The Plattekill Blog

Plattekill Opens All Natural

Posted on by Harvey

For the second time in nearly 25 years, Plattekill opened the season with 100% terrain and all natural snow. If you were there, it sure felt like an historic occasion.

plattekill opening day 2016

I set my alarm for 4am, Catskill Standard Time.  As soon as I looked out the window, I knew I was on the wrong side of the clock. There was an inch on my car and it was snowing hard at 20 degrees.

When traveling to Plattekill, my goal is to arrive by 8:10.  This gives me a chance to say hello, and still make first chair. Realizing that snow in the flatlands would add time to the drive, I left at 4:30 am, even earlier than planned, to try to make up some time.

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Tagged: Catskills, Plattekill, Powder9 Comments

Plattekill: Crank It Up

Posted on by Brownski

I was excited to head up to Plattekill for the annual glade clearing workday. In past years our fall soccer schedule didn’t allow me to get away.  Last Saturday I took my 14 year-old to scope some lines and give a little back to a cool ski community in the Catskills.

new deck

Plattekill has been busy this summer. In addition to hosting mountain bike races, live concerts and Plattepalooza, they’ve rebuilt and expanded their outside deck, expanded the seating area in the base lodge and added snowmaking to Buckle Up at the top of the mountain.

The last project is exciting. Buckle Up is a low angle trail that’s a vital connection from the top of the triple to Plattekill’s signature steep Blockbuster. The Block is one thousand feet of steep, sustained vert that is one of my favorite ski trails in the Catskills.

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Tagged: Catskills, Plattekill9 Comments

Plattekill MTB Summer 2016

Posted on by Ethan Snow

Mountain biking is off to a good start this season at Plattekill Bike Park. After one of the warmest winters on record combined with a severe lack of snow, Plattekill opened for mountain biking in March.

plattekill-mtb-biker-1

In fact, on the last weekend of the ski season — March 19-20th — the mountain was open for mountain biking on the triple side, and skiing on the double side. Naturally, I opted for skiing.

This year, Plattekill was the first lift-served mountain biking area to open in the East which brought out many riders. Currently, biking is taking place on the double chair side, as the triple chair is undergoing maintenance.

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Tagged: Biking, Plattekill4 Comments