The Catskills Blog

Plattekill Mtn, NY: October Pow

Posted on by Harvey

Plattekill Mountain snagged bragging rights as the first ski area to spin lifts in New York this season. With six inches of snow on Thursday and over a foot on Saturday, Laszlo Vajtay, Plattekill’s CEO, made the call later that night.

tBatt

While the decision caught some by surprise, Laszlo had indicated as early as Friday afternoon that if the second storm delivered over a foot, he would open for business.

ML and I had been discussing the possibility of skinning the mountain for turns since Thursday. And while we liked the idea of Plattekill being the first ski area in the state to open, we were selfishly hoping to have the hill to ourselves.

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Tagged: Catskills, Plattekill, Powder10 Comments

Funding New York’s State-Run Ski Areas

Posted on by NYSkiBlog

OpEd: Funding NY State Run Ski ResortsA recent editorial in the Glens Falls Post Star asked the question: “How much longer can New York taxpayers continue to subsidize ski centers at Whiteface and Gore Mountain?”

The next paragraph yielded a vague response: “It’s time for state officials to rethink the financial and ownership model that has sustained them for the past 30 years.”

With a sluggish economy and state and local tax revenues in decline, there’s no question that public funding for everything is becoming problematic. While the editorial poses a legitimate question, it ignores some important issues, and has logical inconsistencies that make it hard to take seriously.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Belleayre, Catskills, Gore Mountain, ORDA, Whiteface12 Comments

Windham Benefit Raises $171,000 for Irene Relief

Posted on by NYSkiBlog

Windham MountainThis morning, Windham Mountain reported that its recent Hurricane Relief Benefit Dinner and Auction netted $171,790 — 100% of which will be donated to the Windham Chapter of the Catskill Mountain Foundation to assist in the continuing recovery process.

The evening included a sold-out dinner for 160 guests (many of whom are second-home owners in Windham), followed by a raffle and auction headed by Windham Mountain managing partner and first-time auctioneer Randy MacDonald.

With so much bad news coming out of the Catskills in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, it’s great to hear that Windham Mountain not only hosted this event, but helped make it into an overwhelming success.

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Tagged: Catskills, WindhamLeave a comment