Plattekill 3-4-2012

Date(s) Skied: 3-4-12

Resort or Ski Area: Plattekill Mountain

Conditions: MGLG, Hardpack,

Trip Report:

I had originally intended to ski at Belleayre, but after getting off to a late start (too much celebrating the night before) and getting to the mountain at 10:15, I could tell it was too crowded for my tastes. I made the decision to head to Plattekill, instead. It was one of my better decisions.

I had low expectations since Saturday had been so warm followed by a rapid temp drop, but when I have the time to ski, I do it. After my bad fall and twisted knee from last weekend, I was skiing very timidly at first, totally in my head. Once I got over that, I was fine. I stayed off of the narrow trails because there were lots of frozen ruts and icy patches--Overlook, a green trail, was the scariest thing I skied all day. My edges, I soon found out, were way too dull for the frequent hardpack and icy patches, so it was a day of slow, cautious skiing. A 20-minutes snow shower around 2pm was a game changer. Amazing what the smallest amount of fresh snow can do.

I usually don't ski the really steep stuff, but that's where the best snow was so my best runs were on Northface, and Upper Face. I would love Blockbuster on a good snow day, but it was super icy.

A few pics:

Twist was a lot of fun, the best of the blues:


Snows a-comin'








The game changer


Love the vibe of this place, reminiscent of Magic. The NSSO said he loved hanging out in the lodge and didn't encounter a single obnoxious person, loved the music they played and got a lot of work done. Also, the fact that it feels so removed from civilization is amazing, a complete escape.

I will definitely be back, but will wait for better snow conditions.

Nice report - yeah its amazing what a little pixie dust can do for otherwise scratchy surfaces

Glad u had fun -- i was out too yesterday at a speed bump near a mall the Queen was shopping almost same conditions as you reported

Nice TR, I thought about going to Platty Saturday morning, but I rolled over and went back to sleep. When I went outside at about noon, it was 55 degrees. It would have been great at Platty, except the winds were howling. I have two vouchers that I've yet to use, I'm thinking of taking my brother, an novice, to Platty the weekend of the 17th. I think he'd like Powder Puff, and maybe a few others. I will be there one of their two "season pass holder days", the 24th and 25th. Anyone with a season's pass from another mountain skis free.

Cornhead said:

Nice TR, I thought about going to Platty Saturday morning, but I rolled over and went back to sleep. When I went outside at about noon, it was 55 degrees. It would have been great at Platty, except the winds were howling. I have two vouchers that I've yet to use, I'm thinking of taking my brother, an novice, to Platty the weekend of the 17th. I think he'd like Powder Puff, and maybe a few others. I will be there one of their two "season pass holder days", the 24th and 25th. Anyone with a season's pass from another mountain skis free.

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Powder Puff actually had some nice snow, I think it had gotten some morning sun, so it was relatively soft.

Saturday was warm, snowy, (albeit a bit heavy by the afternoon) softness on every trail. Spectacular, spring-like conditions. No jackets, no wind. Don't think next time Cornhead, just drive! Plus, awesome ski patrol fundraiser bbq for dinner with good live music and beer! Platty rules.

If you haven't tried them you should try the Bumps trail across the top, nice little overlooked cruiser. And actually, no bumps. :lol:

andyzee said:

If you haven't tried them you should try the Bumps trail across the top, nice little overlooked cruiser. And actually, no bumps. :lol:

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That was a fun little trail, some nice places to catch air on a softer day.

marcski said:

Saturday was warm, snowy, (albeit a bit heavy by the afternoon) softness on every trail. Spectacular, spring-like conditions. No jackets, no wind. Don't think next time Cornhead, just drive! Plus, awesome ski patrol fundraiser bbq for dinner with good live music and beer! Platty rules.

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Yeah, I know I should have. I just returned from a week in the Mad River Valley, skied six out of seven days, was in need of a rest day, but it would have been great to be there. I skied Greek Peak yesterday, back to FG groomers. They skied great, a nice change from powder I was skiing in VT...just kidding.:wink:

emmaurice2 said:

I had originally intended to ski at Belleayre, but after getting off to a late start (too much celebrating the night before) and getting to the mountain at 10:15, I could tell it was too crowded for my tastes. I made the decision to head to Plattekill, instead. It was one of my better decisions.

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Skied onto the lifts all day. Got 32 runs. Almost the entire mountain open.

PS - great pics. Plat was even more empty.

thinnmann said:

Skied onto the lifts all day. Got 32 runs. Almost the entire mountain open.

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Nice. I definitely want to try Belleayre; from the parking lot it must have just looked more crowded than it actually was.

thinnmann said:

Plat was even more empty.

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You're never going to find a day when Plattekill isn't, "more empty" than Belleayre.

BenedictGomez said:

You're never going to find a day when Plattekill isn't, "more empty" than Belleayre.

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lol good point!

emmaurice2 said:

Nice. I definitely want to try Belleayre; from the parking lot it must have just looked more crowded than it actually was.

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The lower parking lot always looks busy, but the upper mountain trails usually won't be very crowded.

That

BenedictGomez said:

You're never going to find a day when Plattekill isn't, "more empty" than Belleayre.

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Yes

Great Review!!!

As to Blockbuster, it was my final run of the day on Sunday and that was at 1:00PM by which time while not a sheet of ice, it certainly wasn't a fun run down could not find a line that wasn't skiied out. There were some decent runs earlier down Freefall and Upper Twist. Worst of the day was Home Run which was icy with bare patches including one which will require P-tex.. From Foul Ball, I mean Home Run, I saw a skiier so frustrated with Overlook he was walking with his skis over his shoulder. I did enjoy the other side of the mountain best of the day was The Chute to Lower Face and Shredded Mutz..

I kinda get Plattekill. Its a lot like Bolton Valley and Magic Mountain, it gets no respect from its peers but it really has little equal. Terrain is varied and you can tell where they made snow (all under the Triple) and where its been natural (under the Double Chair). Its been mostly Loose Granular Frozen Corn on the natural and generally hardpack with some powder stashes elsewhere.

Best of the day was the Ithaca Nut Brown on tap along with the The Port with Chicken Grill. Where this place shines on over its conditions today was the bar, grill and Knicks game..

Solitude67 said:

As to Blockbuster, it was my final run of the day on Sunday and that was at 1:00PM by which time while not a sheet of ice, it certainly wasn't a fun run down could not find a line that wasn't skiied out. There were some decent runs earlier down Freefall and Upper Twist. Worst of the day was Home Run which was icy with bare patches including one which will require P-tex.. From Foul Ball, I mean Home Run, I saw a skiier so frustrated with Overlook he was walking with his skis over his shoulder. I did enjoy the other side of the mountain best of the day was The Chute to Lower Face and Shredded Mutz..

I kinda get Plattekill. Its a lot like Bolton Valley and Magic Mountain, it gets no respect from its peers but it really has little equal. Terrain is varied and you can tell where they made snow (all under the Triple) and where its been natural (under the Double Chair). Its been mostly Loose Granular Frozen Corn on the natural and generally hardpack with some powder stashes elsewhere.

Best of the day was the Ithaca Nut Brown on tap along with the The Port with Chicken Grill. Where this place shines on over its conditions today was the bar, grill and Knicks game..

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I also saw a guy walking down Overlook with his skis over his shoulder, we must have just missed one another, lol.

Plattekill often leaves stuff open that just anywhere else would (and sometimes probably should) close.

Last season in Mid-March I was going down The Cliffs, and it was solid ice. And I dont mean how skiers exaggerate about a trail being "all ice", I mean there was actually 20 foot long stretches of ice bands covering the trail, with absolutely no snow on top. Like hockey rink ice. Then, at the bottom, there was a little 2 foot to 3.5 foot wide stream cutting off the entire trail (literally). You had to either try to jump it or walk across it. And God help you if you were flying and not paying any attention! About the only time I've ever truly been shocked that a trail was "Open".

BenedictGomez said:

Plattekill often leaves stuff open that just anywhere else would (and sometimes probably should) close.

Last season in Mid-March I was going down The Cliffs, and it was solid ice. And I dont mean how skiers exaggerate about a trail being "all ice", I mean there was actually 20 foot long stretches of ice bands covering the trail, with absolutely no snow on top. Like hockey rink ice. Then, at the bottom, there was a little 2 foot to 3.5 foot wide stream cutting off the entire trail (literally). You had to either try to jump it or walk across it. And God help you if you were flying and not paying any attention! About the only time I've ever truly been shocked that a trail was "Open".

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It's funny how my favorite trail at most hills is named "Thin Cover". .

IMHO, skiing interesting, varied and at times, sketchy terrain and snow conditions makes for a better skier.

It's funny my cousin was asking me just that at Mount Snow when we were on the bubble, trail under was icy moguls and i said some people just enjoy being great at skiing anything, i get that.

marcski said:

It's funny how my favorite trail at most hills is named "Thin Cover". .

IMHO, skiing interesting, varied and at times, sketchy terrain and snow conditions makes for a better skier.

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Amen to that marcski, how many frozen granular groomers can one ski before they go batty? I was beginning to think I was going to find out. Luckily I hit the jackpot in VT last week, I never thought I'd wish I had powder baskets on my poles this year. It all started with a day at Platty on my way to VT, they got about five inches. The best trails were those where no snowmaking was done, they were actually closed, but the patrolers succumbed to people skiing them anyway and dropped the ropes.