Travel editor Dave Balow finds out that there's a whole lot more to the Big Apple than just great sightseeing and shopping and fabulous entertainment.

HANDS - or ski poles - up, how many of you would ever consider putting New York on the list of possible destinations for a fun winter sports holiday?

Great for shopping, pretty damn good for sightseeing, and spot on for entertainment in every shape and form . . . but skiing and snowboarding, surely not!

Before writing off the Big Apple, however, here is some food for thought.

Remember those great Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid in 1980, with the dramatic men's downhill on Whiteface Mountain and the Miracle on Ice - when the young American hockey team snatched gold from the unbeaten Russians?

Well, that all happened in New York State where Lake Placid remains at the centre of a thriving ski industry which is now targeting the British market.

And the state really has great credentials.

The direct flights to New York are cheaper and shorter than those to the Rockies, there are plenty of resorts to suit all types of skiers and boarders, and New York is the perfect destination for families - where everyone might not fancy devoting all their holiday to the slopes.

Having spent as much or little time in Midtown Manhattan as the pocket will stretch to, you can head out of the city and choose from a whole range of diverse ski resorts in upper state New York.

Looking at New York on a map. it's easy to think of it as a small state, sandwiched as it is between New Jersey and Connecticut on the Eastern seaboard.

But once away from the ocean, New York state spreads out like a giant glacier carving its way north east, alongside Vermont, north to the Canadian border and north west towards the Great Lakes.

It's a vast area, and one that is home to a surprising number of quality ski resorts.

Okay, this is east coast skiing at pretty low altitudes, it can be bitterly cold and often you will find your edges having to grip on to man-made snow, but there is some great terrain and a hearty welcome waiting from the locals to any Brits who have turned their backs on the popular resorts in the Rockies.

I arrived in New York City in mid January expecting to be shivering on the streets and losing the feeling in my hands and feet under leaden skies by the time I got up to the mountains.

In fact the weather couldn't have been kinder - touching 60 degrees in Central Park and clear blue skies in the ski resorts with regular fresh snow every night to soften up the trails.

I had toyed with the idea of driving out of the city to all the resorts, but I decided to split the journeys between road and rail.

It's a great trip out of Penn Station along the Hudson River and you soon leave the skyscrapers behind as the railway winds up into the Catskill Mountains.

First stop was the town of Hudson, home to Hunter Mountain - the favourite resort for native New Yorkers as it is relatively close and offers great skiing and boarding.

Privately-owned Hunter has become a bit of legend in the North American ski industry and enjoys great local patronage, and a constant influx of big city skiers and boarders and a growing number of foreign visitors keen to test its reputation.

Hunter Mountain's renowned slopes are served by 11 lifts and tows which give access to 54 trails providing endless enjoyment for all levels. Skiers and riders are greeted by 125 inches of natural snow each year which is boosted by a sophisticated snowmaking system guaranteeing that the action lasts well into April.

Hunter has a nationally recognised learning centre with programmes and workshops for the entire family. Experts will find the terrain at Hunter West to their liking with powder filled steeps and there is plenty of variety for beginners at Hunter One.

Hunter Mountain also boasts a recently expanded terrain park which is now a freerider's dream.

I stayed just outside the resort at a cosy Edwardian-style bed and breakfast called the Fairlawn Inn but there is a whole range of accommodation here from the plush Kaatskill Mountain Club to the 59 condominiums at the Liftside Village.

While staying at Hunter I popped across for an afternoon to nearby Windham, a state run ski area which, while not having the range of challenging runs of its nearby big brother, is well worth a visit and has some good slopes for beginners.

Next stop was Lake Placid, and when you first arrive you cannot believe that this lovely waterside town could possibly have been big enough to host two successful Winter Olympic Games.

The town has a quaint village atmosphere and it is not until you go exploring - and all the facilities are pretty close together - that you come across the ghosts of the 1980 Games that brought so much thrilling entertainment.

This was the scene of the Miracle on Ice when the hockey 'boys' of the U.S. became men and defeated the mighty Soviet team. This was where speed skater Eric Heiden captured five gold medals.

With a 25 dollar passport you can visit all the Olympic venues - the Verizon bobsleigh complex, the ski jumping centre, the ice skating Oval and the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum . . . and you can do more than just look.

I couldn't resist a ride on the four-man bob and with the necessary help of an expert driver and brakeman sampled the ultimate face-contorting adrenalin rush.

You can easily get carried away at all these Olympic venues, but it was the skiing I had come for and after tearing myself away from the luxurious surroundings of the Mirror Lake Inn, where I stayed, I headed off to see what Whiteface Mountain had to offer.

Whiteface is a surprisingly compact ski area, but there is enough variety to suit all tastes and The Slides, an all double black diamond area off the 4,867 foot top of the mountain, will challenge the most adventurous skier or rider.

More Gore! Doesn't sound too inviting does it, but that was the marketing slogan of my final New York State destination, Gore Mountain.

Gore is in the Adirondack Mountains - a huge playground that is the largest state park in the country.

The resort is in its 42nd season and is managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which certainly knows how to set up a good mountain.

With a miserly 3,600 ft elevation at the top, I was pleasantly surprised to find 86 trails with the emphasis on good intermediate skiing. An eight passenger high-speed gondola goes most of the way and there are plenty of quad and high-speed triple chairlifts serving the spread-out terrain.

I admit to being a little worried before taking a ski trip to New York state. I was concerned about the lack of big mountains, cold and icy conditions and the thought of skiing alongside brash townies from the big eastern cities rather than the laid-back folk you tend to get out West.

But I need not have been. The skiing was terrific, it proved to be warm and sunny most of the time and the locals couldn't have been more friendly and welcoming.

New York, New York, so good they named it twice . . . I might just go back for seconds, too!

For more information call the New York State Division of Tourism 0207 629 6891 or log on to www.nylovesu.co.ukFor information on Hunter Mountain call 518-263-4223 or visit www.HunterMtn.com For Lake Placid information call the visitors bureau on 800-447-5224 or log on to www.lakeplacid.com and for Gore Mountain call 518-251-2411 of visit Goremountain.com