Plattekill: Now I Get It

I’ve been lucky to ski many areas across New York, but I haven’t skied the Catskills, until now. When a nor’easter swept up the coast and blanketed the Cats in snow, it felt like the opportunity for Tiff and I to explore. We kicked things off at Belleayre on Tuesday for a sunny machine groomed packed powder day, after the storm. And on Friday we finally made it to Plattekill.

Front Four

Plattekill operates a little differently. As the last standing family-owned resort in the region, they aren’t chasing flashy. They’re typically open Friday through Sunday to the public, with private mountain rentals at various times during the week. Throughout last week, ten inches of fresh snow had stacked up. Our arrival on Friday was shaping up to be perfect.

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Belleayre: After the Storm

There’s something about tracking a nor’easter that adds a little extra electricity to a winter week. When a storm started lining up to bring 18+ inches to the Catskills, Evan was watching every model run like it was his job.

Belleayre gondola

As it turned out, the system shifted east and underperformed, but 7 inches still fell on Monday, just enough to freshen everything without complicating travel.

With kids back in school after Presidents Week and a midweek window on our calendar, it felt like the perfect excuse for a road trip. Of all the ski regions in New York, the Catskills are the least explored for us.

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Russ LaChapelle: The Bard of Bearpen

I first crossed paths with Russ LaChapelle in the fall of 2010; though, like many people interested in New York ski history, I’d encountered him years earlier through his quirky, deeply personal website.

Jam-packed with information about vanished rope tows, forgotten slopes, and half-erased ski dreams, it was clearly the work of someone who cared more about getting the story right than making it look polished or easily navigable (as much as was possible with internet technology back then).

Russ LaChapelle
Russ LaChapelle — photo ML242

When we finally connected on the phone, I explained the pitch I’d made to Harvey, editor of the nascent NYSkiBlog.

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