The Catskills Blog

Hunter Mountain First Melt

Posted on by Harvey

Spring skiing is something you can count on. Or at least it feels that way. As the inexorable warming that starts in March continues to build, all that snow has to melt. When that happens the skiing has got to be good, right?

NY Thruway

The odds of scoring perfect corn snow may or may not be higher than the odds of scoring powder. I have seven pow days this year, and if I get seven corn days, I’ll be ecstatic. Still, I believe there’s a perception among skiers that good spring skiing is somewhat inevitable.

But the last two years haven’t worked out that way for me. Like many of us, last year I missed spring completely. I didn’t ski any kind of melt before my last day, on March 8.

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Tagged: Catskills, Hunter15 Comments

Windham Wonderland

Posted on by Liz

The 80’s track Blue Monday pumped out of the speakers as we bopped up to the Sixer. The throwback tune fueled the excitement of no lift lines. Bluebird on a Monday, with the hill to ourselves, perfection. We laughed as we rolled onto each lift – a complete 180 from the Sunday mass.

Full disclosure, I haven’t been to Windham in 10ish years, so I don’t know lots of things, like: do you hike to the Wilderness Bowl? Uphill traffic on a weekend!? Why was it called Cave Mountain? Anyway, I’m super stoked on this adventure.

The Giant and I arrived in the Catskills on Sunday to volunteer for The SHRED Foundation.

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Tagged: Catskills, Windham10 Comments

Plattekill Powderdaize 2021

Posted on by Harvey

There have been some drives, and there have been some drives from hell. Aside from the occasional bout with lake effect bands on my way into the Tug, most of those battles involve big coastal storms. Sometimes in the east, when it snows in the mountains, it snows in the flatlands too. Sometimes, I have to drive through it.

snow on Main Street
Main Street Flatlands USA

The new normal can complicate things. It’s always better to arrive in the mountains before the snow starts to fall. It’s often much easier to do that when you stay overnight.

We have a place in the southern Adirondacks and I have used it to my advantage. But in the Catskills this year, I’ve had to improvise. A few times in the past I’ve been able find a place to stay and it’s paid off.

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Tagged: Catskills, Plattekill, Powder16 Comments