Plattekill: Back with the Tribe

I hadn’t been to Plattekill since the NYSkiBlog annual meeting in early January. A week after that great day, I joined a long list of skiers I know who’ve gotten hurt this season, and I was out for a month.

Plattekill Lodge

I wasn’t happy missing several weeks right in the heart of the season. I also felt I had let Plattekill down. When I first discovered this place, I knew I wanted to contribute. I kind of assigned myself the responsibility of telling the story.

The Catskills have had challenging weather this season and from what I had seen from a distance it looked mountain ops had done a solid job in spite of it all. I’ve seen several reports of good skiing at Plattekill this year.

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Plattekill: Key to the Strategy

It’s no secret, I’m getting old. To ease the transition, each year I try to mark the milestone by skiing something that makes me happy. Last year I had covid on my birthday and it broke my streak of over 10 years, where every birthday was a celebration. This year I was determined to get back on track.

What am I thinking?

The common denominator in my birthday success over the last decade has been my focus on Plattekill. While my Jan 8 birthday is relatively early in the season, somehow, each year I’ve had a great ski day. Over those years conditions have ranged from acceptable to incredible, and I admit it doesn’t hurt that I totally love the place.

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The Queen of the Catskills

Queen of the CatskillsWe’d never known of Julie McGuire until the pandemic changed everything. All of a sudden it seemed she was all over Facebook ski groups like Ski the East and Skiology posting pictures of the Catskill backcountry, sharing adventures, stoke and her love for great beer. Based in the Hudson Valley, with a thing for Bearpen, she became known as The Queen of the Catskills, with a t-shirt to prove it.

Her irrepressible smile, open-book approach to her own personal struggles and unquenchable thirst for adventure are unique and hard to ignore. When she let it slip that she had the Haute Route on her resume, we reached out to interview her.

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