Plattekill, NY: 2/12/12

Ski Day 17: It takes about the same amount of time to drive from our place at Gore to Plattekill as it does to drive there from our place in the flatlands.  But that route in from the north is a lot nicer.  Beautiful drive through the southern Adirondacks, a short stint across through the Mohawk Valley and then back into beautiful farm country in the Catskills.



Even better is that Plattekill is in a bit of a "magic" spot. Magic in the way that Lionel Hutz describes magic snow. Lionel's is usually referring to the magic of VT upslope... you know... no real "storm" in sight, but somehow NoVT is getting snow.

Plattekill's magic - at least from a snow perspective - comes from it's favored topography and position in relation to Lake Ontario. On what was a mostly sunny day, I pulled into the parking lot and it was snowing.  And it basically snowed all day.



Laszlo was making his own magic snow too. Saturday night, the wind direction looked favorable, and he made the call to blow on Blockbuster. For me it was yet another dream come true.  I booted up as quickly as I could and headed up the double to take my first shot at 1100 feet of Plattekill.



My first run was surreal. With snowguns blasting, I couldn't see anything. I made tentative turns, but never hit anything firm. On my second run, it was like a different day. A slight change in the wind, and visibility was actually good. On that run, I realized that the entire trail was covered with deluxe manmade pow, and on subsequent runs with less visibility, I didn't think twice and ripped.


Powderpuff

I knew that folks from The Diamond were in the house. I'd run into Diamond Dave in the lodge and we agreed to meet at the double at 11am if we didn't see each other sooner. We connected at the appointed time and headed back to Blockbuster.


Diamond Dave contemplates the Blockbuster headwall....


...and then drops in to rip.


ml242

Another trip back to the top of the Double...



...and a bonus: Plattekill seems to be a bit of a maggot magnet. Love skiing with those guys...


Lemmy Caution


moguljunkie

Plattekill had a snowboard race going on, and in the racers hut Laszlo (former DJ) was announcing race times, pumping out great tunes, and making people laugh.  You could hear the music most of the way up the hill.  The whole thing was a scene, and REALLY a lot of fun.

I had to be home early, so I took my last run at 2:00, again at 2:15 and finally for real at 2:30.  It wasn't easy to pull myself away. I always seem to leave Roxbury smiling.

Face it man, deep down, you're a mag. Awesome-sounding day.

Sounds like the snow that hit Greek headed straight to Platty, cool. Was it the consistency of pixie dust there too? I couldn't see farther than a hundred yards all morning. Was the boarder in the Jets jersey and hoodie there? I think I know who he is....

Awesome post, Harv... Wish I'd been there. Was scritch scratching around Squaw looking for snow....

Nice post but I was eagerly anticipating another lodge shot.  Love them old time ski lodges....

Here's one in the bar above the lodge, which, by the way, has an excellent new food menu.  What a fantastic day.  The snow on Blockbuster felt so damn good and visibility was mostly a cinch.  Snow was also solid on the runs that didn't have the benefit of fresh snowmaking.  And if you like old time stuff, here is the top of the old poma....



Oh, old ghost, how I wish I'd known you...

Thanks for sharing!  That bar looks like a cozy place to have a couple or more than a couple!

We get one of them southern storms and I'll make the trip from the North Country!

ScottyJack wrote

 
We get one of them southern storms and I'll make the trip from the North Country!

Sure you will...