So whattya think of skiing the Catskills tomorrow?

[gores95]

Will they have recovered enough to warrant the 2+ hour drive each way from North Jersey? Thinking of taking a mental health day (very appropriate as I am thinking of skiing in this slop!) and leaving at 5:30-6:00 tomorrow morning. Figure I could get 6-8 hours of "last of the season" skiing in.

I know Windham is closed but Hunter and Belleayre still are open. I am guessing Hunter is better prepared to cope with this mess but any suggestions on the two of these (or any others)?

Thanks,

Marc

 

[FRITOLAYGUY]

Well Marc hunter says they got 47/53 with hard packed icy surface and bell says they are closed today soooo u might wanna call in the morning, im sure dmc could tell u more about hunter as ive never been there, just goin by their website

 

[FRITOLAYGUY]

Actually that report from hunter is from Sat, so they havent updated it today which might not be a good thing.

 

[skidbump]

rte 28 took a hit on storms ...for belleayre call in am to verify access..saw pics at dinner and some of the local roads arround pine hill were in real bad shape

 

[dmc]

Hunter was awesome today...

Tons of snow... Claires was the run of the day.. Fresh was starting to pile up between the bumps

Check my trip report...

Racers Edge this morning...

 

[dmc]

rte 28 took a hit on storms ...for belleayre call in am to verify access..saw pics at dinner and some of the local roads arround pine hill were in real bad shape

Green County got slammed... Over 5" in East Jewitt... The water in Hunter was insane..
Lot of people got stranded at an event at the mountain because 23A and 214 were closed..
There was a huge stream of water on the road that went from Tannersville to Hunter...

 

[gores95]

rte 28 took a hit on storms ...for belleayre call in am to verify access..saw pics at dinner and some of the local roads arround pine hill were in real bad shape

Green County got slammed... Over 5" in East Jewitt... The water in Hunter was insane..
Lot of people got stranded at an event at the mountain because 23A and 214 were closed..
There was a huge stream of water on the road that went from Tannersville to Hunter...

DMC I'm gonna make a run up to Hunter tomorrow. What the hell, I don't wanna work anyway! I guess I will call the Ski phone line of both Hunter and Belleayre on the way up and see which one sounds better. As of today Hunter had only four lifts open and 41 trails to Belleayre with 8 and 40 trails. Today Belleayre was closed but will reopen tomorrow. I guess I'll probably call the main number tomorrow when I'm close to them on the Thruway and see which one sounds better.

DMC you know the area well...which one am I better off at? Thanks.

 

[dmc]

I can't speak to conditions elsewhere..

Hunter may have a couple chairs offline but all the terrain is still accessable..
It's just above freezing here now with light flurrys..

 

[loafer89]

Belleayre is reporting 3" of new snow on their website.

 

[dmc]

Belleayre is reporting 3" of new snow on their website.

I wouldnt doubt that... At Hunter we had a least 2 by end of day yesterday and it snow a little last night too... It only really stuck to the available snow though.. And the trees...

 

[goldsbar]

The Plattekill webcam doens't look very promising.

Edit - just looked at it again and now it looks like mid-winter. They were showing tons of bare spots earlier this morning. Not sure what's going on there.

 

[dmc]

The Plattekill webcam doens't look very promising.

Edit - just looked at it again and now it looks like mid-winter. They were showing tons of bare spots earlier this morning. Not sure what's going on there.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that maybe it's snowing?

 

[Bandit2941]

As of Friday Belleayre had a ton of snow - they even had natural snow. In past experience I believe that the spring skiing is much better at Belleayre than Hunter(but in Hunter's defense it could have just been the days I was there). When I was at Hunter 3 friday's ago, it turned to mush earlier in the day. I was at Belleayre the day after, and the temperature was warmer but the snow stayed much firmer. I think it is due to a combination of less sun exposure and probably less skier traffic so it doesn't get mushed up as much. As of Friday, there were no real bare spots at Belleayre. Wanatuska had a spot of clear slush(with ground showing through it) and algonquin had some long strands of grass sticking up in one spot but still plenty of snow. I'm curious how it held up after the rain but I haven't gotten ahold of any of my friends that work up there yet.

Jamie

 

[dmc]

In past experience I believe that the spring skiing is much better at Belleayre than Hunter(but in Hunter's defense it could have just been the days I was there).

Thats why when someone asked what was better Bellayre or Hunter - I really couldnt answer...

It's spring... And Spring means super variable conditions... From hardpack to mush in a matter of hours...
All depends on when you catch it...
Hunter has lots of exposures... If one area is not to your liking then you can move over to another...

 

[BeanoNYC]

I tell ya, dmc .... your pics really make me think about heading up this weekend. They do a super job keeping the trails up at Hunter.

 

[Bandit2941]

It's spring... And Spring means super variable conditions... From hardpack to mush in a matter of hours...
All depends on when you catch it...
Hunter has lots of exposures... If one area is not to your liking then you can move over to another.

All very very true. I was just amazed at how fast Hunter turned to mush when I was there this year - first run down was frozen hardpack.....2nd run turned in to absolute mush(hellgate both runs). This was after the west side was windblow and they cut the moguls - anything other then wayout was bulletproof all day over there. I've had similar experiences there in previous years as well. For some reason, Belleayre seems to be able to take the heat better without getting as mushy. Not sure whether it is skier traffic, the fact that belleayre does more grooming, or what. I imagine it has mostly to do with more sun exposure(at least on the main mtn) at Hunter.

Jamie

 

[dmc]

It's spring... And Spring means super variable conditions... From hardpack to mush in a matter of hours...
All depends on when you catch it...
Hunter has lots of exposures... If one area is not to your liking then you can move over to another.

All very very true. I was just amazed at how fast Hunter turned to mush when I was there this year - first run down was frozen hardpack.....2nd run turned in to absolute mush(hellgate both runs). This was after the west side was windblow and they cut the moguls - anything other then wayout was bulletproof all day over there. I've had similar experiences there in previous years as well. For some reason, Belleayre seems to be able to take the heat better without getting as mushy. Not sure whether it is skier traffic, the fact that belleayre does more grooming, or what. I imagine it has mostly to do with more sun exposure(at least on the main mtn) at Hunter.

Jamie

I seriously doubt it due to what your eluding to...

Most likely due to exposure and angle...

 

[Bandit2941]

It's spring... And Spring means super variable conditions... From hardpack to mush in a matter of hours...
All depends on when you catch it...
Hunter has lots of exposures... If one area is not to your liking then you can move over to another.

All very very true. I was just amazed at how fast Hunter turned to mush when I was there this year - first run down was frozen hardpack.....2nd run turned in to absolute mush(hellgate both runs). This was after the west side was windblow and they cut the moguls - anything other then wayout was bulletproof all day over there. I've had similar experiences there in previous years as well. For some reason, Belleayre seems to be able to take the heat better without getting as mushy. Not sure whether it is skier traffic, the fact that belleayre does more grooming, or what. I imagine it has mostly to do with more sun exposure(at least on the main mtn) at Hunter.

Jamie

I seriously doubt it due to what your eluding to...

Most likely due to exposure and angle...

What do you doubt? That it's not due to grooming? Or the difference in how fast the conditions changed?

 

[bigbog]

...Just goes to show ya', what matters is altitude, NOT latitude(sp :roll: ?)
Nice stuff....agreed, "changing conditions" rules in NewEngland.

 

[JimG.]

Yesterday at Hunter was great! A little fresh snow on top of the rain washed base, snow was smooth like cream cheese. Had several great runs down Clair's in 2-3" of fresh. K27 and upper xover sweet. Got colder as the day went on, but the snow was soft and consistent.

Nobody there, a ton of snow left. 44 and purna still quite skiable. Hard to believe the last weekend is coming up.

Get up to Hunter while you can (before they close the lifts anyway).