When you are based deep in the heart of the flatlands, day-tripping the Catskills requires dedication. In bed by 10pm, alarm set for 4:45 — another alpine start.
All day Friday, I tried to find a partner for Saturday’s ski. Jamesdeluxe was packing for Jackson Hole; Jason hit Hunter on Friday; and Xman was tied up. Left to my own devices, I ignored conventional wisdom and followed my heart, past every other hill in the Catskills, to Plattekill Mountain in Roxbury, New York.
Jamesdeluxe and I arranged a pre-dawn departure from NJ to take part in the maiden voyage of Hunter’s Kaatskill Flyer: New York’s first six-passenger detachable lift.
The Flyer is a beauty: comfortable, fast, and smooth. Things ran well today, with the spanking new lift designed by Leitner-Poma covering 1,477 vertical feet in a brisk five minutes. There were very few stoppages, and little confusion on the loading and unloading platforms.
As we get ready to kick off the 2010-11 season, Jamesdeluxe takes us to Vermont’s gorgeous Northeast Kingdom for yet another ski area that I’ve read about for years, but never had the chance to visit: Burke Mountain.
Often described as “criminally underrated,” Burke looks like a perfect stop on the way north to the Eastern Townships or Jay Peak.
In this issue of NY Ski Magazine:
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