The Girlfriend Experience: Hunter Mountain

As I waved goodbye to Matt from the motel parking lot, it dawned on me: if, for some reason, my friend Sean couldn’t make the drive up from the city that night so we could ski the next day as we’d planned — I’m screwed.

First-time-at-Killington
First Day on Skis: Killington 2009

I didn’t have much cell service, I didn’t have a car, I don’t even have a license. How would I get home? Wait around the whole week and take the Hunter bus back next weekend? Take a white-knuckle Uber ride back to Queens in some dude’s Camry? Do they even have Uber in Tannersville NY?

I strolled back into the lobby of the infinitely charming and slightly ramshackle Green Mountain View Inn and figured I’d get into the leftover wine from our previous evening and all would work itself out. The universe provides; the universe loves skiing.

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Hunter Mountain December 2014

In some ways, Hunter is the victim of its own success. On yet another drive up 87 with a recent transplant, I was asked to describe the hill. Being articulate or coherent at a quarter-of-six is hard work, so I settled on my gold standard of sports analogies.

Hunter Mountain December 2014

Hunter Mountain is kind of like the Yankees. Even if they win 100 games, the season is a failure if they don’t win the World Series.

Since not everyone knows about Baseball, The Yankees are not only my favorite team but they are historically, the most successful. And in other news, precisely because of this, they have as many passionate detractors as they have casual fans.

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Plattekill Opening Day 2014

At Plattekill Mountain, NY, the ski season started off with a bang. The 3-day storm that punished the northeast with rain and snow held on to cold temps near the mountains of Roxbury.

Plattekill Opening Day 2014

In the end we were left with a soft fluff that clung to the slopes with the tenacity of a much older base. Taking advantage of early season rates ($35 thru 12/21), powder hungry skiers gathered early for a chance at shredding the weeks accumulation as the lift turned for the first time.

Our group was wide-eyed and diverse.

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