Catamount - 2/20

[SteveInCT]

Date(s) Skied: 2/20

Resort or Ski Area: Catamount

Conditions: Mashed Potatoes over boilerplate

Trip Report: My first trip to Catamount was on Saturday. I got there at 2pm and it was a warm day and they had some snow earlier in the week. The snow was very heavy and there was ice and/or very hard pack under it which made it a very tiring day to the legs. I knew the entire mountain wasn't open for night skiing so I tried to ski the non-lit trails first. I have to admit, there is a trail there called Turnpike and it is a blast! It reminds me of a skier-cross track. There are banked turns and whoopdeedoo style mounds that you can get some serious air off of. There were two solid bump tracks that I didn't try because they looked like they would be lit after dark, but it turns out they aren't.

That leads me to my next point. Catamount has snow making fans on most of the mountain but it is only partially lit at night. If there is electricity on most of those trails, I don't understand why more isn't lit. It seems like they would just need to stick some floods on poles or on the trees and call it a day. That could be a killer night skiing place if they made a commitment to it.

All in all, I would definitely go back for a close mountain with some decent trails but I would want to do it on a day with better conditions and go during the day.

 

[bvibert]

One of these days I really need to make it back there. There is some nice terrain, from what I remember the few times I went several years ago.

 

[SteveInCT]

One of these days I really need to make it back there. There is some nice terrain, from what I remember the few times I went several years ago.

It does have some nice terrain! I was really surprised by the two bump runs since I never hear anyone on here talk about that place and it is pretty close to the CLIT crew. I probably won't get up there again this year, but it is on the radar for next season. Too bad they don't seem to be an early opener like Butternut or Sundown. It seems like it could be a great warmup mountain since it has some nice spots with steep pitch.

 

[billski]

One of the few left in New England I have yet to hit.

 

[SteveInCT]

One of the few left in New England I have yet to hit.

Isn't that strange sometimes? I have been to Mohawk, Sundown, Butternut, Jiminy, and Brodie (when it was still around) multiple times, yet never managed to get to Catamount until this year. I am not sure if it is a low profile type thing or what since it is right there in the same area as the rest.

 

[threecy]

That leads me to my next point. Catamount has snow making fans on most of the mountain but it is only partially lit at night. If there is electricity on most of those trails, I don't understand why more isn't lit. It seems like they would just need to stick some floods on poles or on the trees and call it a day. That could be a killer night skiing place if they made a commitment to it.

It costs a lot of money to install (and run) lights. If you put them on the snowmaking line, then they'll have to be on whenever snow is being made (even during the day). They clearly don't have the night skier numbers to justify lighting the whole mountain.