The Catskills Blog

Spring Hiking in New York

Posted on by Steve Aaron

Ski season gave way to hiking season in April for me. After a few local hikes to stretch out the legs, in late April, my dog Stella and I joined my friend Ken for a hike up Wittenberg Mountain in the Catskills. This was my first “big” hike of the season, with the goal of meeting up with my daughter Alison and her friend Alice as they completed their Catskill 3500 peaks on Wittenberg.

Climbing Wittenberg

Ken, Stella and I started at Woodland Valley, trudging along to the base of the steeps of Wittenberg. The climb up the steeps was a great challenge so early in my hiking season and it went well for all three of us. There was one spot where I had to hand off Stella to Ken to pull her up a tall, steep section.

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Tagged: Catskills, Gunks, Hiking3 Comments

A New York Skier’s Season in Photos: 2023/24

Posted on by Steve Aaron

As I write this in May, some of us are still skiing Killington, but for me the season ended in April. Much like last season, this season started with optimism, followed by a mid-season lull due to poor weather, and it wrapped up with an absolutely amazing season end. As a photographer always carrying a camera when skiing, here are my favorite photos from the 2023/24 season.

Snowmaking Cloud On Hunter

This December photo from Hunter looks mundane at first glance. It’s a nice clear day, not too cold — very nice early season conditions. Interesting to me is the cloud created by the snowmaking. Follow that cloud downslope, then off the ski area far into the Schoharie Valley off to the right.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Catskills, VT21 Comments

Belleayre and Plattekill

Posted on by Harvey

I had one day to ski last weekend and for me, this year, that means the Catskills. I wanted to ski those intermediate pitched bumps underneath the Belleayre Express. I also yearned to be back with my people, at Plattekill, on what was likely closing day.

race course

Early in the week, Plattekill was promoting St Platty’s Day without specifically mentioning skiing. Believe me I get it, Saturday was a long ways off. I decided I’d ski Belle in the morning and head over in the afternoon for Plattekill’s most excellent corn beef and cabbage dinner special.

I arrived at Belle an hour before first chair. There were already hundreds of cars in the lot at Overlook.

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Tagged: Belleayre, Catskills, Plattekill8 Comments