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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Belleayre: Not Giving Up

It has been a good winter for skiing. In the grand scheme of things, that may be a trivial thing but there it is. I’ve been a nomad this winter. I skied more then ten different hills, including four new ones. Of course nothing lasts forever. The seasons change and we must move on. With the warm weather and impending rain, giving up on the ski season this weekend would have been understandable. But I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel.

Belleayre sign

I wanted to keep skiing. Until Saturday, I hadn’t included any ORDA mountains in my ‘20/‘21 ski odyssey so I figured it was a good time to take a break from exploring and retrace the well worn path to Belleayre Mountain in the Catskills.

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Plattekill: The Pull

As ski season moves into spring, I have to admit, I get weary of the driving. I worry I’ll sleep through the alarm, because secretly I want to sleep in. Ultimately, I answer the call because, as tired as I am, I know I’ll be jazzed, when I arrive at the mountain.

the road to Plattekill

Spring presents me with another related challenge. In the same way migratory birds are compelled to take predetermined routes at predetermined times, I can’t escape my drive to be on the first chair. Even in the spring, when it might not make any sense, I can’t seem to help it.

My plan is to arrive an hour before lifts spin. This gives me extra time to get stuck in a little traffic, or slow down if conditions are snowy.

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