Plattekill Opens 2019

The awesome early season storm that dropped 27 inches of snow on Hunter last week, also spread the love to some of our other favorite mountains, including Magic and Plattekill. Both mountains planned to open on Saturday December 7, and both stuck to the plan, taking advantage of cold temps to save the powder for opening day.

Plattekill Opening Day 2019
Belsky and Bro

Putting the financial wisdom of this aside for a moment, it also worked for us desk jockeys, giving us another shot at skiing that great storm.

Brownski and I discussed our assignments. He’s all in on the Indy Pass this year, so he and the boys were off to Magic. More on that later this week. For now let’s just say that for me, it felt right to be heading to Plattekill for opening day.

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Thanksgiving Monday POW at Hunter

Last week, after a major rain event on Tuesday, my hopes for a great weekend of family skiing were tempered. We made the call to sit out our traditional start to the season, at Gore, after Thanksgiving.  We opted to get our Christmas tree and hang out at home.

Hunter bar before first chair

While Winter Storm Ezekiel never made it on to my radar, I was vaguely aware of a chance for redemption late in the weekend.

As the week came to a close, forecast snow amounts grew, and my plan to watch the storm from my desk at work began to evolve. As I walked out of the office Wednesday evening, I called out “see you on Tuesday!” just in case.

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Fall Skiing at Killington

Every year, before I pull on my boots for the first time, I wonder, somewhat irrationally, can I still ski? This year, the feeling was especially strong. On the other side of 60, eventually something’s got to give, right? Maybe. I try not to think about it.

k1 Gondola

Outside of one memorable October day in the Catskills, Sunday was the earliest I’d ever opened my season. On Saturday, I traveled to the Adirondacks to honor the memory of a friend. It seemed logical to ski Killington before heading home the next day.

I’d tried to find a ski partner for the day, but came up empty. On Sunday I woke Harv-early, shut down our camp, and headed east to Vermont, as the sun was starting to rise.

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