Any body know anything about Hunter???

[Kingslug20]

Blockbuster is a lot easier than the Westside trails...still my favorite Platt trail though. A lot less vert too. When it snows it was my favorite place to be..
Now that I'm in VT...Bolton Valley has become my Plattekill..

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

Blockbuster is a lot easier than the Westside trails...still my favorite Platt trail though. A lot less vert too. When it snows it was my favorite place to be..
Now that I'm in VT...Bolton Valley has become my Plattekill..

Not a huge vertical difference between Zephyr lift (1294') and Platte double (1023'). And Platte generally has better natural snow, better tree options, and way less traffic.

 

[tnt1234]

Not a huge vertical difference between Zephyr lift (1294') and Platte double (1023'). And Platte generally has better natural snow, better tree options, and way less traffic.

That's almost 30%. Pretty substantial. The west side also has some winding trails, not just straight down shots. Don't get me wrong, I love Plattekil, but on a good day, Hunter terrain is the best in the Catskills IMO. Mind you, I haven't been for 4-5 years for a variety of reasons...

 

[Kingslug20]

Blockbuster has about 650 vertical...with lots of snow it's great...
Clairs has about 1300 vertical...pretty exhausting when it's deep..I miss those days.

 

[JimG.]

Don't know that I would say it has "without doubt the most difficult terrain" in a region that includes Plattekill.

Platty is a great place. Love skiing there. Yes, better natural snowfall than Hunter, which in itself makes it easier to ski.

But the vertical and terrain difficulty don't measure up to Hunter.

 

[raisingarizona]

The stats may look better on paper but it's the ugliest ski area I think I've ever seen. The infrastructure, the trash, the forced and blasted ski runs etc. ruin the experience for me. It's freaking weird and so un-natural to me it feels disrespectful to the mountains there. Less is sometimes so much more imho.

 

[JimG.]

Can't argue with that...it is pretty ugly looking.

 

[zyk]

Two brothers, a pile of dynamite, heavy equipment and so hunter was born...
Now the west side, when there's snow (every 5 years or so) is fantastic. The intertwined nature of clairs and taylors with a drop over the fence to get to the lower part.

 

[zyk]

Regarding platty love it especially the twist and ridge run area as they're not straight shots. Also the trees. And the snow. I would look out my windows at the yard and hills around me and roughly know what they got. Drive on to hunter and often nothing.

 

[Kingslug20]

Hunter is one ugly friggin place for sure...

 

[danimals]

Hunter was my home for 3 decades. Without doubt the most difficult terrain in the Cats. Many skiers couldn't handle it. I recall skiing with some visitors from Belleayre who claimed the snow at Hunter was icier and harder than anywhere else. I loved that place.
Now I hate Vail for what they have done to it. Can't even go into the town there without getting depressed. Everything looks closed down. Half the trails have no snow. Bastards!

When peak bought hunter, It immediately became my home mountain. A quick 3 hour drive at 530 am, beat the NYC traffic, and get a ton of vert and runs by noon. Then when the north expansion was built, I became hopeful that the hunter north and west would spur some development on that side, and maybe west would start getting the love it deserves. I would have to think the snow holds much better on that side, and the hunter north trails could be an early season/late season situation with a small lodge. I doubt we will ever see westway open again as those saplings just keep getting bigger and bigger, and who knows what shape annapurna is in. At this point I would love some communication on vail's plans for the west side, even if its just ripping the band-aid off and saying "shits toast, were moving z lift to replace F lift". Such a waste of a high speed lift just to serve way out and sometimes claires.

Hunter is one ugly friggin place for sure...

I've said it before, Its like skiing in a rock quarry, especially when there is no snow. I think that's why I was always drawn to hunter west. It felt more "natural", well as natural as skiing in the east coast can.

 

[tnt1234]

The stats may look better on paper but it's the ugliest ski area I think I've ever seen. The infrastructure, the trash, the forced and blasted ski runs etc. ruin the experience for me. It's freaking weird and so un-natural to me it feels disrespectful to the mountains there. Less is sometimes so much more imho.

Oh yeah, it is all that. But some of the trails are really good. And teh West side has a nice, in the woods feeling...

 

[tnt1234]

Annapurna was open last time I was there. But that was before the north side. Long time ago.

 

[Kingslug20]

Vail will never do anything good there...

 

[heiusa]

WHAT? " I doubt we will ever see westway open again as those saplings just keep getting bigger and bigger, and who knows what shape annapurna is in."

Are you kidding me? I haven't been to Hunter in a while, but that is the mountain I grew up skiing at and loved the west side, its part of what made Hunter special.

They don't make show there anymore? In the past being able to ski annapurna was hit and miss depending on the season, but Westway was always open.

 

[tnt1234]

WHAT? " I doubt we will ever see westway open again as those saplings just keep getting bigger and bigger, and who knows what shape annapurna is in."

Are you kidding me? I haven't been to Hunter in a while, but that is the mountain I grew up skiing at and loved the west side, its part of what made Hunter special.

They don't make show there anymore? In the past being able to ski annapurna was hit and miss depending on the season, but Westway was always open.

I've never once seen Westway open. Lol.

 

[danimals]

WHAT? " I doubt we will ever see westway open again as those saplings just keep getting bigger and bigger, and who knows what shape annapurna is in."

Are you kidding me? I haven't been to Hunter in a while, but that is the mountain I grew up skiing at and loved the west side, its part of what made Hunter special.

They don't make show there anymore? In the past being able to ski annapurna was hit and miss depending on the season, but Westway was always open.

This was February 2020. I imagine they are much taller now.

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

Last time down Westway - a rare day it was open a few years ago - I was not in great form and got a bit tangled in some of those saplings.

 

[Kingslug20]

Last time I skied it ...it was a ribbon of death...

 

[Ski2LiveLive2Ski]

Last time I skied it ...it was a ribbon of death...

Trying to avoid the ice ribbon got me tangled in saplings