Adirondacker Discovers a Gem

Part of being a ski race dad is traveling all over the state. It’s not my favorite thing, but it’s part of the game. I have to admit it’s great to experience new ski areas.

skiing-the-trees-at-plattekill

On our race trip to Hunter this past weekend, my son’s coach decided to train in the Catskills on Friday. My wife agreed to come down in a separate car, freeing me up to ski Plattekill and discover why NYSB skiers love the place so much.

I had a pleasant drive from Windham where we stayed, taking in the scenic farms and winding headwaters of the Delaware River. I was the fourth car in the lot and parked maybe 50 yards from the door. I met forum member frk driving in; we quickly connected and booted up.

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Plattekill Opens All Natural

For the second time in nearly 25 years, Plattekill opened the season with 100% terrain and all natural snow. If you were there, it sure felt like an historic occasion.

plattekill opening day 2016

I set my alarm for 4am, Catskill Standard Time.  As soon as I looked out the window, I knew I was on the wrong side of the clock. There was an inch on my car and it was snowing hard at 20 degrees.

When traveling to Plattekill, my goal is to arrive by 8:10.  This gives me a chance to say hello, and still make first chair. Realizing that snow in the flatlands would add time to the drive, I left at 4:30 am, even earlier than planned, to try to make up some time.

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Windham: Get ’em Going

My kids don’t exactly object to getting out of bed early. It’s more like they’re incapable of functioning without precise guidance before 8am. Each insulating layer requires new instructions. Putting on socks does not, apparently, imply that shoes should follow.

In spite of this, we made good time up the Thruway on Sunday. We arrived at Windham, parked, grabbed our gear and jumped on the shuttle bus. I left the kids to boot up while I got our lift tickets.

Junior made it to Hunter’s opening day with me, but Sunday was my 10 year old’s first day of the season. He’s stepping up to a longer pair of skis this year, so we got on D-lift, a fixed grip triple to start out mellow. The little grom did great but I noticed he was skiing really slowly.

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