Plattekill: Gotta Go To Know

Skiers say “you gotta go to know.” The saying implies that the skiing is often better than forecasts indicate. If you’re a local, it’s pretty simple, go and you know. For a flatlander, it’s a bit more complicated: make an educated guess, go, and then you’ll know, for sure.

Plattekill parking lot

My new thing seems to be single ski day weekends. This has been cutting down on my days, but it has also helped me compete in real life, allowing me to get $hit done on Saturdays. My wife has sensed the new pattern. On Friday she said to me, “Where are you skiing Sunday?”

I always keep an eye on Plattekill, for a lot of reasons. For one, skiing there makes my life a lot easier.

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NYSkiBlog’s 8th Annual Meeting

This 8th Annual Meeting recap was not supposed to be authored by me. I’ve already got two front page posts in a row, how much more can you take? I’m posting this one because it’s personal.

shovel snow on the ramp

It was no coincidence that I went all out last week, with three day trips in seven days. Two of those trips were the farthest I’d ever gone for a single day. On Sunday Scottski and I round tripped Gore, and on Wednesday we did it again to McCauley.

As I turned the page on another year, the multi-faceted “birthday effect” was again in play. My motivation to chase snow is even higher on my birthday. At the same time, those who count on me at home are more understanding about my disappearance into the mountains.

view from Upper Face
The Face

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McCauley Powder Odyssey

We all know what’s coming, there’s no hiding from it. This week Scottski and I were looking to bank some powder euphoria for a rainy day. We needed some new snow and we needed it now.

McCauley Mountain Road
McCauley Mountain Road

We considered a return to Gore, where they had picked up another 5 inches since our great day on Sunday. Other options included SoVT, Snow Ridge and McCauley. It was my birthday, so Scottski, Matt and Stu let me pick. I chose McCauley.

The same storm that put Gore in the sweet spot last weekend, rained on McCauley pretty good. We wondered if the mountain had been stripped down to bare earth.  Afterward, snow started to fall again and by Monday morning Big Mac reported seven inches of new snow since that soaking rainfall.

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