Skinning at Plattekill?

Hello,

I am interested in doing some skinning tomorrow morning at Plattekill, was wondering if anyone has done it before/knows if Plattekill has a specific policy with regard to hours, lift tickets, preferred uphill routes, etc. I searched their website and couldn't find any info, also emailed them but haven't received a response yet. I just want to make sure I'm not doing anything illegal or frowned upon.

Thanks in advance for responses!

Been there a few times in past years and have never seen anyone doing it. Of course that doesn't mean they don't allow it. I would suggest calling them and asking, that's the surefire way to get the correct answer (assuming the person that answers knows what you're talking about  ).

This is normally not an issue. Sean Riley skins there all the time. Give me an hour I'll see if I can get it from Laz.  You never know when something extraordinary could be going on.

While on skinning: what about skinning other areas near Platty like Bobcat, Highmount,Cortina or any other closed areas? I have a new AT setup and looking for places to try once the snow cover comes.
Thanks for any info

I heard Bobcat is no go.

Sorry nothing back from Laz. They probably have a party going on.

I'd say go for it at Platty, but check in at the office.  Buy a beer when you are done.

:)

I ended up going New Years morning. I had to buy a trails pass which was $15, still a good deal considering I was taking advantage of the snowmaking at Plattekill. The morning was sweet, the trails that were open was skiing pretty well. Around 10:30 the lift broke down, and patrol did a sweep to get everyone off the mountain. I was hoping I would still be able to keep skinning but they told me I had to go down and wait for the lift to be repaired. A bummer but I guess it was necessary for liability reasons. 30-40 minutes later the lift was repaired and I was able to make one more lap. More crowds had arrived at this point and the trip up was just a little bit scary. Then I was off to hike Indian Head and Twin for a beautiful late afternoon hike, and to scout out a spot I thought might be good for skiing.

Overall a good experience. My goal was to keep my legs in shape for the backcountry, and it was certainly accomplished. The lack of snow up there is certainly depressing, but props to Platty for making the best of a bad situation.

I don't have any experience skinning at any closed ski areas, but I have done several tours in the Catskill backcountry. The Spruceton trail down Hunter is a great ski, mellow at first with some fun turns around switchbacks. Slide is also a good option, as well as Heisinger Rd on Bearpen Mountain. I'm sure there is much more fun stuff out there that I have yet to discover. All Catskill high peaks have been skied, although I doubt you'll find many people trying to ski down Rocky or Balsam Cap. Just need some more snow!

Thanks kind sir. I'am guessing it's like an underground hidden sub culture when it comes to good BC skiIng in the cats.

I think for the catskills, it would be more about catching that brief window between a storm falling, and it turning to brick hard crust.

Skinning up at Platty
She said it takes about 40mins to go up

Speaking of skinning in the Catskills...

Does anyone know where I can find more info about other Catskill resorts? Plattekill is a bit of a drive from me. I've heard of folks skinning at Bellearye- does anyone know who I should contact or where I can get more information about this?

Anyone know about an uphill travel policy at Hunter? (Does that seem far-fetched to anyone else besides me?)

I emailed Belleayre and they said they do not allow skinning. Since Belleayre is surrounded by state land I would guess you could skin up to the east of the ski area and take the trails down but I'm not sure. If you spot a car there's a really nice hiking trail that goes up the east side of Belleayre and continues onto the summit.

Isn't the point of skinning to get away from the resort?

Yeah in most cases, but back when I started this thread natural snow in the Catskills was pretty much nonexistent, so I wanted to keep my uphill legs in shape.

Seconding Spruceton trail... thanks to jjp24, I headed up today. The skin trail up to the firetower is fast but not at all icy, and everything to the sides was plenty fluffy.

And there were even some fresh tracks to be had, four days after the storm. Pretty much a perfect Saturday. (Thanks, jjp24.)

Nice! Looks like the Catskills finally have a decent snowpack.

Hmm, if there were only a place to skin up near Belleayre, I couldn't think of where.

Efilnikufesin wrote

Hmm, if there were only a place to skin up near Belleayre, I couldn't think of where.

Indeed.

Speaking about skinning at ski areas:
http://unofficialnetworks.com/2015/02/vermont-ski-hill-radically-expands-uphill-policy

Saw this a couple weeks ago; just remembered I had it on my phone