Plattekill

This is not really a trip report, just a few questions/observations about a recent visit to Plattekill Mountain.

Does anyone know what that house is that you can see uphill from the mid portion of Shredded Mozzarella?
Lat 42.292413°, Long -74.653539°
It looks to be boarded up. I was just curious. I find old relics of a ski area's past very interesting.

Also, I am sure there are some standards out there for ski trail difficulty ratings based on slope and other criteria. Without getting into a technical analysis, I wonder why Blockbuster, Freefall , Plunge and other trails are double black diamonds. They are all pretty steep and sustained, but do not seem "Most Difficult." Is this just relative to this particular ski area?

I also noticed that some of the trail ratings on on-hill signs do not match the ratings on the trail map. Chute, for example, is a intermediate on the trail sign but black on the trail map. Does anyone know if the ski area is in the process of changing these ratings?

One last thought, the ski area used to be called "Plattekill Ski Bowl" based on the cool old trail map in the lodge. I like that better than Plattekill Mountain because it really speaks to the site. I wonder what the extents of the property are. It looks there is some interesting terrain to the east and south of existing trails...

I really love Plattekill by the way. It has quickly become my favorite Catskill ski area.

ck1 wrote

 I wonder why Blockbuster, Freefall , Plunge and other trails are double black diamonds. They are all pretty steep and sustained, but do not seem "Most Difficult." Is this just relative to this particular ski area?

Skiing is not like golf.  There is not an official rating system, it's up to each ski area to decide what's beginner, intermediate, and expert etc....

That said, there would be very few true double black diamonds ANYWHERE in the east.

As for mismatched trails signs, I've noticed that too, I imagine they're legacy signs not removed from the former owner and the "new" ownership simply rated some trails differently.

BenedictGomez wrote

That said, there would be very few true double black diamonds ANYWHERE in the east.

I disagree. Have you ever skied the Goat (for example) at Stowe? I would put that trail up against most of the really challenging runs I've skiied out west. I am sure there are difficult and terrifying runs in the East, but I just can't think of them now. Sure, steep pitches are not as sustained on the East Coast, but dense conifers, multiple fall lines and ice make up for that in my opinion.

ck1 wrote

Does anyone know what that house is that you can see uphill from the mid portion of Shredded Mozzarella?
Lat 42.292413°, Long -74.653539°
It looks to be boarded up. I was just curious. I find old relics of a ski area's past very interesting.

Just to close the loop on this. Maybe I was the only one who was curious or didn't already know, but apparently this house was built by the former owner of the mountain as an attempt to promote ski-in/ski-out development at Plattekill. It was never finished, and the idea never took off. In my opinion that is a good thing. Apparently this former owner still owns the lot and building. I wonder if the Plattekill mountain property was subdivided. It would be cool to try to repurpose the structure and create some amenity for visitors - Another lodge/restaurant? Hostel? Turkish bathhouse?
 
I understand without vehicular access, access is a pain and service would be expensive.

By the way, has anyone skied Oz who would like to share the beta?