Plattekill Opening Day 2022

My ski season got off to a slow start. I’ve been obsessive, watching the weather, figuring out where to look for powder nirvana. After watching the storm track for most of last week, and not being able to ski Friday or Saturday, I set my alarm for 4:30 Sunday morning with plans to go to Magic or Plattekill.

When I awoke, I did a quick search online and opted to get a couple more hours of valuable sleep by skiing closer to home, at Plattekill. I grabbed a quick coffee and headed west into the Catskills. There were at least a couple of good omens: a beautiful sunrise and the mountain tops were glistening under a fresh layer of snow.

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Hunter Mountain Bump Contest 2018

When I saw the promo for a bump competition in the Catskills — Hunter’s Bud Light Bumps and BBQ — I made my plans. The sun was shining, the beer was flowing and there were smiles all around Saturday at Hunter Mountain.

For the record, my fifty-plus bones said no but my 22 year-old brain was all in. I arrived early and booted up. On my way through the parking lot I ran into Dave Reddick and Porter Fox from Powder Magazine, who are doing a feature on the Catskills. We warmed up with some photos and a quick slackcountry tour with Daniel from Hunter and Jaime from the Brunnette Wine Bar in Kingston. The snow was as manky as my telemark turns, but it was a good warmup for the competition.

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