Opinions of Catamount season pass

[braaaains]

hey everyone,

I'm just looking for everyones opinion of catamount. I have only skiied there once, and it was a long time ago. The reason that Im interested in a catamount season pass is because its about an hour from both my home and my school. plus the price is $259 until the end of may.

so whats everyones opinion... is it worth it? hows the coverage in early december? any alternatives you would suggest over catamount?

cheers! :beer:

 

[Rambo]

At $259. for a seasons pass, that is a great-great price!! Greek Peaks season pass was $289. but had to be purchased by 4/15/09 then it went up $50 till like the end of June then it goes up another $50.

Camelback had a misleading promotion at the end of the season in ads, flyers, billboards... etc. In huge bold-face print it said, Hurry get next seasons season pass for $249. for a limited time. In very small print it stated the $249 was for a kids pass and an adult pass was like $450.

 

[Greg]

Welcome braaaains! What type of skiing do you prefer? Where is home? School? If SW Mass makes the most sense, you also need to consider Butternut which is actually cheaper at $229 (if purchased by December). Pros and cons to both:

Catamount - steeper, but less acreage. Less grooming, more old school feel.
Butternut - flatter, but way better snowmaking and meticulous grooming. Nicer facilities, but probably more crowded on weekends/holidays.

If I had to choose I would take Catamount based on better terrain, but I would be praying for a big snow year.

 

[braaaains]

Welcome braaaains! What type of skiing do you prefer? Where is home? School? If SW Mass makes the most sense, you also need to consider Butternut which is actually cheaper at $229 (if purchased by December). Pros and cons to both:

Catamount - steeper, but less acreage. Less grooming, more old school feel.
Butternut - flatter, but way better snowmaking and meticulous grooming. Nicer facilities, but probably more crowded on weekends/holidays.

If I had to choose I would take Catamount based on better terrain, but I would be praying for a big snow year.

thanks for the replies guys,

I also considered butternut but from what I remember, it was too flat and didn't have a ton of variety. I've been skiing since i was 4, but mostly a few weekends a year, which i want to change. home is in fairfield county CT, school is poughkeepsie NY.

reason i considered catamount was because it seemed mostly filled with Blue cruisers, with some diamonds thrown in, which is how I ski. I generally dont like to challenge myself with extremely difficult terrain, i just like to get out and ski.

from your descriptions of the two mountains, it seems like catamount is the best bet right now, especially for the price.

 

[Greg]

from your descriptions of the two mountains, it seems like catamount is the best bet right now, especially for the price.

I like it better, but in a shit snow year or warm winter, it's gonna be beat. Snowmaking is a little weak. Assuming the bulk of your time will be in Poughkeepsie, have you looked into Hunter, Belleayre or Windham? Maybe Jiminy?

 

[braaaains]

I like it better, but in a shit snow year or warm winter, it's gonna be beat. Snowmaking is a little weak. Assuming the bulk of your time will be in Poughkeepsie, have you looked into Hunter, Belleayre or Windham? Maybe Jiminy?

I've skiied hunter a couple times with my school, but I really didn't enjoy it. it seemed excessively crowded/skiied off by midday... Belleayre is interesting, its 30 mins from poughkeepsie, and has a large variety, but i've never skiied it. also it looks like they have a $228 college student season pass.

how is Belleayre? it looks bigger and offers more variety than catamount. anyone have good experiences there? Greg has seemed to sway my opinion more towards Belleayre; 30 minutes from school seems irresistible.

 

[Hawkshot99]

how is Belleayre? it looks bigger and offers more variety than catamount. anyone have good experiences there? Greg has seemed to sway my opinion more towards Belleayre; 30 minutes from school seems irresistible.

Belleayre is NOT 30 mins from Poughkeepsie. It is 35-40 mins to 28 in Kingston, then 45 mins up 28.

I like Bell. alot more than Catamount. More challenging terrain(there are places with way more challenge) and much better snow(both natural and man-made).

Are you going to Marist, or Vasser? I used to go to Marist.

 

[braaaains]

Belleayre is NOT 30 mins from Poughkeepsie. It is 35-40 mins to 28 in Kingston, then 45 mins up 28.

I like Bell. alot more than Catamount. More challenging terrain(there are places with way more challenge) and much better snow(both natural and man-made).

Are you going to Marist, or Vasser? I used to go to Marist.

looks like google maps needed the whole address. it brought something closer up in the directions.

and I'm going to be a junior at Marist.

 

[bvibert]

Welcome braaaains! What type of skiing do you prefer? Where is home? School? If SW Mass makes the most sense, you also need to consider Butternut which is actually cheaper at $229 (if purchased by December). Pros and cons to both:

Catamount - steeper, but less acreage. Less grooming, more old school feel.
Butternut - flatter, but way better snowmaking and meticulous grooming. Nicer facilities, but probably more crowded on weekends/holidays.

If I had to choose I would take Catamount based on better terrain, but I would be praying for a big snow year.

Sounds like Bell may be a better option, but in the comparison between Catamount and Butternut you also need to note that Catamount has night skiing where Butternut does not (the last time I checked anyway). That can be a big deal for some people.