Catskill Heaven: Weekend at Plattekill (12/13 - 12/14/14)

Harvey, I hope you like this..... SEE IN HD...

A change of weekend plans allowed us to check out a mountain we have heard great things about. That mountain you ask is Plattekill Mountain which is located deep in the heart of the Catskills in Roxbury, New York.

Plattekill Mountain is often referred to as the Mad River Glen of the Catskills and is known to offer the most varied terrain for skiers and boarders within 3 hours of New York City.

For years we opted to ski more convenient mountains like Hunter and Windham or at times drive longer and further North to other ski areas; sadly and always passing this mountain up. This time, our opportunity came and we decided to make the drive and too see if this mountain would feel and ski like Mad River Glen, which is arguably one of our most favorite mountains in the East.

Upon our arrival we were greeted by all the staff and right away we felt at home. This place was inviting to all and the mountain though not the biggest, offered some nice looking, steep and long face runs and you could see there were many trails stemming off them. One run could become 3 when you count all the glades and bike trail that you are allowed to ski (at your own risk).

After two full days of skiing, meeting some of the coolest and hardcore skiers, teles-skiers, boarders in the New York City area, we would say hands down, this is the best mountain to ski in the Catskills, followed by Belleayre then Hunter following with Windham.

This is a ski mountain and not a resort. There is nothing fancy about the mountain but, it has so much more charm than many of the other places we have visited. Belleayre has that feeling too.

Naturally this is our opinion and we love Hunter and Windham too, though I will say that with all the years of my skiing at these mountains, we have not ever been greeted and accepted and incorporated into the family the way Plattekill has. A very close second would be Belleayre in the same area.

We hope you like our video. This place to us was "Almost Heaven."

A-men brother. Platty is my home mountain. So glad you tried it,I knew you would love it. I always tell anybody who will listen to give it one try and they always wanna go back for more.

Sweet. Glad to see y'all loving it Ray. The vid was a real nice touch, raises the bar for future TRs.

Ted, your stills are awesome, but shoot us some vid please !

I am very happy that you guys like these videos. It's all for the love of skiing and of course telling stories.

I just hope Harvey likes it :) since I think he and others her have talked about Plattekill to me for a couple of years now. So happy we made it and now to bring some others there too.

Nice family video - thanks for putting it together.

Ray - You've really outdone yourself with this one. Move over, Smugglers Notch TR. It was great meeting the family, hope we can get a lap in next time. Keep shooting wherever you go!

Thanks Matt! I was hoping you would like it. Ironically, I do have video of you coming out of the lodge! Not long though. I was going to sneak it in but, better to catch some turns with you.

Nice Ray.  I'm going to share this on Plattekill's FB page, so more will see it.

Sorry about the title change, just really want all TRs to have mountain name and date, including year, so they can be found in the future with the search function.  I realize I may be the only guy who actually searches for old stuff, but I do it a lot.

Nice going Ray.  I like that you put so much effort into your videos, I know it takes a lot of work.

Thanks Harvey.. This place is really special. I mean that too..

And thanks for the tip on the dates to accompany the title/subject.

Thanks to all of you that pushed us to make this journey there. We are definitely going back...!

The only thing you got wrong Ray was the "....almost..." part.  Platty is heaven on earth!

I am seeing the light for sure!

Thanks Marcski.  I am trying to make these edits better and I am glad you liked it. Well I hope you did.

ML242 - I am not sure if you know of Jordan Manley but, this is from him.

Hi Ray,

Nice video. Lots of soul, as always. The music was a good selection. Cool that you guys can both ski and work on the representation of your experience in the hills together as well. As for feedback -- perhaps keep an eye out for the details that make the mountain special and unique and include those in your future edits.

I wish you and your family the best this holiday season, and hope the snow falls for you.

Cheers,

Jordan

Flattered... It's the mountain. What a special place....

Skiray wrote

ML242 - I am not sure if you know of Jordan Manley but, this is from him.

Hi Ray,

Nice video. Lots of soul, as always. The music was a good selection. Cool that you guys can both ski and work on the representation of your experience in the hills together as well. As for feedback -- perhaps keep an eye out for the details that make the mountain special and unique and include those in your future edits.

I wish you and your family the best this holiday season, and hope the snow falls for you.

Cheers,

Jordan

Flattered... It's the mountain. What a special place....

Very cool.  That is about the best critique and response you'll get on a ski video!!  Do you know where he saw your videos?

Platty has lots of details that make it unique too!  

 

Marcski - we became friends about 3 or 4 years ago but, virtually.  Down to Earth guy and currently on the mend from a head injury he had about a year ago.  

I will ping you, Harvey and ML242 for some laps and too portray the uniqueness of this mountain. Oh - by the way - I have gotten so many emails form people that love this video. I have to say, it's the mountain and the people there that made this a good vid..

Really sweet vid Skiray. Your patroller bud David is a very solid skier. It makes me think I could almost live out there again. Thanks for putting that together.

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Ray,

If I were you I would pull your post down and leave the stickers up. There's no need to portray them in an unflattering light or badmouth them. Even if you feel that this is unsatisfying feedback, take A LOT of solace in the fact that your videos get better each time, AND that it was good enough to warrant a response.

As much as everyone here loves the videos, I think part of the enjoyment we get is watching your love for your kids and family and that the places you go resonate with us automatically. I'm sure that both the storytelling and production will continue to get better and that you'll be able to bridge the gap if you want to.

Cheers, looking forward to the next one.

Done.. Thanks..

Skiray wrote

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Ray sorry about the snarky delete message.  One time somebody got all bh and quit the forum he went back and deleted a huge amount of his 538 posts and it kinda pissed me off.  If you want to override that just put something there.