Plattekill - Sunday, 2-16-2014

We arrived at the parking lot at 8:30 and were sent to a great spot in the upper lot. On the ride up 28 from the NYS Thruway we were in a line of 20+ cars of which 2 continued to Plattekill. It was 13 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze.

We hopped right on the double and noticed all the new snow on the trails.
The valleys between the moguls had filled in with a fresh 4"+ of powder.


Skiers right of Upper Plunge had been groomed and continued down Giant Slalom. The lower section under the double was also groomed.

Our first run was down Northface. They groomed about 2/3 of the trail from skiers left. There was a layer of 4-6 inches of powder and it was like skiing in velvet. The snow was blowing up into our chests. I was happy my coat had a powder skirt. It stayed like this until around 11.

Freefall was  top to bottom ungroomed powder bumps. Blockbuster was 1/2 groomed skiers right.


There was much powder to be had in the trees. The blue and green trails were groomed. About late morning there were small "lift lines" forming on both chairs. This is a very rare occurance at Plattekill.

This "line" was about 2 minutes long.
 
The trails remained empty all day despite the large number of people on the mountain.

The Face trail was groomed skiers left. The bumps on skier's right were lovely, although that could be said for all the bumped up areas of the mountain.

Light snow began falling around 2pm. The steeper trails were bumped up. The blue trails did not have bumps, but they skied old school bumpy, not like a smooth carpet. I loved it.

All the lots were full and cars were parked about 8/10 mile down the access road.


We were glad we came to Plattekill. Despite the huge holiday crowd and big snow in the flatlanders' back yards, the trails were empty and the "lift lines" never were longer than a couple of minutes. The lodge was packed, but that can be expected on a holiday after a giant snowstorm.