Brownski
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2020
I’m feeling pretty good about my early season this year. I did a better job of maintaining my fitness over the summer so my first day up at Killington felt pretty good, no burning thigh muscles or early bonking. And then I was able to ski Hunter on Black Friday which was also tons of fun. I got day three and my first Indy Pass visit this past weekend at Catamount, an old favorite.
Junior was available so he tagged along for his first real day of the season. We got there around nine o’clock and immediately bumped into Catamount’s former owner, Rich Edwards, in the parking lot. After catching up with him for a few minutes, we booted up and made the short walk up to the lodge for our tickets, then continued on to the Ridge Quad chairlift. Unlike Killington and Hunter, who started their seasons with just expert trails open, Catamount had opened up a long cruiser from the top of the main lift all the way around the Massachusetts end of the resort as well as some additional intermediate and beginner terrain around the Meadows triple chair and the Catamount Quad.
We skied everything that was open, some times skiing fast and some times just working on technique. The early season energy was everywhere from the brand new parking attendant to the returning patrollers with a decided spring in their step to the multiple groups of new ski-schoolers receiving their training from veteran instructors who already had their jackets. And of course, there were plenty of customers too- the Catamount faithful of all ages.
Though we mostly rode the Ridge Quad, we made our way around to take advantage of everything that was open. When I noticed a plaque dedicated to the legendary Toni Matt- he was in charge of Catamount’s ski school for a while in between serving in the WW2 Tenth Mountain Division and being involved with the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, I made Junior pause long enough to hear my imperfect retelling of Toni Matt’s famous Shuss of the Tuckerman’s Headwall during one of the original Inferno races in the thirties. I think Junior got the jist of it- I mean straightlining Tuckerman’s ravine is pretty gnarly- but it’s hard to tell with kids nowadays.
en.wikipedia.org
So the day went on like that- pretty laid back. We stopped for lunch. I thought the chilli was pretty good and not overpriced by ski lodge standards. We took some more runs and stopped again for an afternoon beer- again pretty reasonably priced. It was a great day. Conditions were good. The vibe was good. I’m rating it a 10 out of 10.
Junior was available so he tagged along for his first real day of the season. We got there around nine o’clock and immediately bumped into Catamount’s former owner, Rich Edwards, in the parking lot. After catching up with him for a few minutes, we booted up and made the short walk up to the lodge for our tickets, then continued on to the Ridge Quad chairlift. Unlike Killington and Hunter, who started their seasons with just expert trails open, Catamount had opened up a long cruiser from the top of the main lift all the way around the Massachusetts end of the resort as well as some additional intermediate and beginner terrain around the Meadows triple chair and the Catamount Quad.
We skied everything that was open, some times skiing fast and some times just working on technique. The early season energy was everywhere from the brand new parking attendant to the returning patrollers with a decided spring in their step to the multiple groups of new ski-schoolers receiving their training from veteran instructors who already had their jackets. And of course, there were plenty of customers too- the Catamount faithful of all ages.
Though we mostly rode the Ridge Quad, we made our way around to take advantage of everything that was open. When I noticed a plaque dedicated to the legendary Toni Matt- he was in charge of Catamount’s ski school for a while in between serving in the WW2 Tenth Mountain Division and being involved with the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, I made Junior pause long enough to hear my imperfect retelling of Toni Matt’s famous Shuss of the Tuckerman’s Headwall during one of the original Inferno races in the thirties. I think Junior got the jist of it- I mean straightlining Tuckerman’s ravine is pretty gnarly- but it’s hard to tell with kids nowadays.
Toni Matt - Wikipedia
So the day went on like that- pretty laid back. We stopped for lunch. I thought the chilli was pretty good and not overpriced by ski lodge standards. We took some more runs and stopped again for an afternoon beer- again pretty reasonably priced. It was a great day. Conditions were good. The vibe was good. I’m rating it a 10 out of 10.
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