Catskills Postseason Finale

The bell rang as I pulled into the lot at 9:30 am. I didn’t know who’d win this final round of March Madness, but Hunter led off weighing in with a base elevation of 1600 feet and temps around 35 degrees.

Hunter Mountain

The warm weather had punished the mountain, but as we climbed the temperature dropped and both the snow and air grew cleaner. The now unfamiliar feeling of cold precipitation hitting my face left a terrific sting. I used the latest in technology to stay warm and ping base camp via twitter @NYSkiBlog to let HQ know that I was indeed, still alive.

Continue reading

Hunter Mountain Holiday: A New Hope

All stories have a beginning, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out exactly where the beginning is. Like when you’re reading Tolkien, do you start with the Hobbit or the Silmarillion? Episode I or IV?

Hunter Patrol

And more personally — was it when I met Amy that I decided to torture her or was it just the other day when I suggested that she come with me on her first day trip to the Catskills? It wasn’t easy, but somehow we managed to get out the door before dawn and reap the rewards: Christmas skiing at Hunter good enough to bring her back again.

Continue reading

Catskill Double Play: Windham and Hunter

This season Mother Nature has slowed us all down to some extent. But this week it wasn’t really the weather holding me back — I have Gore-tex hard shells, soft shells, and RAIN-X on my windshield. The real issue has been the hesitance of northeastern resorts to commit to all-in snowmaking in the face of a warm, wet forecast.

On Tuesday night, a quick surf of the web revealed that Windham was offering the greatest number of open expert trails in the Catskills. I hadn’t skied there in a few years, and wanted to get back to the hill.

I skated up to the Whirlwind Quad and said good morning to a welcoming liftie. There weren’t any lines and I was so jazzed to be skiing that I didn’t buckle my boots until I arrived at the top. Skiers were already making their way down, carving turns, and ripping.

Continue reading