Plattekill Conditions (2017 - 2018)

Thinking bout Saturday to appreciate your efforts. Little worried bout precipitation in liquid form. Guess we will be deciding Friday night. Any thoughts or insights?

billyymc wrote

It seemed like they must have gotten a little rain later in the day yesterday, then some additional snow overnight. THe conditions on the ungroomed trails were a couple inches of powder, over crust, over about 7 or 8 inches of powder.

Yeah, the storm switched over to rain/sleet mix for about an hour, and the switched back to snow. So there is that layer of crust in there.

Its spring bump season here today!

Yeah, Platty was great today. Soft and sweet. Also surprisingly crowded! (Still less than 2 minute lift lines). They were parked down the road:

Not sure I'd describe it as "soft and sweet" The snow was definitely edgable, but also extremely heavy. and not like spring corn. More like sticky mashed potatoes. I never seen more wipeouts in one day.  Nonetheless, it was not a bad day for those who knew what they were doing.  

This made me laugh. Hard to see in the picture, but this guy was trying to teach his kid to ski using one of those leash/harness things. I noticed on my previous trip out the triple, dad was trying to get the kid to ski, and he would go a few feet, and then fall over. Then he'd pick him up, he'd go a few more feet, and fall over. Next ride up the triple, and he's literally dragging the kid down the mountain.

This kid will learn to ski weather he wants to or not. Wish I had a better pic!



Also, great yard sale on Overlook. This is why Overlook needs to be marked as a blue.

That dad is Jerry of the Day,  Harnesses are only supposed to be used with very little kids ages 2 and 3 and shouldn't be used on anything but the bunny hill.  If it's being used to slow the kid down, the trail is too steep and it's counterproductive because it pulls the kid into the back seat.

I'm with MC. Definitely a super fun day. The ungroomed, natural snow trails were a blast.  It did get a bit heavy and sticky in the afternoon, but it was hero snow all over the mountain. Couldn't lose an edge if you tried.

Ethan Snow wrote

Also, great yard sale on Overlook. This is why Overlook needs to be marked as a blue.

Somehow I don't see that happening.

IMHO, Overlook is a green. I don't find that it really has any steep sections beyond a green level. It is a bit narrow for a green trail...but that is part of it's old school appeal.  I think the guy probably fell due to the wet, natural snow more than the trail itself being too difficult.

I agree with Marcski. It's definately a green. Beginners can build up too much speed and yard sale anyplace. It's impossible to entirely protect people from themselves. Overlook is not steep enough to be a blue.

snoloco wrote

That dad is Jerry of the Day,  Harnesses are only supposed to be used with very little kids ages 2 and 3 and shouldn't be used on anything but the bunny hill.  If it's being used to slow the kid down, the trail is too steep and it's counterproductive because it pulls the kid into the back seat.

i taught my kids with one of those at age 3. you need to keep the skis in the wedge position by attaching the ski tips. we would top to bottom mountains using the harness. i only recommend the kids spend 4-6 days on it. they pick things up fast at that age.  

Marcski wrote

IMHO, Overlook is a green. I don't find that it really has any steep sections beyond a green level. It is a bit narrow for a green trail...but that is part of it's old school appeal.  I think the guy probably fell due to the wet, natural snow more than the trail itself being too difficult.

I agree, it really doesn't have the steepness you would expect from a blue run. Also, it may not seem steep to you and me, but we're basically expert skiers. I know when I've headed up Overlook on a quad in the summer, It appears much steeper than it does covered in snow. It's still steeper than Roaring Brook at neighboring Belleayre which is actually a Blue.

Plattekill was awesome today!

I've decided I actually really like skiing ice/hardpack. I think I'm literally getting addicted to the sensation of my skis trying to get away from me, and fighting back to keep up/hold edge. I've actually always somewhat thought this way about skiing, but this season has proved it to me. I've skied a lot of soft snow this season because it has pretty much either been fresh snow, or springlike conditions due to warm temps. Not a lot of true hardback.

I don't ever want to ski soft snow again in my life!

Here's a few from Platty today. They turned the water on again. Skiing in that stuff is OK, but still not as good as ice.



I'm pretty sure there's something wrong in the electrical cabinet on the fan that's not running.

Walls of ice. Actually the top of plunge was pretty soft due to recent snowmaking.


Upper Face.

Ethan Snow wrote

Plattekill was awesome today!

I've decided I actually really like skiing ice/hardpack.

Lucky you live in the north east

Maybe 3 or 4 inches of snow overnight and fur strips at plattekill were really really good. By the time I left an hour ago I had never seen a crowd like that at plattekill never never never. It was twice as big as the biggest crowd I've ever seen there.

Curious how was the crowd handled?   How were lines?   Bodies on ground vs upright ratio?

Yeah, I noticed last year that the secret was definitely out. I’m never gonna like standing on line but I’m not gonna begrudge the place it’s success either. They gotta sell tickets to stay in business. God knows they’re not gonna get by if just cheapskates like me ski there.

Nice to know that I was right and that the Belleayre gondola is not drawing people away from Plattekill despite Laszlo's criticism of it.  I wonder if he will do some lift investment soon to handle the extra crowds.

There is speculation of another double (that they've already acquired from Tanglwood) going in at the bottom of the beginner area, and following the skiers right of Lower Face and unloading at mid. Novice Skiers would have the option of Lower Face (a somewhat difficult blue) Shredded Mozzarella (a fairly easy blue) and then there'd be a green trail cut across the mountain merging with lower Powder Puff.

This would help out a little, but I don't think many people would ride it because there's not many people who only want to ski half of an already small mountain.

I'd be very surprised to see the Double or the Triple being totally replaced any time soon. Plattekill has been very good with maintenance on both lifts, and they've invested a lot in recent years galvanizing chairs, re-painting the towers/terminals, replacing bull wheel bushings, and replacing sheave liners. They had the gearbox on the triple remanufactured two years ago. They've also made some significant electrical upgrades to both lifts including VFD drives, and PID closed loop motor controllers bringing them basically up to date with modern chairlifts electrically speaking.

I've skid Plattekill probably hundreds of times now and never in my life have I witnessed a shitshow of a mechanical failure like Hunter is currently undergoing.

Harvey wrote

fur strips

?