Windham Mtn, NY: 2/7/11

After my last four destination trips ended up hitting the powder jackpot in one form or another, I finally got my karmic comeuppance this weekend at Windham in the northern Catskills, where we had booked two days of lessons for our son.

Jason called me from Hunter Saturday morning and said that the snow was nice, so I figured that the 3-5 inches predicted for that afternoon would only help conditions at Windham.

The problem was that a sneaky warm front also showed up, sending temps from 8 degrees to 40 in a few hours, which resulted in a deluge that froze everything solid overnight.

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Plattekill Opening Day 2010

When you are based deep in the heart of the flatlands, day-tripping the Catskills requires dedication. In bed by 10pm, alarm set for 4:45 — another alpine start.

All day Friday, I tried to find a partner for Saturday’s ski. Jamesdeluxe was packing for Jackson Hole; Jason hit Hunter on Friday; and Xman was tied up. Left to my own devices, I ignored conventional wisdom and followed my heart, past every other hill in the Catskills, to Plattekill Mountain in Roxbury, New York.

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Hunter Mountain, NY: 12/5/10

Jamesdeluxe and I arranged a pre-dawn departure from NJ to take part in the maiden voyage of Hunter’s Kaatskill Flyer: New York’s first six-passenger detachable lift.

First Flyers
First Flyers

The Flyer is a beauty: comfortable, fast, and smooth. Things ran well today, with the spanking new lift designed by Leitner-Poma covering 1,477 vertical feet in a brisk five minutes. There were very few stoppages, and little confusion on the loading and unloading platforms.

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