Catamount is the worst in the EAST !!!!

[Abominable]

Skied the Big Cat yesterday for the first time in many years. Forgot what a nice place it was. Reasonable day trip from NYC.

Conditions were surprisingly good early - groomers were fast but you could carve 'em pretty good. Run of the day was Glade to On Stage. There was no one there, the sun was out, the views were good and it was a nice day. Maybe about 11 a few folks showed up and it got pretty icy / skied off in spots by the afternoon.

Interestingly, the entire middle of the mountain of the mountain is woods with one switchback trail. Wonder what that looks like with two feet of fresh snow. Looked very tight and grown in from the lift. I'm sure someone knows a few lines in there though.

Looks like things are gonna change over the next few years:

"The first building, covering 120,000 square feet, will contain 63 one-, two- and three-bedroom suites ranging from 500 to 1,500 square feet each. The units will have “fractional ownership” and be sold as “fifth shares,” said Mr. Freeman, explaining that the units will be vacation homes where the owners spend time every fifth weekend.
When not in use by the owners, the suites will be available for occupancy by hotel guests, he said.
The suites will be comparable to those in four-to-five star hotels, with high-end features such as gas fireplaces and granite countertops.
The first phase will also include a restaurant and lounge, fitness center, an indoor/outdoor swimming pool, Jacuzzis, fire pits, meeting facilities, a spa, locker rooms and “club space.”
With the hotel situated at the base of the mountain and about 30 feet away from a ski lift, visitors will be able to ski on and off the mountain from their suites.
Mr. Freeman said he hopes to start selling and taking orders in late spring 2014 with an eye toward breaking ground in late summer 2014 or the spring of 2015.
The second building phase includes building a new Catamount Ski Lodge, banquet facilities, 20 more residential units and support retail space.
In the third phase, 70 residential units will be constructed along with more retail space and owner amenities.
“The goal is to change the experience,” said Mr. Freeman..."

http://www.columbiapaper.com/index.php/the-news/3888-by-diane-valden

 

[C-Rex]

Skied the Big Cat yesterday for the first time in many years. Forgot what a nice place it was. Reasonable day trip from NYC.

Conditions were surprisingly good early - groomers were fast but you could carve 'em pretty good. Run of the day was Glade to On Stage. There was no one there, the sun was out, the views were good and it was a nice day. Maybe about 11 a few folks showed up and it got pretty icy / skied off in spots by the afternoon.

Interestingly, the entire middle of the mountain of the mountain is woods with one switchback trail. Wonder what that looks like with two feet of fresh snow. Looked very tight and grown in from the lift. I'm sure someone knows a few lines in there though.

Looks like things are gonna change over the next few years:

"The first building, covering 120,000 square feet, will contain 63 one-, two- and three-bedroom suites ranging from 500 to 1,500 square feet each. The units will have “fractional ownership” and be sold as “fifth shares,” said Mr. Freeman, explaining that the units will be vacation homes where the owners spend time every fifth weekend.
When not in use by the owners, the suites will be available for occupancy by hotel guests, he said.
The suites will be comparable to those in four-to-five star hotels, with high-end features such as gas fireplaces and granite countertops.
The first phase will also include a restaurant and lounge, fitness center, an indoor/outdoor swimming pool, Jacuzzis, fire pits, meeting facilities, a spa, locker rooms and “club space.”
With the hotel situated at the base of the mountain and about 30 feet away from a ski lift, visitors will be able to ski on and off the mountain from their suites.
Mr. Freeman said he hopes to start selling and taking orders in late spring 2014 with an eye toward breaking ground in late summer 2014 or the spring of 2015.
The second building phase includes building a new Catamount Ski Lodge, banquet facilities, 20 more residential units and support retail space.
In the third phase, 70 residential units will be constructed along with more retail space and owner amenities.
“The goal is to change the experience,” said Mr. Freeman..."

http://www.columbiapaper.com/index.php/the-news/3888-by-diane-valden

I was there Dec 31st. It was pretty nice as well. It's a great little mountain with some fun trails, and if the snow is deep enough, you can hit some of the old mountain bike trails in the woods. Some of the kickers and ladder drops are still there, too!! I hope they plan to add a faster lift to that list of upgrades. all they need is one detachable quad and they are good to go.

 

[twinplanx]

I haven't skied the Cat' since I suffered a concussion there back in High School. That was over twenty years ago and I was probably pushing it to much skiing in the rain :-(
The bus ride home remains the worst ever, and I have had some brutal bus rides since then... With all the negativity of the magic carpet thread I had not considered skiing there. Nice to see some positivity here, with the right deal I may consider redeeming myself ;-)

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[ss20]

I was there New Year's Eve as well. We need a Catamount Club to combat the Mount Snow Homers, Killington Fanboys, the Sundowners, and Watchusetts Night and Weekend Club

I had heard about the condo project a few years ago in an article I found online. Couldn't find anymore information on it so I thought it had died. It seems like its more of a pipe dream for the owners than an actual, feasible project. The parking lot is rutted, the "new" lifts purchased (quad and triple) were used, and there hasn't been any snowmaking structure improvements that I know of.

My point- the owners put in a minimal amount of money into the mountain, yet they've got enough money to build an 80 million, 153 unit condo complex at the base? Seems quite unlikely...

 

[Abominable]

I was there New Year's Eve as well. We need a Catamount Club to combat the Mount Snow Homers, Killington Fanboys, the Sundowners, and Watchusetts Night and Weekend Club

I had heard about the condo project a few years ago in an article I found online. Couldn't find anymore information on it so I thought it had died. It seems like its more of a pipe dream for the owners than an actual, feasible project. The parking lot is rutted, the "new" lifts purchased (quad and triple) were used, and there hasn't been any snowmaking structure improvements that I know of.

My point- the owners put in a minimal amount of money into the mountain, yet they've got enough money to build an 80 million, 153 unit condo complex at the base? Seems quite unlikely...

Well now I think it's a done deal. As I understand it (from talking to a ski patrol guy) the mountain is leasing land to the developers to build the condos, and as part of that deal the developer is building them a new lodge. Although the linked article states that they still need zoning approval, I can't imagine that's a big hurdle as 1. it was approved awhile back, which approval then expired and 2. the state pledge 1.2 million towards the project, and I can't see the state doing that unless local approval was a forgone conclusion.

So get your cheap turns in while you can.

 

[ScottySkis]

I like this hill. I don't know how they will attract enough people to stay in the hotel but wish them luck with that.

 

[C-Rex]

Unfortunately, the owners don't seem to understand the importance of offering a quality product. I think the lifts and snowmaking equipment need an upgrade before people would be willing to shell out good money for a nice condo on a vacation.

A number of people tried to introduce a summer mountain biking program a couple years ago but the owners did next to nothing to back it. The trail builders did the work on their own time, with their own equipment, and materials. They did an amazing job simply out of their love for the sport, and the only thing the owners did to support them was hire a couple lifties. They did not advertise at all and kept wondering why no one was showing up. I asked around at CT bike shops and none of the people knew Catamount even had biking trails, let alone a lift serviced park. When they couldn't sell more than a handful of tickets each weekend after a couple years in operation, they shut it down. It's really too bad because they had a good thing going. Bike parks are really starting to take off on the east coast. The only good ones are Highland in NH and Mountain Creek in NJ, both of which are 3.5 hours from Hartford. Catamount would have made a fantastic, and much closer option.

I really hope the owners pull their heads from their rear ends and invest in their product. The mountain has a lot of potential.

 

[Snowlover]

Well now I think it's a done deal. As I understand it (from talking to a ski patrol guy) the mountain is leasing land to the developers to build the condos, and as part of that deal the developer is building them a new lodge. Although the linked article states that they still need zoning approval, I can't imagine that's a big hurdle as 1. it was approved awhile back, which approval then expired and 2. the state pledge 1.2 million towards the project, and I can't see the state doing that unless local approval was a forgone conclusion.

So get your cheap turns in while you can.

Well this totally sucks. We don't need another "Resort" in the area. We've lost enough small affordable local type ski hills already.

 

[ScottySkis]

My favorite hill with natural snow is more known for their mountains biking then the skiing snowboarding. I was their this summer but was dumb and tried using a 200$ bike. It was interesting to say but I Will go biking again but this time rental of a good Down hill bike is a must.

 

[Hawkshot99]

I used to ski Cat a decent amount as a kid and in college.
Nice small hill, but if that hotel lodge setup goes though I feel it will bankrup them.
When the well off look to buy a condo they want it to be at a decent ski area. Not a single high speed lift and marginal snowmaking.
They will spend a ton for a hotel that will not payoff. Unless they also invest in the actual mtn. But the mtn needs to be updated before realestate, not the other way around.

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