Windham Wonderland

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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Plattekill Powderdaize 2021

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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A New York Ski Journey

For reasons you might know, I hadn’t skied in nearly a month. I knew I was out of shape, but not sure how far. I wondered about my wind, would it be affected? It was time to figure it out, on my first trip, back in the game. On Friday morning, I headed north toward the snow.

Plattekill

I still have this feeling that I’m on borrowed time, like skiing could go away at any moment. Planning to ski four days in a row was a sign, I was going to push it. It had been snowing all week, and physically there was no reason I shouldn’t ski.

My doctor, a skier herself, told me to “take it easy.” I think we both knew that advice would be heeded, but only up to a certain point.

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