New Lines: Ski What We Reap

Nothing gets me more excited for the season than getting in the woods to craft some skiable lines for the winter. Fortunately, the community in New York is #blessed with more than a few like-minded maniacs, and the owner of a mountain that is just as ski-obsessed as we are.

Plunge

In typical Plattekill fashion it seemed like the weather report could be thrown out the window. It was much colder than forecasted, and snow seemed imminent in the Catskills.

Our merry band was ready for the challenge and well prepared this year, we stayed warm by sawing and swinging; hot chocolate breaks can wait for the winter.

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MTB: No Off-Season at Plattekill

Plattekill Mountain is best known as a ski center, however the hill’s best kept secret is their mountain biking. If you are like me, and love the freedom of taking a lift up the side of a mountain, and throwing yourself back down at high speeds, then downhill mountain biking may be for you.

Plattekill Mountain biking

Throughout my years skiing at Plattekill, I always knew they offered lift-served mountain biking, but never considered trying it. I was honestly scared of the thought at first, but once I finally gave it a shot two years ago, I became addicted.

Most of the riding I do is more XC oriented. I live in a hilly town where mountain biking is popular, but there are no lift-accessed areas. I do ride for the descent; earning it on the pedal up, then riding down as aggressively as possible. I love the sport.

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Plattekill Mountain: The Post Season Begins

The regular season ended for me a week ago on a fine spring day at Gore. Still, sometimes the best turns come during the post season and mine got off to a sweet start at Plattekill on Sunday.

Tractor

I’d been eyeing the PlatteCam all week. There was still good snow on a few of the trails in view and Blockbuster looked especially choice. I spoke with Laszlo and asked if he’d mind a few skiers earning turns.

He told me that on Sunday he was meeting with Plattekill’s Lift Ops team to review what they learned at LMS Conference at Jiminy Peak. They were going to be working all day, his only request was that we stop in to say hello.

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