Catamount Conditions

Catamount looks nice. The beer looks awful!  I haven't been there in years. We used to have passes there when my girls were very young.  Vacation week crowds don't look too bad.

Marcski wrote

Catamount looks nice. The beer looks awful!  I haven't been there in years. We used to have passes there when my girls were very young.  Vacation week crowds don't look too bad.

Ha! You are right I drink crap beer. No denying that! But seriously, did you see the size of that freakin' pickle?

i hate that sign, i say we give the mountain to Massachusetts.

Heading up this Sunday 3/1 do you guys think the crowds will be manageable? Also any discounts besides ski shops to far from Long Island?

Second hand report from Saturday; apparently skiing pretty good.

These guys are not 100% open but I can say they're fully recovered from the thaw; nice surface almost everywhere on the mountain

Just saw that the new owners (Berkshire East)  are installing another lift that came originally from Magic. Probably not a big game changer for Catamount but nice to see.

Brownski wrote

Just saw that the new owners (Berkshire East)  are installing another lift that came originally from Magic. Probably not a big game changer for Catamount but nice to see.

What I find most promising is that neighbors are supportive of the plans.  That was not the case when Catamount tried work with a real estate developer.  While a new lift for beginners is nice from a snowsports perspective, creating new lodge space is more important for the bottom line.  When I stopped by in early June and walked around the base, it was clear the lodge was suffering from deferred maintenance.  It was also clear that the owners cared a great deal about their customers.  There were framed collections of ski-related license plates and lift tickets from other regions.  I found my home mountain of Massanutten in Virginia.

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/major-renovations-planned-for-catamount-ski-area,548252

". . .
With the new construction, Catamount is planning to host large events such as weddings and concerts — which is new for the ski area.

For the July public hearing, neighboring residents sent letters and emails of support for the plans to town officials, according to Egremont records. "The facility improvements requested will provide a facelift of existing structures and the new ski lift will be an easier transition for first time skiers," wrote Mark Roggen, of Second Street.

The new lodge planned for Catamount will be about 7,600 square feet and be used for ticket sales, ski rentals, lockers, restrooms, retail shops and seating.

The renovations for the existing lodge include a new roof and siding as well as interior updates.
. . ."

Yes. I’m not sure I can correctly recollect all the details but, even though  Catamount may or may not be a good fit for a big real estate thing, the people that objected were being pretty shortsighted and territorial about it. Hopefully the place will do well under the new ownership. It’s a great family place.

Wow, once the permits were issued this summer the new owners of Catamount wasted no time getting construction and renovations started.  The update posted on the Catamount in Sept 2018 includes pictures of a new roof going on the main lodge, work for the new triple for beginners, excavation for a new base lodge, and a new 10" pipe for snowmaking water.  More snow guns and two new groomers will be available for the 2018-19 season.  Even invested in a winch cat.  The update is signed by Jim and Jon Schaefer (brothers, sons of Roy), not some marketing Director.

https://www.catamountski.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/SchaeferletterSept2018.pdf

". . .
On the snowmaking and grooming front we are scheduled to receive 80 new HKD snow guns and 5 SMI Pole Cats this fall. Two additional Prinoth grooming machines arrive this fall as well and will take good care of the great snow produced by these energy efficient snow guns. One of these vehicles is a winch cat that will be responsible for grooming the double diamond Catapult trail among others.
. . ."

This is very good. Catamount was in need of capital improvement. They had very old snowmaking equipment. I'm sure this will help put out a better product.

At Catamount this morning.  Considering the rain earlier this week, they have done a great job keeping the trails in very good condition.  Most everything is open with good coverage.  Catapult getting scraped down by mid-morning.  All the greens and blues are well covered.  

Haven't been here in 4 years.  Looks like they have spent some real money on improvements.

Petronio

Love Catamount. How bout a TR later?

I heard there's a lot of new stone veneer work and it looks good.

Brownski wrote

Love Catamount. How bout a TR later?

Sorry, not enough energy or time for a TR.  We were only there for 3 hours, had to get daughter back for dance/singing rehersals in Wappingers.  I did take a couple of quick pics:

New interior of main lodge:


Moguls on Off Stage -- got more bumped up as day progressed:


On Stage:


Catapult on the left, Lower Glade on the right:


Grins:


Petronio

Made it up first thing. The place is skiing pretty good for such an early opening

I almost got over to Catamount today but couldn’t quite make it happen. Some of the reports I read gave me the impression they might be spared the rain, though nobody could avoid these ridiculous temps. I just looked at the webcam though- could be a lot worse I think.



I guess their snowmaking improvements are paying off for them.

Snows pretty good today (especially u see the guns) but holy crap it’s cold

Sunday 1/19/2020 - took my daughter so this won't be a full mountain report since we stuck mostly to the Mass side.  Generally speaking, the snow was good.  Some cat-tracked "packed powder" in some spots, and genuine packed powder in others, all with a 4-5" fresh coat of actual powder on top.  Slarvy turns were the order of the day.  The sun peeked out from time to time, and when it wasn't sunny it was snowing, oddly.

Bigger crowds in the lodge and longer liftlines than I've ever seen there, and I've skied there since the 80s.  We were actually turned away from the lot (couldn't get the kid out the door in time to arrive before 10), but found an open spot as we were "turning around."  Sure it's a little inconvenient, but I'm happy to see some visitors subsidizing my local hill!

Overall I'd say if this were a normal Sunday without the crowds it would have been an epic Cat day.  As it was, it was pretty fun skiing interspersed with a lot of not-as-fun waiting around.  This week and the upcoming weekend should be good if they continue with all the blowing and grooming they've been doing.