Steve Aaron’s Favorite Catskill Ski Trails

I long enjoyed Top Ten lists since the time when magazines ruled the day.

I find them fun, informative and sometimes thought provoking.

The idea of producing a Top Ten list of Catskill ski runs has interested me for many years.

With more than 50 years of Catskill skiing under my belt, here is my list of favorite Catskill ski runs.

Your comments and input on your own favorites are welcomed below.

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Black Friday at Hunter Mountain

There had been some debate about whether Black Friday would be a good day to ski. My plan was to ski Hunter the day after Thanksgiving. Somebody suggested it was a blackout day on some Epic passes so that meant it would be crowded. Harvey thought Sunday would be better.

Catskill Flyer

I’ve always had good luck skiing on those days that are famous for something else — like Super Bowl Sunday for instance. My thinking was that a big event — like football or shopping — distracts the casuals away and only hardcore skiers are on the slopes. And Sunday skiing would mean driving home with the weekend traffic.

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Hunter: Two Days, Two Trails, Too Fun

Hunter Mountain opened Saturday November 19 with two main routes down the mountain – the Mainline and Belt Parkway. I was fortunate to ski days 2 and 3.

morning snowmaking

The unseasonable cool temps in the days preceding opening day enabled Hunter’s team to lay down plentiful volumes of high quality snow. On the two open routes, conditions resembled mid-January more than late November. Kudos to snowmaking for a great job getting the mountain open.

My first day, Sunday November 20 was cold and windy. Between the weather and the snowguns blasting, it really felt like mid-winter.

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