Chasing Magic on Opening Day 2022

Two weeks ago skiing wasn’t yet taking up much real estate at all in my thoughts. As I watched the West get properly pummeled in the early goings, I chose to ignore the idea of powder skiing in the East.

Magic Mountain Opening Day 2022
Opening Day 2022 courtesy Magic Mountain

But finally one of those big west coast lows showed signs of moving over us with some cold air in place and machinations of a snow chase became a sudden reality.

We hatched a chase plan from hike-only Plattekill on Saturday to Magic for Sunday’s untouched opener. Arrangements were secured and touring gear was resurrected from the deep, dark corners of my closet. Just seeing my skins airing out above the furnace flooded me with endorphins.

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Plattekill Opening Day 2022

My ski season got off to a slow start. I’ve been obsessive, watching the weather, figuring out where to look for powder nirvana. After watching the storm track for most of last week, and not being able to ski Friday or Saturday, I set my alarm for 4:30 Sunday morning with plans to go to Magic or Plattekill.

When I awoke, I did a quick search online and opted to get a couple more hours of valuable sleep by skiing closer to home, at Plattekill. I grabbed a quick coffee and headed west into the Catskills. There were at least a couple of good omens: a beautiful sunrise and the mountain tops were glistening under a fresh layer of snow.

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Gore Mountain December Thump

For me, there is no adventure without logistics. If I’m going to ski something fantastic and life affirming I’m probably going to have to do some work in advance. Some of that prep can be exciting, like deciding what skis to pack, and some of it is housekeeping and clearing my schedule.

Bob Dylan

I follow the GFS 240 hour snowfall forecast to help me anticipate opportunities. In early December, a large storm appeared at the outer limit of that forecast.  On subsequent model runs the storm came and went a few times, out to sea and then drifting back into play. Soon enough though, it started to look like we were on to something.

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