Anybody heading up this weekend? Should be great.
I might go to Plattekill Sunday 2/10. Patagonia in the City (Meatpacking) had discount vouchers at the register for that day too.
In terms of Catskill ski areas, my favorites are Belleayre and, when snow is good, Plattekill. In terms of personality, both are more wild-looking than Hunter or Windham, which both have a more built-up, resort vibe. (Belleayre is getting fancier, though, especially with the new gondola and proposed improvements.) Some people prefer the terrain at Hunter over Belleayre, but I don't. Most of Hunter is funneled through one lift at the top, where it then splits two ways. (When steeper Hunter West is open, there are more options.) I also haven't skied the new terrain this year.
Belleayre is more spread out along a ridge, so the crowds seem to get spread out more. I've heard people fault the terrain at Belleayre for being similar all over the mountain. I haven't found that to be the case, but can see what they're talking about. The upper third of the upper mountain has mainly steep, wide, fall line trails, but there is variety among them. Some are groomed, some are natural and bumped up, and some are gladed. My personal favorite is Dot Nebel, a wide, fairly steep run that you can really open it up on (it's often closed for racing, unfortunately). There are two nice, long easy trails (blues but should be green) with great views as bookends on both sides of the mountain (Deer Run and Roaring Brook). The lower part of the upper mountain are mainly cruisy blues, but there are generally moguls on some of them, and some easy glades too. The lower mountain is pretty flat green terrain, but excellent for new skiers. The new gondola has pushed more traffic to the formerly empty west side of the mountain. I skied Belleayre yesterday. Although I had never seen so many parked cars, the mountain never felt crowded and I didn't wait to get on a lift more than 5-10 minutes max, and generally walked on the lifts.
Plattekill, on the other hand, has two, slow fixed lifts, but never any lift lines. There is limited green terrain for beginners, and even Powder Puff, the main green run from the top, has spots that can be quite difficult for new skiers. There are sustained steep runs that go the entire vertical drop of the mountain, which is unique in the Catskills. There are wide, steep fall line trails, and twisty, narrow trails through the woods. There also is quite a bit of unmarked tree skiing, which I don't really know my way around through very well, and don't usually ski with people who want to explore the trees, unfortunately. As others have said, it is an old school, very friendly place with good terrain, a laid back attitude, a good bar, and nothing fancy. Plattekill has increased its snowmaking, but still lags behind the other resorts. On the plus side, it is much farther west and often gets lake effect snow. It's a farther drive from the City, which also helps keep crowds away. Most NYC skiers have never heard of it.
Looks like they blew some snow.
