Windham/Hunter/Belleayre/Plattekill

[ctenidae]

Wife and I are spending the weekend at a house in Shandaken, trying to decide where to ski Sat and Sun (gasp, I know- we've already doubled last year's ski time with a 4-hour ticket at Catamount). Not feeling the love-vibe for Windham from anyoneso maybe that's lower down the list of interesting options. Hunter is intriguing- love a mountain where the herds stay in one place leaving the good parts to people who can wander. Belleayre's attraction is from wanting to check it out prior to going with my brother and his kids to get them started skiing. Plattekill I know nothing about.

So, what do you suggest for Sat and Sunday? Varied terrain, manageable crowds, and good conditions, in approximately that order, drive the choices (which leads me to Hunter at least one day, I think). Thoughts?

Also, bonus points for breakfast and dinner suggestions...

 

[bvibert]

Holy crap, you ski?

Hunter is a fun mountain if you like steepish terrain and/or moguls. Not so much for intermediate type cruisers there.

 

[oakapple]

Given your priorities, I'd recommend Saturday at Belleayre and Sunday at Hunter. On any given day, Hunter tends to be more crowded than Belleayre; but Sundays at Hunter are less crowded than Saturdays.

I think that Belleayre is a better beginner-to-intermediate mountain, and Hunter is a better advanced-to-expert mountain. It's not that Belleayre doesn't have good black diamonds, but that most of those have long blue run-outs to get back to the chairlift. For a future trip with your brother and his kids who have never skied, Belleayre's green trails are considerably better than Hunter's.

At Hunter, if you're a black diamond skier, there are two big areas (the F lift on the main mountain and the whole west side) that are entirely advanced terrain, and that don't see big crowds. Hunter's crown jewel, the new high-speed six-pack, has the longest lines, but because it is a six-pack, it also loads relatively quickly.

 

[dmc]

if you come to Hunter let me know...

Not sure what's going on as far as conditions..
We have some good woods options opening up now - not just glades..

 

[dmc]

Belleayre's green trails are considerably better than Hunter's.

I don't know if thats really true... Hunter has a whole area set aside for beginners(Hunter 1)..

 

[ctenidae]

Given your priorities, I'd recommend Saturday at Belleayre and Sunday at Hunter. On any given day, Hunter tends to be more crowded than Belleayre; but Sundays at Hunter are less crowded than Saturdays.

That's kind of what I was thinking. Steepish terrain and trees we like (moguls not so much).

 

[legalskier]

In addition to what's been said, Belleayre offers lots of glades/tree skiing, some tough, some tame. They were in very good shape last weekend and with all the snow this week they'll be terrific this weekend. The upper and lower mountains are connected via the Superchief lift, so you can meet up with your friends if they're skiing down below on the long gentle greens.
Plattekill is a very cool mountain but the problem is finding it. It isn't as big as the others but offers much fun terrain with some good steeps.
Hunter's steeps/bumps can't be beat.

 

[dmc]

Hunter's steeps/bumps can't be beat.

We got good unmarked glades too..

 

[4aprice]

Shandaken is like 20 -30 minutes to Plattekill. Go there Sat and wave to all the cars pulling into Belleayre as you go by. Hit Hunter Sunday when probably no one will be there because of the Super Bowl and rain in the metropolitan area this weekend. The Catskills should be awesome this weekend.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[andyzee]

Avoid Belleayre/Windham, Boring/Crowded. Go to Plattekill/Hunter

 

[jrmagic]

I agree with the last 2. I think Plattekill Saturday and Hunter Sunday is the most interesting combo of the group.

 

[ctenidae]

Plattekill could edge Bellyeare out- crowds, plus Plattekill's 1100 feet seems to be true, while Bellyere's 1400 is 800 at the top section and 600 on the bottom.

Windham on the face seems good- slick website, trail map dominated with blacks, but the lack of virulent haters worries me. At least with Hunter, most critics seem to be answered with "you're doing it wrong," but Windham has some detractors, no or few supporters, and a lot of "meh."

Forgot/didn't realize the Stupor Bowl is Sunday- that's bonus points for Hunter, I think- even less crowded.

 

[dmc]

I'll meet you at the base of the D chair at 10:30 if you'd like...

It's a triple that goes half way up.. We can then head over to the F chair to get to the Summit and go where ever...

 

[andyzee]

Windham is a nice mountain, but lift lines just get too long.

Hunter, great terrain, bad rep for crowds, worst case stay mid mountain. Beginner intermediate very limited, Sorry DMC, tried Hunter One once, lasted about 2 min.

Plattekill, Good terrain, in good conditions, great terrain. Trails not as long as Hunter, needs to be visited during good conditions(now). Lines? What's that

Belleayre, A lot of folks seem to like it, me, I went once and got very bored. But that may just be me.

 

[dmc]

Hunter, great terrain, bad rep for crowds, worst case stay mid mountain. Beginner intermediate very limited, Sorry DMC, tried Hunter One once, lasted about 2 min.

I don't get over there much.. Except to farm POW..

H1 is small... and probably boring for most avid skiers.

 

[ctenidae]

Not interested in beginner terrain at all, challenging blues and easier blacks for cruising (love finding that one bomber run), steeps and trees for fun- that's how we roll.

 

[andyzee]

Not interested in beginner terrain at all, challenging blues and easier blacks for cruising (love finding that one bomber run), steeps and trees for fun- that's how we roll.

If you can split them out, as stated, do Plattekill/Hunter, Saturday/Sunday for diversity. If you can't, I'd say stick with Hunter. Unless we get a good dump on the day you go up, then go with Plattekill as Hunter may get crowded and Plattekill's terrain gets far more interesting. Under any circumstance, can't beat the vibe at Plattekill, do try to hit it at least one day

 

[ctenidae]

We've decided- Plattekill Saturday, Hunter Sunday. Hunter's got $45 tickets on for Sunday- hard to beat that.

At least, Hunter for sure on Sunday. Plattekill is the leading contender for Saturday, but Windham has some inexplicable attraction too- how is it compared to, say, Bretton Woods?

 

[dmc]

Windham is the Bretton woods of the Catskills... haha...

They have some REALLY good restaurants there...

 

[andyzee]

We've decided- Plattekill Saturday, Hunter Sunday. Hunter's got $45 tickets on for Sunday- hard to beat that.

At least, Hunter for sure on Sunday. Plattekill is the leading contender for Saturday, but Windham has some inexplicable attraction too- how is it compared to, say, Bretton Woods?

How long are the lines at Bretton Woods, if they are 10-20, then I would say very comparable. Really, like the mountain, but the lines are murder.

Tip: Stop at Potter Brothers right off exit 19 to get discount tix. http://potterbrothers.com/tickets.php