Skiing the Catskill Divide

Posted on by Ripitz

Steam poured out of the roof of the Frost Valley YMCA sugar house. I could see the sugarman tending the boil through the open door. I wanted to spend all day there hearing stories of sap runs from years gone by. But there was no time for maple lore and syrup as I had other plans.

Biscuit Brook Register
Biscuit Brook

My long time ski bum friend, M.G. Sickman dropped me off at the Biscuit Brook parking area. He was headed off to Belleayre to ski for the day. We had been to Plattekill for their Powderdaize exactly a week before and conditions were now very different. My objective was a point-to-point ski traverse along the Catskill Divide on the 15 mile Pine Hill West Branch Trail ending at Belleayre.

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Tagged: Backcountry, Catskills16 Comments

Plattekill Powderdaize 2023

Posted on by Harvey

Man it feels like a long road this season. There have been many moments of joy, and there has been a lot to accomplish in between. I’ve taken to calling it all logistics. It may be a little jaded, but it helps me get it done.

the road to Plattekill Powderdaize 2023

To push this back to skiing, let’s talk about Plattekill’s Powderdaize, a gift from the heavens above. If it’s going to snow big in the middle of the week, and the mountain isn’t rented, Laszlo makes the call to spin the lifts. It’s a balancing act, getting the staff ready, while watching the snow totals and p-type. When the storm delivers, it’s a nice reward for both skiers and mountain.

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Tagged: Catskills, Plattekill, Powder21 Comments

Whiteface: Slides Gold Weekend

Posted on by snoloco

Whiteface has the largest vertical drop of any ski area in the northeast. It’s also the only eastern ski area to have ever held an Olympics. As such, it goes without saying that they have steep terrain, lots of it. Not only do they have steep terrain, but they also have some of the most unique and challenging terrain in the east.

Whiteface
The objective

That terrain is known as The Slides. Located a short hike above the Summit Quad, The Slides include five distinct lines down natural rock slides. They even include frozen waterfalls. There is no snowmaking, no grooming, and no trail work of any kind. It’s a unique opportunity to ski backcountry style terrain, in-bounds at a ski area.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, The Slides, Whiteface13 Comments