Plattekill 4-14-2018

Last Saturday at Plattekill was spectacular



It turns out there’s a kind of tyranny in the max pass. It was great and everything but it herded me towards mountains I wouldn’t normally ski for most of the year. It was still pulling me towards other destinations Friday night but it seemed like the Plattekill forecast featured the shortest period of possible rain and the highest potential for fun so somewhere on the Palisades parkway Saturday morning I made the decision to spring for a couple late season tickets- max pass or no. We took what I call the “western route” - rt 17 to Roscoe, then up and around the Pepacton Reservoir. It may be a minute or two longer but the scenery is way better.



When I got our tickets, Lasz was downstairs thanking people for coming which was pretty nice I thought. Me and junior met up with Harv by the triple and caught first chair together. The clouds cleared away very early, no rain materialized and the temps warmed up as the day went on. Almost right away we were stripping layers. I didn’t take as many pics as I might have but I occasionally pulled my phone out.




Skiing at Plattekill with Harv is a lot like skiing with Skiray at Pico. Everybody knows him and is happy to see him. There’s lots of laughing and sharing of beta and you end up skiing around in big groups. It’s a blast. We hit almost everything eventually.

I thought I must be skiing great cause people kept calling out to me from the lift but then I realized they were praising my skis not my skiing. I was on my 80s era K2s which always get lots of comments.

Blockbuster probably had the best coverage and snow but I think I enjoyed Freefall more even though it had enough bare patches that it required a little weaving and stitching to put a line together. For me the trail of the day was Ridge Run which was almost 100% stitching-together-patches. Not everybody was happy with it, especially a little section right before we bailed back onto Northface towards the bottom where we only had about four inches of ice and slush on skiers right for about fifteen or twenty feet. Maybe it makes me a pervert but I really love that shit. It helps when you’re on thirty year old skis I guess.

Junior had fun too. I didn’t bring him on Freefall but he skied everything else, including Blockbuster (below)



I saw these guys pulling hose down the hill on Blockbuster.



And Patrol bringing tower pads down





The deck of course



I got a little sunburned but damn was it worth it. I hope it’s not my last day of the season but if it was I could do a lot worse.

Nice report, Brownski.  Sorry, I missed you and Junior and the rest of the NYskibloggers who made it on Saturday.

Great report and pics!  I would have loved to close out my season at Platty this past weekend, but comittments at home would allow for it

Yeah, Marc
I was thinking while I was up there that it was too bad you and the hoff missed out. What a beautiful day.
Joneski
There’s still Killington!

Agree, spectacular. The whole day was ripping. Great to ski with the Brownskis.

We took an adventurous early morning jaunt down ridge.


Junior

Freefall required mudskiing, a 20 foot huck or cutting in below the headwall.

The day remains as a sleeper great one, especially for those of us who missed the 4/7 Powday.

BTW I'm all in on the freedom pass, if it there is such a thing.

So nice - I too think it's great when they leave "partial" trails open.  It's a nice challenge to piece together a run!

So did anyone get to ski those new "trails" we cut in the fall?  As my bad luck would have it I had to let my two "hard labor" free lift tickets lapse.

Thanks Harv! I’m gonna make sure junior sees that. The bottom of Plunge was just patched-out enough to be fun as well. We forgot to mention as the day wore on a huge puddle developed between the base of the double and the runout from north face and plunge. There was a pretty good impromptu pond-skimming show going on over there most of the afternoon. Maybe somebody got a pic of that but I didn’t.

onscott wrote

So nice - I too think it's great when they leave "partial" trails open.  It's a nice challenge to piece together a run!

So did anyone get to ski those new "trails" we cut in the fall?  As my bad luck would have it I had to let my two "hard labor" free lift tickets lapse.

I used my ticket a ways back but I didn’t get into the trees. There’s always next year.

onscott wrote

So nice - I too think it's great when they leave "partial" trails open.

Open was, in this case, in the eye of the beholder.

Harvey wrote

onscott wrote

So nice - I too think it's great when they leave "partial" trails open.

Open was, in this case, in the eye of the beholder.

Open boundries...just another reason to LOVE Plattekill.

Brownski wrote

Skiing at Plattekill with Harv is a lot like skiing with Skiray at Pico. Everybody knows him and is happy to see him. There’s lots of laughing and sharing of beta and you end up skiing around in big groups. It’s a blast. We hit almost everything eventually.

Ha.. We are both infamous!  Brownski, thanks for the shout out again. We are LONG overdue a trip back there and to Gore.  Season was good though it came late, and the middle was eh and the end is strong

Great story.. And your skiing is solid , even on your old K2's!

Ray

Thanks Ray. Might still get another couple days at Killington

To me that is quite a compliment. Probably second after "a good father" to me is "fun to ski with."  Thanks broski.