Whiteface, NY: 4/9/11

We skied Whiteface today, for a big spring corn harvest, and a shot at the slides, and we got both. In the early morning, we skied the steepest groomers in softening corn.

G Spot view

We lapped the Summit chair waiting for the Slides. Patrol opened access at about 11 and we did as many runs as we could. The skiing was fantastic. Steep, soft, bumps and trees — even the ice was soft.

Riverc0il

Slide 2

Highpeaksdrifter

At the Slide entrance, we connected with Highpeaksdrifter and headed over to Slide 4. It’s tight, and it gets tighter the farther down you go. We skied soft snow, with a few patches of melting ice, and occasional exposed rock.

The bottom of Slide 4 was a highlight — steep, tight, and continuously bumped, but soft — it runs out to an ultra challenging tree shot.

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Gore Mountain, NY: 4/8/11

I wasn’t really sure what to expect at Gore today. It’d been almost three weeks since I’d been here an a lot had happened. A cold snap, some wet weather, and then last weekend’s off the hook debut of spring.

Gore Mountain Gondola

Cover looked decent from the Lodge, so I was optimistic that conditions would be good up top. The snow was barely getting soft at the base by 8:30, so I started down on the front. I then moved over to Topridge and Uncas. Edgeable at the top, and very carveable on the lower steep pitches. Somehow the summit seemed even warmer and conditions were good up top before 10am.

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Plattekill Mountain, NY: 4/2/11

My first trip to Plattekill Mountain dates to the 2000 ski season. I was living in Dutchess County at the time, and they kept reporting astonishing totals.

Plattekill Mountain NY.

Finally, I decided to head over at the last minute to find that the snow was indeed bountiful, and even my late arrival didn’t preclude me from claiming fresh lines all over the place.

I rode until they turned the lifts off and after I left, I told everyone I could find about this gem in the Catskills with a consistent fall line and the most luxurious natural snow I had ever experienced in New York.

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