Plattekill, NY: 2/27/10

My plan was to ski Plattekill with James and Jason, and to ski Gore on Sunday and Monday. Work got in the way of Monday and ultimately Sunday too. I was daytripping the Catskills again.

If you think Belleayre is in the middle of nowhere… Plattekill is 20 miles beyond that. The snow was incredibly deep in Delaware County. So deep that with the consistency of the snow, the trees were basically unskiable. Waist deep.

Plattekill is a part-time mountain, only open Friday thru Sunday. It has the most natural snow in the Cats (190″ avg) – and they leave a lot of terrain ungroomed. Hey it’s a vibe… it’s also a smart way to run a mountain. We stuck to the sides of the “groomers” weaving in and out of the untracked and the huge soft bumps.

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Jamesdeluxe Interviews Belleayre’s Joe Kelly

You may or may not know that Jamesdeluxe is actually a writer by trade. He’s also a Belleayre regular and is very interested in the future of the hill.

Linked below is his interview with avid Belleayre supporter Joe Kelly, about the future of the mountain in the Catskills. Even if you’ve never skied Bell, it’s a compelling look at an passionate group of Belleayre advocates that has worked hard to keep the mountain alive over the decades. It should be interesting for NY skiers to note the differences between Belleayre and the other two ski state-run mountains.


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Belleayre Mountain, NY: 1/31/10

Jamesdeluxe, Mrs. Deluxe, Miyoko and I arrived at Belleayre after dealing with a variety of obligations… driving, daycare, ski rental, carpooling, and an involuntary contribution to the Town of Kingston Highway Fund.

Belleayre Lodge

Twas a cold, bluebird day in the Catskills when we arrived at 10:30. The ladies and I got on the lifts to see how the mountain had recovered from the devastating NCP event on Monday. James hurried off to interview Belleayre Advocate Extraordinaire Joe Kelly. More from James on that later this week.

Winnesook

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