How is Platty going to be Saturday?

If man made snowcan be blown as good as powder than why aren't ski areas making that once a base is established?

I've skied some really good man made snow but it's never as good as the natural.

raisingarizona wrote

If man made snowcan be blown as good as powder than why aren't ski areas making that once a base is established?

I've skied some really good man made snow but it's never as good as the natural.

Because it's expensive to make, production is lower, and it all ends up the same after a rain event. Common in NY.

You guys are right that God made snow is better than man made snow, and that's correct becase natural snow is actually a fine crystal, and man-made snow is an ice ball. No argument there. But after it gets rained on, it is all the same, because the crystaline structure breaks down, and it all becomes a cake of ice balls stuck together.

Another thing to consider with natural snow is that snow on a mountain is a vector quantity.  Its always going to be less on the mountain than there is in the parking lot because of the grade. Take the cosine of the average grade of the slope then multiply that times the number of inches you got. It's going to be less.

For example, Plattekill just got suposedly 14". The average grade of Plattekill is about 40° so calculate 14" X Cos(40) and you get 9.3". That's how much snow we effectively have to ski today. Thankfully the top of the mountain always gets a little more than the parking lot.

Chutes looking pretty good

I like soft, supple, natural.......snow, too.  Heck, getting away from the resort more has spoiled me.  Conditions at WF today are ok as conitions go, but they suck.  

On the subject of man made snow, run of the day today is Parkway under the guns.  Not natural soft, but still soft and velvety.  Rest of the mountain is groomed-in what was dust on crust, carveable but with tons of variable icy spots lurking close to the surface.  No venturing off the groomed as there is a 1/4 inch ice crust underneath whatever snow fell on top of it.  That or manmade......I'll take manmade.

And this damn cloud/fog that keeps freezing on the goggles....grrrr.

Platty's gotta be a dream compared to this.

Ethan Snow wrote

Every time Laszlo and Macker install snowmaking on a new trail, they widen it. They have the equipment to do so, and they will. If Laz can keep the place afloat like he's been doing the last 20+ years, we should see all the trails widened, and 100% snowmaking In the next 10 years. But don't worry, no plans as of now to make snow in the trees.

I'm not buying that.  The owner seems to "get it", I doubt he's going to ruin the place by turning it into Okemo or something.  I would literally stop skiing there if that happened, and I think many other Platty fans would too.  Platty is a niche audience, but that niche audience skis there because that "audience" knows what it likes/wants.

Unfortunately that niche audience is not who is going to keep the place afloat. You got to offer more variety, and fewer scratchy spots if yu want to cater to a wide audience.

I've talked to Laz, and he wants 100%  snowmaking eventually. I do hope however, that they don't widen things out. I think They should put the pipes back in the woods by transporting them in smaller sections, and then use ground guns, so that is actually feels like a natural trail. I think Gore and WF do this well.

On a side note, platyttekill was fantastic today. The snow was perfect in the morning, and people showed like I haven't seen since 2015. There were cars parked 1\2 mile down the road.  By the afternoon the snow was a bit sticky, and scratchy spots were developing, but the turnout was fantastic. It felt great to see the place being used to it's full capacity again.

I'm definitely the niche, but I bet ya Laz wouldn't mind a less niche, and more general, mass market audience.

On another note, today was just rockin' at Platt. I eill let Coach give us his impressions. It was a pleasure to meet and ski with both Coach and frk.

Ethan, it is always a pleasure to ski with with you.

Ridgerun: you are one of my favorite things about Platty...enjoying the effervescence of the natural snow as well as the tastiest (D)IPAs and your company in general.

It was crowded but never felt crowded...The morning snow was great, a bit heavier in the afternoon...

Brownski..we finally meet again. And, Junior, it was a pleasure to meet you.  

Enjoy your next few days out in the new snow.

I concur wholeheartedly. It turned out to be a really fun day.

Thanks Marcski! The place and people are beyond special.

Wish I could have been there report coming in backchannel are super positive.  It warms my heart to see peeps from other hills discover and dig Plattekill. Was at some boring event when Coach PM'd me, put a big smile on my face.

Anyone has a any pics to share from Saturday, email them to me if like, we're trying to put something together for the front page.

email: harvey44@nyskiblog.com

Yeah, where's that pic of the whole crew at the top of the double? I think it's in coach Zs phone.

I guess no one wanted to play with me

Sorry bout that Jason. I was looking for you.; didn't find Marcski til after lunch either

I was with my home crew...2 platt first timers...they weren't disappointed  

JasonWx wrote

I was with my home crew...2 platt first timers...they weren't disappointed

Hey, were you the guys with a 50th birthday going on? looked like that bunch was having a good time.

Brownski wrote

JasonWx wrote

I was with my home crew...2 platt first timers...they weren't disappointed

Hey, were you the guys with a 50th birthday going on? looked like that bunch was having a good time.

that was few moons ago...

I would say that Platty is the unofficial fav of NYSB. Had a great day skiing with some great people. Sooner or later NYSB will have to rent out Platty.