The Powder Blog

Plattekill Opening Day 2022

Posted on by Scottski

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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Tagged: Catskills, Plattekill, Powder12 Comments

Gore Mountain December Thump

Posted on by Harvey

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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Tagged: Adirondacks, Gore Mountain, Powder6 Comments

Jay Peak: When It Rains It Snows

Posted on by Robert

Storms are fickle things on the east coast, especially in March. A storm raises ropes at one ski resort and drop ropes at another. While it was raining in much of ski country the Jay Cloud was forming just south of the Canadian border. Cam, John and I trekked north to chase some late March pow.

Jay Peak first chair

We arrived Monday before lifts started spinning, and scored ourselves an upfront parking spot. In defense of March, that is one of the perks this time of the season.

It was 10 degrees at the base, snow was coming down and the wind was whipping. I lowered my expectations for The Tram and The Flyer but raised them for everything else. It’s safe to say I was counting on an all time day.

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Tagged: Indy Pass, Jay Peak, Powder, VT6 Comments