Go West (Mountain), Young Man!

I’ve wanted to ski West Mountain for a long time. When I was a kid, every time we drove to Vermont my dad would look over from the highway and say “we should stop there sometime.” On my most recent trip north I saw the lights from the highway, and remembered those childhood car rides. On the return trip I decided to stop, and what I found surprised me.

For me, showing up at a ski area in the late afternoon was unique and memorable. When we arrived, we were greeted on the triple side by a couple of friendly snowmobilers who gave us directions to the proper base area. The young lady at the ticket counter could have been the owner’s niece judging by the way she carefully sharpied the expiration time on our lift tickets.

Continue reading

Hunter Mountain Holiday: A New Hope

All stories have a beginning, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out exactly where the beginning is. Like when you’re reading Tolkien, do you start with the Hobbit or the Silmarillion? Episode I or IV?

Hunter Patrol

And more personally — was it when I met Amy that I decided to torture her or was it just the other day when I suggested that she come with me on her first day trip to the Catskills? It wasn’t easy, but somehow we managed to get out the door before dawn and reap the rewards: Christmas skiing at Hunter good enough to bring her back again.

Continue reading

Catskill Double Play: Windham and Hunter

This season Mother Nature has slowed us all down to some extent. But this week it wasn’t really the weather holding me back — I have Gore-tex hard shells, soft shells, and RAIN-X on my windshield. The real issue has been the hesitance of northeastern resorts to commit to all-in snowmaking in the face of a warm, wet forecast.

On Tuesday night, a quick surf of the web revealed that Windham was offering the greatest number of open expert trails in the Catskills. I hadn’t skied there in a few years, and wanted to get back to the hill.

I skated up to the Whirlwind Quad and said good morning to a welcoming liftie. There weren’t any lines and I was so jazzed to be skiing that I didn’t buckle my boots until I arrived at the top. Skiers were already making their way down, carving turns, and ripping.

Continue reading