Chasing Plake

We were on our way north when my preferred social media network alerted me that Glen Plake was bringing his Down Home Tour to Plattekill this weekend. I heard just in time too — right before we had to make that Freedom Pass call: Plattekill or Magic.

Glen Plake hucks
First Descent of Plake Chute courtesy John Tunis

There was no way I was gonna miss the chance to meet the star of the “Blizzard of Aahhhs” —  Glen has to be considered one of the legendary pro skiers of all time.

Plattekill is always fun, and even if it turned out that Plake’s visit was a photo-and-handshake publicity stunt, I knew we would have a great time. We turned onto Route 28 and headed west.

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Plattekill MLK Weekend 2019

File this one under the best-laid plans. At the end of last week, forecasters were calling for more than a foot and a half of snow at both Gore and Plattekill by Sunday. I only felt certain about one thing: driving in the storm early on Sunday morning wasn’t wise. I weighed the pros and cons of my choices.

storm track
If Only

Option #1: We’ve got a small cabin near Gore, about five hours away. It provides us with a good deal of flexibility at a low cost. Still, time is precious on a one-night trip to ski country and it takes a few hours to get our building warm. The drive to the mountain is 10 miles that should be driven with care in a storm.

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NYSkiBlog’s 7th Annual Meeting

NYSkiBlog convened our Annual Meeting at Plattekill Mountain this past weekend. Our 7th consecutive event, this tradition sprung up spontaneously back to 2012, when an astounding act of generosity was reciprocated with a small token of appreciation.

whole lotta love

Our agenda hasn’t changed much over the years. We arrive for first chair, ski as hard as we can for as long as we can, and then retire to celebrate the new season in our boardroom, the Plattekill bar. This year we planned something extra special — a showing of the documentary Snowfarmers with special comments from the creators of the film, Adam Carboni and Tansy Michaud.

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