Hunter Mtn: 2/22/15

JimG. said:

I've skied at all the Catskills resorts this February...I agree with just about all of what FC says. Welcome to skiing on holiday weekends folks, it's crowded on the well beaten path.

There is really only one intermediate route down from the summit at Hunter. The best strategy is to stay on the lower mountain where there is plenty of excellent blue terrain. Ride D lift which is usually empty. And the 6-pack line is no worse than any other lift line at any other resort near a major urban center.

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I avoid Belt entirely. It's probably more dangerous to deal with that many people than an open steep pitch. At least if you fall you don't have to worry about being hit by other skiers. It is a very unique trail though as you ride beneath cliffs and ice falls though.

If you just want advanced terrain then you can stick to the upper mountain or the west side just fine, and Hunter One exists for beginners. Windham is probably the better intermediate mountain.

Rowsdower said:

Windham is probably the better intermediate mountain.

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And Belleayre.. Both awesome places for blue skiers...

Funky_Catskills said:

Enjoy whatever mountain you're at - but really - jumping on some band wagon and blasting a bunch of pictures into a thread of another mountain to prove you made a better decision is so lame... in my opinion...

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Uh...I mostly ski Hunter and love it..during the week. I won't ski any mountain on weekends for several reasons. In any case, the person who started this thread was asking about alternative options in the Catskills for an upcoming extended weekend so I shared. I wasn't "blasting" anything or anyone or trying to "prove" anything. I was merely informing and showing some pics.

Glad you had a good time at Hunter yesterday. I was there last Wednesday and it was excellent as well. It's been a great season up there for the most part. You won't get any complaints from me. It's good that we are able to choose from a variety of mountains in the area.

Funky_Catskills said:

One of my favorite things to do is race non-stop down the Cliff and when I'm at Midstation I fly right past the entrance of Racers edge down towards Ike and cross to the F.. Classic...

Most of that 6Pack traffic goes to Hellgate or Belt... Easily avoidable... Midstation is SO wide it absorbs most crowds...

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Most days I go it's not crowded at all. Last Wednesday and the week before MLK weekend (when they have college week) are more crowded but things move along nicely. My favorite route is to go down the Cliff and onto Racer's or Eisenhower. The F isn't always open midweek but when it is I'll head over on it, even though it's dog slow I do enjoy that side of the mountain as well.

Hunter is the mountain I tend to go to most. I go there often enough so that I invested in the Big Lift Card, which paid for itself after a few trips. They do a great job making snow when Mother Nature isn't cooperative and keeping it in shape when we do get lots of natural. It has a enough variety and terrain to keep things fun and interesting. No, it's not a great intermediate mountain unless you stay on the middle part of the mountain or brave the Belt (which isn't bad midweek) but since I can handle the diamonds that's where I go and I really enjoy them. They have a little of everything there.

It's a 3 hour drive to my house so when I head up I make an overnighter out of it. I stay in a nice, cheap B&B in town. I rarely get bored skiing there. Most times that's the mountain I head to but again, I'm a midweek skier. I'm also a midweek hiker, camper, kayaker, etc. I'm lucky in that I can work the days I want and I purposely have set up my life in this manner so I can enjoy things when there aren't crowds of people.

I head up that way a lot in the summer and fall to hike and camp out. It's a great area up there.

Here are some pics from last Wednesday..a beautiful bluebird day. Temps hit the mid 20s and it was windless until about 3pm. I wanted to go again Thursday but 50mph gusts and single digit temperatures dictated otherwise.

SIck!

Hunter has been great all winter skied their a lot this winter with their discount card great value. Decisions buy spring pass for 189$ when I get my state tax money soon. I might just keep card has really great percentage off skiing in spring and ski else . sorry had not got a chance to take turns with funky Catskills been to Roxbury this winter some sick days their to.

Scottie hit me up next time... We'll crush it...

Been a bit distracted lately...