After catching up with some good friends, we ate some lunch on the deck. Then it was time to hop on the triple for a quick ride to the top. Then a walk staight down The Face trail, under the lift was a great way to cap off the afternoon.

It was a nice, crisp, cool night and the next day dawned bright and clear. The view off the deck of the Bearpen Mountain ridgeline:

My 8 year old summed up the day and weekend by saying that “It felt so good to be back at our 2nd home, Plattekill!!”

Keepin’ it real, fun and lighthearted for the girls.

Jiminy Peak, despite being in the Berkshire Mountains, consistently offers a very long ski season, comparable to most of the large resorts in southern Vermont.  They blow a great deal of snow and maintain a consistent snow product across the hill.  For this reason, I tend to keep my eyes out for their “E-Coupon” deals that they run every so often throughout the season.  For us, Jiminy’s snow making prowess allows to get a day out skiing early in the season before Plattekill opens.  So, December 2, 2012 was just one of those E-Coupon Sundays.  If I recall correctly, just $25 for a lift ticket.

This was the first day out for the season for my girls and I have found over the past 7 years since my oldest first started skiing, that the most important thing is to keep it fun and light for them.  2013-2014 will be my youngest daughter’s fourth full ski season and my oldest’s seventh.  They have definitely inherited my ski gene and are, no doubt, already hooked.  (For life, I hope!).

The mountain was offering about 10-15 “trails” for skiing, (unfortunately, I did not note the exact trails that were open) which provided about 4 distinct ways down the 1100′ vertical.  The high speed six-pack provides the heft of the uphill capacity and does a good job alleviating lift lines on most days other than holiday and mid-season big weekend days.

 Although Jiminy’s snow quality is usually very good, even through early and late season, in my opinion, the terrain is a bit boring.  The mountain offers a nice, fairly steep pitch, especially for southern New England, but they groom almost the entire mountain every night.  Sometimes, a single run (or at most 2) will be left to bump up, but they are relatively short and unimpressive.  My biggest gripe is that just about every trail is cut pretty much directly down the fall-line of the mountain.  There are few, if any trails that follow the contours of the mountain, which, I feel, provides a more enjoyable and varied ski experience.

Even early season, as can be seen above, the trails are generally covered edge to edge with a nice, skiable surface, at least in the mornings.  Of course, being early season, the Jiminy regulars and pass holders were out to get their share and with only about a dozen trails open, some undoubtedly got scraped down by the afternoon.  Despite the sun never making an appearance, the weather was o.k., as it wasn’t overly cold and all four of us had a nice, enjoyable first day of lift-serviced skiing for the 2012-2013 season.

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About 6″ of heavy wet snow fell on the still leaf-laden trees of mid-autumn.  The trees were not happy, many completely snapped, others were leaning over at unnatural angles.  Sandy had just blown down some two dozen trees in the local woods that were blocking the network of trails.  Plus, there were even more blown down on some of our single track trails that my buddies and I have made over the years. (Mostly my buddies, but I have/do help as well).

Fresh snow always has a way of making things brighter and happier.  It was beautiful outside.  Plus, the adrenaline pumps a little extra fiercely the first time you click into the bindings for the season.  My backcountry cross-country skis have old school, three-pin bindings and my boots are also the soft, duck-billed 75 mm norm of old school telemark gear.  This set up is similar to light duty tele skis, since they have a full metal edge.  But, they are extremely light and much softer and they also have scales under foot on the base.  Either way, there is nothing like gliding on two planks.

Luckily, we did not lose power after this snow storm, but we had lost it for 3 nights after Sandy the week before. We were obviously lucky on both accounts as the damage after Sandy in this area was extraordinary, but that’s for a different blog entirely.

The trails run through the local woods and one surrounds the reservoir.  All of the trails, even some of our single track mountain biking trails that run between the older, more established trails, serve as excellent cross-country ski trails.  Here, are my tracks as I make my way around the reservoir.  I was probably out there for about 2 hours and made my way through most areas of the woods.  The snow was very heavy and by the end of the morning, had started to stick to the bases (and the tops) of my skis, which made them heavy and I started to feel it in my upper hip area being the first day out.

I was extremely happy to have had the opportunity to get out on skis, in fresh snow, before Thanksgiving, without even having to drive anywhere.  The ski season is off to a good, early start!

Plattekill Mountain is located high in the bucolic western Catskill Mountains surrounded by farms and woods.  In some ways Plattekill is the anti-resort, without hotels, slopeside accommodations or high speed lifts.  But, you do get a location that historically receives some of the deepest snows in the Catskills and a steep, continuous 1100’ vertical drop, serviced by 2 chairlifts that provide skiing on 38 trails. 

The Mountain skis big, yet retains an old school, wholesome feel providing a pure, unadulterated ski experience.  There are few if any lift lines and, more importantly, the trails are uncrowded and the snow surface never gets skied off like at most other crowded ski areas.  Every trail leads to the one base area, which is great for families with younger children.

Plattekill has two peaks, one serviced by a Hall double chair, the other by a Hall triple.  The view from the base of the mountain can feel intimidating to novices – it’s  dominated by Plattekill’s expert terrain, including Blockbuster, Freefall, Plunge and Northface, which are some of the steepest runs in the Catskills.

However, there is a significant amount of terrain that is suitable for both novices and intermediates.  Many classic, natural snow trails, like Ridge, Twist, Bail-out and Overlook wind their way down following the contours of the mountain.  These trails offer a glimpse back to the way skiing used to be.  In addition, the two mile long Powder Puff trail from the top of the triple chair is the perfect trail to introduce new skiers and riders to the entire mountain.  There is also a new learning center located in the base area that is serviced by its own handle tow.  This provides beginners their own slope without having other skiers on the same trail.  The mountain also offers a separate tubing area and lift that gives skiers and non-skiers alike additional outdoor fun.

The base lodge is friendly and warm with natural timber beams.  There is always a place to sit, change and eat even on busy weekends.  The lodge has everything including a ski shop, equipment rental center, a full service cafeteria and a bar with grilled pub food located on the third floor overlooking the slopes. 

Plattekill is family owned and managed and has greatly expanded its snowmaking capabilities through the recent acquisition of many state of the art fan guns, compressors and grooming machines.  There is also a continuing project that will largely expand the snowmaking pond located in the saddle between the mountains’ two peaks. 

In addition to being known as a serious skier’s mountain, Plattekill is also known as one of the Northeast’s mountain biking meccas.  It was one of the first mountains to offer lift serviced mountain biking in the east and has been doing so for nearly twenty years.  It is host to numerous sanctioned mountain biking races throughout the warmer months.  Plattekill is an undiscovered gem that offers something for everyone in a sport that has become more and more homogenized.  

One of only three ski areas to straddle two states (Heavenly Valley, CA and NV and Lookout Pass, ID and MT, being the others), Catamount lies in both Hillsdale, NY and South Ergemont, MA. Technically part of the part Taconic Range, Catamount is one of the oldest ski areas in the country, with it’s beginnings dating back to 1939.

The terrain is varied and good for all abilities although expert trails are somewhat limited. However, the mountain claims Catapult is the steepest trail in the Berkshires. It sits under the fixed grip Summit Quad and is a legitimate expert trail by any standard. Complimenting Catapult are The Glade and Alley Cat trails (Upper and Lower). These single black trails are undulating and have double fall lines in places that make for fun and interesting skiing.

The Catamount Chair, an SLI center pole double, sits in front of the main Berkshire Lodge and serves a number of nicely pitched intermediate trails as well as the main Terrain Park.  Catamount is park friendly. In addition to the main Park, The Junior Jib Park, a Halfpipe and a Skier/Bordercross course are all located off of the Meadows Triple chair.

A second soft walled, temporary building, almost like a permanent tent, dubbed the Taconic Lodge, serves as the mountain’s 2nd or overflow lodge. It is located on the NYS side by the Summit Quad and is fully heated, with bathrooms and some limited food service options.

West of the main base lodge, on the MA side, is Catamount’s beginner slope serviced by a Magic Carpet lift as well as the Meadows Triple chair, which serves a pod of novice and easy intermediate trails, such as Upper Promenade, Mountain View, Holiday and Esplanade.

One of the closest 1000′ vertical ski areas to New York City, Catamount can get busy on weekends. The Meadows Triple, a slower fixed grip lift, is prone to developing some decent liftlines on busy days. However, there is rarely ever a liftline to the summit. If the Summit Quad develops a line, management will spin The Glades Double chair, which serves almost every trail off of the summit.

The current owners/management have a long history in the ski business. In addition to owning and operating Catamount for over 40 years, they previously managed three other NYS ski areas. In the 1960′s they developed Sterling Forest ski area (now Tuxedo Ridge). Prior to that, they also managed Fahnstock, a small ski area that was located in the NYS park of the same name and leased land from NYS to develop and and open the Silvermine Ski area, which was located in Harriman State Park. In addition, Catamount’s Bill Gilbert created and marketed the first fan snowmaking guns. The company he founded, SMI, continues to be a leader in airless snowgun manufacturing.

Catamount is a nice, friendly, family mountain with a rich history in the scenic Berkshire mountains. The terrain than most other ski areas in the vicinity and is definitely well worth the time to explore.

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