Plattekill Mountain Race 2023

Three days afterwards, despite plenty of foam rolling and stretching, my quads were still sore.

With no Whiteface Sky Race this year, my focus turned to the Plattekill Mountain Race. Yes, that Plattekill, beloved mountain for so many readers of this blog. Saturday night after closing the wine store, I hopped into the Fortunate Son, my new used shooting brake, and lit out for Platty.

Plattekill Mountain

I’ve never been to that part of the Catskills. Driving west of Phoenicia on Route 28, I entered terra incognita. In the pitch dark, I began questioning the wisdom of my plan: leave work at 8:45, drive straight to the mountain, and flop in the parking lot. Maybe I should have done dawn patrol.

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Plattekill Closing Day 2023

I’ve got 26 days so far this season. I skied Gore 10 days, Plattekill 7, Belleayre 3 plus Titus, McCauley and Hunter once each. There were three days of nordic skiing in the Adirondack woods. I’m not saying this because I’m done or anything, just setting up the story.

Plattekill Closing Day 2023

At the end of the season I always seem to feel I didn’t ski Plattekill enough. I usually get five days, this year I got seven, but I still feel it.

Robert once claimed there were No Bad Days at Snow Ridge. I feel that way about Plattekill, like it’s actually foolproof when I go, I’ll have a good time.

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Plattekill Powderdaize 2023

Man it feels like a long road this season. There have been many moments of joy, and there has been a lot to accomplish in between. I’ve taken to calling it all logistics. It may be a little jaded, but it helps me get it done.

the road to Plattekill Powderdaize 2023

To push this back to skiing, let’s talk about Plattekill’s Powderdaize, a gift from the heavens above. If it’s going to snow big in the middle of the week, and the mountain isn’t rented, Laszlo makes the call to spin the lifts. It’s a balancing act, getting the staff ready, while watching the snow totals and p-type. When the storm delivers, it’s a nice reward for both skiers and mountain.

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