Author: Brownski

Kayaking North South Lake

Posted on by Brownski

I used to spend more time at North South Lake than I do now. When my kids were younger, we would go there for weekend camping trips or just to use the lake and beach for a day. It’s a great place to introduce kids to camping.

North South Lake map

In addition to swimming and hiking and canoeing at North Lake, there are all the other great things the Catskills offer in the surrounding area. Hunter Mountain is right up the road.

The trailhead to Kaaterskill Falls is right there and just a little further south is Esopus Creek where you can rent tubes and spend the afternoon floating downstream.

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Tagged: Catskills, Paddling6 Comments

Do You Remember Ski Totes?

Posted on by Brownski

I’ve heard it said that nostalgia is a powerful drug. I have to admit I indulge in it myself from time to time. Technology moves forward and most stuff we have today is better than it was thirty years ago. But it isn’t always more fun.

Take the Ski Tote for example. It’s just a cheap plastic clamshell device with a handle that makes it easier to carry a pair of skis and poles in one hand.

Ski Tote

When I started skiing in the 80s, you saw Ski Totes everywhere. Like glacier glasses and CB jackets, they were just there. I didn’t have one — I could barely afford skis — but the people that did were proud of them. They had a real cool-kid vibe.

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Tagged: Ski Gear17 Comments

Holiday Mountain: Back from the Brink

Posted on by Brownski

I became aware of Holiday Mountain, like many people, by spotting one of their chairlifts while speeding past on Route 17. It’s doubly intriguing because it’s a “floating bullwheel” design. A quick internet search for “ski area Monticello, NY” identified the hill. That floating bullwheel south of the highway is a great advertisement.

riding the J-bar 1962
The Holiday J-Bar 1962

I never followed through and checked out the place until I took OEC (Outdoor Emergency Care – ski patrol school) and started attending some extra classes and hands on training sessions there.

By then, Holiday had seen better days. They only had one lift operational — the one by the highway hadn’t turned in years.

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Tagged: Downstate NY, Expansion, Holiday Mountain24 Comments