Plattekill, NY: Sunday Jan 8 2017

Ski Day 18: After driving to the Adirondacks Friday afternoon, I had a full day at McCauley on Saturday, merriment Saturday night, and very little sleep. Still I woke in North River at 4am, made coffee, drained the pipes and headed down Route 30 for the annual party at Plattekill.



I was the first customer in the lot and it was nippy.  Maybe 5 degrees and breezy.  Laz and Danielle looked super busy so I let them alone, booted up and headed out.

The double was spinning and patrol was heading to the top. I said to the liftie... "I heard that on your birthday, you can go up with Patrol?"  He looks me up and down and says... "you look like you know what you are doing." I certainly fooled him.

At the top I asked Patrol if they wanted me to hold off before dropping in... they suggested I christen the cord on North Face...


1st (and 2nd) on North Face

It was INSANELY trenchable. I got the first two runs making my own "corduroy 8s" down skiers left.  It was so carvy I was getting horizontal.

They were still blowing on Block, this was maybe day 4.  I tucked Buckle Down to get there, and just as I arrived they shut the guns down...



The mountain began to wake up.  I ran into Scottski and Catskill Freeheel. Eventually GetAmped tracked us down and it was game on.

Block had the huge whales down skiers right and a nice mix of natural, gun pow and weeds down skiers left.


Scottski

GetAmped was showing true leadership, blazing the best route through the weeds...



Meanwhile Mr C Freeheel himself was sneaking over to hammer tight lines on skiers right of the whales... what became to be known as "The Couloir."


Sneaky Pete drops in to Richie's Couloir

We skied all morning and it was COLD.  It was hard to recover any fingertip warmth lost from picture taking.  Still I skipped lunch because the skiing was so good.

At 1:30 as I was about to head into the bar to do my thing, when I saw Mr "One More Run on Plunge" Chris Stearns and somehow ended back on the lift.  The entrance to Plunge was comical, there was a rope across it tied so high that you didn't even have to bend down to "duck" it.


GetAmped on Freefall



Eventually I made it into the bar to buy a round. I gave my plastic to Dennis, tell him it's game time and walk around the bar and look for people with day tickets.  I told anyone who would listen about the tradition and some gave me the funniest looks.  This one guy was convinced it was a trick and that he was on candid camera.


It Started to Snow

Then a strange thing happened.  It had been snowing lightly all day, but it started to snow really hard.  I figured it would pass and tried to ignore it. But it didn't stop.

After 15 minutes, Scottski looks over and says "Look at that!"  I looked down he was in his street shoes too.

Reboot?  #reboot.


Back up top it was NUKING

Every thing was skiing great, but somehow we got the idea to head to the blues, Twist and Ridge Run for some dreamy goodness.



I'm super fortunate to have been born in winter. If you got to get older, I highly recommend an epic ski day each year to ensure that those birthdays are filled with stoke and emotion.



I love this hill.  Thanks to all for a day I will never forget.

Happy Birthday - looks like you had a great day. You have to love the reboot.

Those pictures sure look nice.

"I love this Hill". Nuff said :)
Greetings all.

It was a super fun day.  Thanks for the beer and for getting me out to ski.

Looks like the ultimate B-day celebration for a true fanatic.

Happy Birthday Harv... and Thanks Again for all you do with NYSB Forum/Blog.  It's nothing short of awesome.

 

Harvey wrote

Oh look, Garry Shandling was there. Nice. Happy B-day Harv !

Snowballs wrote

Oh look, Garry Shandling was there. Nice. Happy B-day Harv !

Seriously... I could put my figure on it until you said it...

Harv... Shandling is your Doppelganger.

Happy B day again Harv. It was an amazing day for sure

Thanks for the report, those pictures are insane.
Happy Birthday, wish I could have been there ,weed skiing.

Nice!

Looks a little crowded tho eh? Maybe you should have went to Huntah?

Good read!

Happy Birthday Harv, glad you're keeping the tradition alive.  

Blockbuster used to have the nickname "Hayfields"  back when we didn't have snowmaking and the weeds were visible all winter until the big dumps.  After a good grooming the weeds will be covered by all that glorious snow the snowmakers put out during this last cold snap.  I like the rename though, The Couloir.

Love it, Harvey! Was a pleasure and an honor to ski with you on your birthday.

Actually, it's "Richie's Couloir"

It was a blast! Thanks for making the day an event Harv!

Platty is my Catskill love too. Was there on the 2nd with the kids.
Great report and Happy Birthday.

HappyBday!

Harvey wrote

Full tilt boogie.