Author: Steve Aaron

A New York Skier’s Season in Photos

Posted on by Steve Aaron

The 2022-23 ski season has come and gone for most of us, and looking back, mother nature delivered a bit of a mixed bag. The season started on a good note with a little early snow, followed by prolonged warm temps with little snow mid-season. Then, March snow storms really made for an outstanding late season into spring. Here’s a look at my season in photos.

Hunter summit

The early natural snow combined with snowmaking started the season with a feeling of optimism. Hunter got off to a good start making snow, and hope had me thinking we were going to see pre-pandemic level operations on the mountain.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Catskills, VT11 Comments

Hunter: Two Days, Two Trails, Too Fun

Posted on by Steve Aaron

Hunter Mountain opened Saturday November 19 with two main routes down the mountain – the Mainline and Belt Parkway. I was fortunate to ski days 2 and 3.

morning snowmaking

The unseasonable cool temps in the days preceding opening day enabled Hunter’s team to lay down plentiful volumes of high quality snow. On the two open routes, conditions resembled mid-January more than late November. Kudos to snowmaking for a great job getting the mountain open.

My first day, Sunday November 20 was cold and windy. Between the weather and the snowguns blasting, it really felt like mid-winter.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Catskills, Hunter8 Comments

Platte Clove: Off-Trail in the Catskills

Posted on by Steve Aaron

Platte Clove in the northeast Catskills is among the wildest sections of the range. It’s a deep ravine created by ice age glaciers that drops about 1500 feet in little over two miles. The clove contains 17 separate waterfalls and is home to some of the Catskills’ most primeval terrain.

Platte Clove waterfalls
Lower waterfall

I joined my friend Bruce on the Friday before Labor Day weekend for an exploration of the southwest corner of the clove. As a frequent hiker through the clove, Bruce is an excellent guide — happy to point out areas of interest and equally as happy to explore remote corners of the clove. It’s potentially dangerous terrain, but with Bruce leading the way, I was in good hands.

Continue reading →

Tagged: Catskills, Hiking15 Comments