Plattekill and the Catskills 2/4 -2/6

Well, after the a horrible display of skiiing at Gore three weeks ago, I had nowhere to go but up.  The family decided to blitz the Catskills for Superbowl weekend skiing Hunter Friday, Bellayre Saturday and saving Plattekill for last on Super Sunday.   To refresh everyone on the conditions leading up to this weekend,  NYS had a good snow event last Wednesday (2/3) followed by a warm sunny day Thursday.  This set Hunter up for a freeze-thaw situation with falling temps on Friday that kept the ungroomed bulletproof and death-cookie-y.  The groomed stuff was firm but fine.  Saturday brought about rain, heavy at times.  The snow at Bellayre softened up but we were soaked by the afternoon.  The highlight of the day was my wife and I hiking to Cascade Brook and having the rain let up just long enough to have a great serene hike and nice run down with no one in sight the entire time.  Almost spooky.  

It continued to rain throughout the night at Hunter (where we were staying for the weekend), so I was not expecting anything spectacular for Plattekill.  The last time I really skied there it was the mid 1990's. At that time, the T-Bar double diamond was in full swing and the moguls were the size of VW bugs.  When we arrived Sunday morning, it was foggy and misting with the car thermometer telling us 27 degrees.  Harv tried to set me up with Sean "The Wizard", but he was working.  However,Harv was told his son Josh would pinch hit.  Unfortunately, we called his cell, left a message but never did get to hook up with him. So me and the Mrs. were left to our own self-guided "re-discovery" of the mountain.  

From a trip report perspective, here are the highlights of my observation of Plattekill:

1. The snow tigers ski school program is fantastic! The program is designed for skilled 4-6 year olds who can ski from the "top" of Plattekill. Way to go Laz for starting this program!  Our 4 year old has been on snow since he was two and can ski any green and most blues (J-turning, not power wedging), but when he goes in "kids camp" style group ski schools, we get the same comment from all his instructors at lessons' end: "He has a tough time focusing, he should really be in a private lesson."  With snow tigers, you get a 1 on 1 or 2 student to  1 instructor ratio for $65 for 2 hrs.  My son skied more in 2 hours than he did in the two full prior days at Bellayre and Hunter combined.  His instructor was terrific and I will be sure to come back to Plattekill just for snow tigers!  I highly recommend this program to anyone who is in a similar situation with their 4-6 y.o. kid.

2. The VW bug moguls were not there anymore on the double diamonds.  Yes, there were some bumps in places, but it was actually fresh/cut up stuff on top of groomed terrain.  That new groomer must be crazy good to climb those steep faces.  I also noted a lot of snow making.  There was lots of evidence of investment in the mountain.  

3. The double chair that replaced the T-bar is pure heaven.  No more quad burn on the way up!  Sorry Hickory.  

4. The cafeteria is retro cool, the food is really good and the bar located at the top of the building is one of the coolest I've ever seen and they play great music.  

5. Tree skiing is ample.  That said, the conditions were not great for diving in.  There was styrofoam breakable crust and it was not worth getting injured.  I would love to ski it with more tolerable off-piste conditions.  

Bottom line:  When there's snow, Plattekill can't be beat.  The double diamonds are steep, but not Rumor steep, just fun.  There are lots of side trails with double fall lines and the trees are ample.  The vibe is totally cool with Carhartt overall wearing patrons, as well as some real rippers.  Lastly, we bought "flex tickets" at Potter Bros for less than $30.00 a pop!  Please Support this mountain.  My wife and I were like  2 out of about 4 total telemarkers we saw that day.  Let's get some more free heels on the mountain.  How about Harv organizing a get together on the next Plattekill "flex" weekend day?  I'll have pics tomorrow.  Left my camera at work.

Great report. I would have liked to see pix from your hike at Belleayre on Saturday.

Exactly how crunchy were things at Plattekill on Sunday? I'm wondering if the on-piste was as rock-hard as what I skied at Windham.

I just so happen to have a pic of that hike taken from my wife's camera phone.  I will post it, along with the Plattekill pics from Sunday on my point & shoot.

Sorry for all the individual posts for each pic.  I didn't realize you can add multiple pics at one time.

Last pic of the post.  To take the Plattekill Challenge, I learned I needed to include a lift ticket from my visit on Superbowl Sunday.

Got to agree - a great report. In my mind this report is a good example of valuable info coming out of TRs.

Sorry about the disconnect with Josh. I got an email while on the hill Saturday from Lisa saying that with the rain, they weren't going to make the trek to Platty. With cold fingers and my phone, I thought I had forwarded that note to you, but it sounds like it didn't make it through.  Again apologies.

telerider wrote

...we get the same comment from all his instructors at lessons' end: "He has a tough time focusing, he should really be in a private lesson...

We've been buying a combo of privates and groups for Neve.  I do feel like she has trouble concentrating. Last weekend she was cutting pretty good turns but she was telling the instructor the whole story of ET at the time. CONCENTRATE girl! This stuff is expensive!

telerider wrote

How about Harv organizing a get together on the next Plattekill "flex" weekend day?

I personally can't get to Platte until March 15 or later this year. Might be too late to organize it, but I am totally in favor of the idea.  I know Laszlo will play ball with any decent concept to promote his hill.