Plattekill Conditions

[Harvey]

Is powder puff the Green on looker's left, skier's right? My wife will be happy to hear that - she'll do most of the blues at Gore but man she does not like that one.

Dom I don't understand what you are saying.

Powder Puff is far looker's right, skier's left on the mountain. It is green, about 2 miles long.

What will your wife be happy about? Which trail doesn't your wife like?

 

[Brownski]

I think I understand. For less confident skiers, there’s a sort of subconscious narrow/ slope angle/ crowded formula. A wide uncrowded blue might make them more comfortable than an easier green that was narrower and/or more crowded.

 

[TheGreatAbyss]

I'm far more terrified skiing a narrow blue or green trail packed with beginners then going down an icy Rumor all to myself. I won't take my kid to Belle to learn to ski. I hate that the learning trails are also commuting trails for everyone trying to get back to the Gondola. A Dad with his kid between his legs went down right in front of me and I only missed the kid by inches.

 

[DomB]

Dom I don't understand what you are saying. Powder Puff is far looker's right, skier's left on the mountain. It is green, about 2 miles long.

What will your wife be happy about? Which trail doesn't your wife like?

Hey, sorry, I was unclear. It is Overlook. The green from the double. She does not love that trail because about 2/3 through there is a reasonable pitch where the trail is like 15-20 feet wide. Checked the map.

 

[DomB]

I think I understand. For less confident skiers, there’s a sort of subconscious narrow/ slope angle/ crowded formula. A wide uncrowded blue might make them more comfortable than an easier green that was narrower and/or more crowded.

Yep exactly.

 

[DomB]

I'm far more terrified skiing a narrow blue or green trail packed with beginners then going down an icy Rumor all to myself. I won't take my kid to Belle to learn to ski. I hate that the learning trails are also commuting trails for everyone trying to get back to the Gondola. A Dad with his kid between his legs went down right in front of me and I only missed the kid by inches.

Sorry to hear this. My kids learned pre Gondola at Belle and it was a great place to teach your kids because then the Greens were 100% disconnected from the rest of the mountain.

Even if you didn't have the issue you mentioned which is the more important one, for some reason Belle and the skiers cannot figure out how to load the treadmill thingy quad. It used to be a double double that was very good (but slow) for young kids.

Post Gondola family skiing at Belle on MLK or the Sat Sun of Pre week is not recommended by me. The Tuesday on for Pres at Belle is a ghost town (understandably as you can shoot up to Gore or WF if you have time off).

I am not getting into the knocking Belle debate - I am going there next week and I will always love it because my kids learned there. I do think families can go there and learn, it is just harder than it used to be.

It might be boring for you and uneconomical given your pass but Mt Peter is probably close to you, kind of fun, and awesome for kids - you pretty much can see them anywhere on the mountain. Mt Peter is like 20 min past the NY/NJ border at 87/17.

 

[TheGreatAbyss]

It might be boring for you and uneconomical given your pass but Mt Peter is probably close to you, kind of fun, and awesome for kids - you pretty much can see them anywhere on the mountain. Mt Peter is like 20 min past the NY/NJ border at 87/17.

Thread Drift but Mt Peter is actually high on my list. I grew up in Rockland (my dad still lives there) and learned to ski at Sterling Forest. I'm sad to say I've never been to Mt Peter but with Sterling Forest gone that's the closet thing to it.

Platty is an option too but I'm not going to day trip it with a 3 year old

 

[Brownski]

I think we might have discussed before but my recommendation for bringing kids into skiing in our area would be Mt Peter~> Catamount~> Plattekill.

 

[Ripitz]

We had no issues teaching Peanut to ski at Belle. In my experience, when she was 3, two hours was kind of the max for skiing. It’s important to keep it fun and not let them get too cold and tired. She had just as much fun running around the lodge and playing in the snow. The gondola was easy to chuck her into. There is no worries of falling off the lift and you're out of the weather. We would often go midweek when it’s a ghost town. On the weekends we would sometimes wait to take her out in the afternoon. The crowds are completely gone between 2 and 4pm and the trails are empty. Having a harness is key and the hula hoop really works great.

In addition to Mt. Peter, there are a few other downstate areas, good for the little ones, that are low cost and low key. Thunder Ridge in Patterson, NY, Victor Constant at West Point and Holiday Mountain in Monticello. All have magic carpets, lights for nighttime and a version of twilight skiing.

Bringing it back to Platty, I’m looking forward to checking out the new and improved Powder Puff. It seems like a welcomed addition.

 

[Q*bert Jones IV]

Lapped Powderpuff with my daughter today. That whole side of the mountain is great for beginners.