be about a mile at a steepness grade around 6-7%)
long hill climb with a rather steep section on Route 73 (south-bound), south from Keene Valley toward Route 9 and the I-87 Northway. (long climb might be around 500 vertical feet and 1.5 miles, and one section might be 150 vertical feet in a quarter mile at a steepness grade of around 10% or more)
on Route 86 between Wilmington and Jay there's a non-long section of the east-bound climb with steepness grade around 6-7%, and there's a non-long section of the east-bound climb with steepness grade around 6%
The measurements and steepness grades below were calculated by approximate manual methods from using the DeLorme TopoUSA 3.0 software.
For comparison, using these same methods to estimate the big climb on the I-87 Northway from Lake George north up toward Warrensburg yields about 460 vertical feet in 2.5 miles, for a steepness grade between 3% and 4%. And I think I remember reading somewhere that the maximum hill steepness permitted for a road to be considered for inclusion in the U.S. federal Interstate highway system is a steepness grade of 6%.
Implications:
If you really really want to avoid having any hills steeper than 6-7% grade between your lodging and the Mt Van Hoevenberg and Cascade XC ski centers -- find a place within 3 miles north from Mt Van Ho center.
If you want to avoid having any hills steeper than 6-7% grade between your lodging and the I-87 Northway to/from the south -- and you're willing to drive an extra 36 miles to get home, starting northeast on Rt 86 through Wilmington and Jay and Rt 9N to near Keeseville -- find a place on the main street of Lake Placid village.
Anyway, the straightforward routes for driving between the Mt Hoevenberg XC ski center and the I-87 Northway will include some hill climb with steepness grade around 10%.
(though it might be possible to keep the hill steepness under 8% grade by driving an extra 45 miles northeast from Keene on Rt 9N through Jay to near Keeseport.)
Once on the Northway south of Route 73, the hill steepness grades are more like 4%. Something to think about when it starts snowing while you're out skiing on the day you're driving home.