Catskills NY 2019-20

[marzNC]

All the ski areas/resorts in NY State are likely to see snow in the next week. Starting on Thursday but the main storm arrives over the weekend. In the map below, Belleayre is showing 4 inches in the next 5 days (Thu-Sun, Nov. 7-10) with more forecast for early next week. By Monday, 24-hour snowmaking should be happening all over the Catskills and Berkshire mountains.

Southern NY State (will snow in western MA and New England too)

 

[marzNC]

Per usual, the forecast shifted. This map is the 5-day forecast for Sun-Thu, starting Nov. 10 with snow expected to start on Mon. Belleayre won't get much snow but should have ideal snowmaking weather all of next week.

 

[marzNC]

Hunter has announced Nov. 15 as opening day.

 

[marzNC]

For those who don't know much about Plattekill, here is a recent interview with the current owners. It's about an hour and gives a good sense of what it takes to keep an independent ski area going.

https://skiing.substack.com/p/podcast-2-danielle-and-laszlo-vajtay

 

[MissySki]

For those who don't know much about Plattekill, here is a recent interview with the current owners. It's about an hour and gives a good sense of what it takes to keep an independent ski area going.

https://skiing.substack.com/p/podcast-2-danielle-and-laszlo-vajtay

I’ve been enjoying this podcast every week, looking forward to the next one featuring Boyne Resorts for obvious reasons! This episode did make me more interested in trying Plattekill sometime!

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

Has any Diva skied Hunter yet? The website says 10 trails and 2 lifts open, with a good mix of greens & blues.

 

[marzNC]

Plattekill is hoping to open on Dec. 7.

Just noticed that for Dec. 14 and Dec. 15, the 10am Learn to Ski/Board package is half-price. The usual package is $80 with rental gear and $70 without rentals. The lesson is 1.5 hours. If a novice has a great time in the morning, can upgrade to a Full Mountain ticket for $30 and take an afternoon Take It To The Top lesson at 1:00 for free (worth $30). Going to the top means having guidance for skiing down the long green that goes along the edge of the ski area. It's a great beginner run since Plattekill doesn't get crowded.

 

[marzNC]

A little farther from NYC than the Catskills, but Gore is worth checking out for a weekend at some point. The NY Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism managed to get an article about Whiteface and Gore published by Powder Mag. It's a marketing piece but a decent introduction for folks who have never been to North Creek or Lake Placid.

Nov. 25, 2019, Powder Magazine
How to Go Big—Really Big—in the Adirondacks

 

[marzNC]

Pretty sure the Belleayre trail map is new. It's based on a trail map painting by K.M. Mastin. The new quad from the Discovery base is called Lightning. As I remember the old lift was very, very slow. So now beginners and intermediates who park at Discovery will have more fun.

 

[Like2Ski]

That is great news. I believe there were two double lifts adjacent to each other there and really slow!

 

[marzNC]

That is great news. I believe there were two double lifts adjacent to each other there and really slow!

You are correct. I found a collection of old trail maps on line. Apparently Kevin Mastin's map painting was first used in 2016. By 2017, the gondola was added. I just learned about Mastin this week. He's been getting encouragement from James Neihues in the last dozen years.

https://skimap.org/data/324/1535/1480365170jpg_render.jpg
2016 Belleayre trail map detail for double lifts for beginner terrain leading to Discovery Lodge

 

[marzNC]

Facebook is one way to hear about Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals without being on elists. Gore has the Perfect Pair for $119, two non-holiday tickets.

 

[marzNC]

With the cold weather coming in, Belleayre and Gore should be able to make good use of the snowmaking upgrades in recent years. The Belle website hasn't been updated with pics of the renovated lodge yet. From the webcam, seems pretty clear that construction is done yet. It pans 360º so can see the Discovery Lodge and the new RFID gates for the new beginner quad chairlift.

Belleayre 2019-20 Projects


Gore 2019-20 Projects

 

[Randi M.]

That is great news. I believe there were two double lifts adjacent to each other there and really slow!

I’m so glad to see this. Those two double lifts were SO. SLOW. And because they were beginner lifts, they were constantly being stopped. To get to mid-mountain from the base, it was faster to take the gondola to the top — lines and all — and ski down to than take one of those lifts.

 

[Randi M.]

A little farther from NYC than the Catskills, but Gore is worth checking out for a weekend at some point. The NY Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism managed to get an article about Whiteface and Gore published by Powder Mag. It's a marketing piece but a decent introduction for folks who have never been to North Creek or Lake Placid.

Nov. 25, 2019, Powder Magazine
How to Go Big—Really Big—in the Adirondacks

This will be our third consecutive year skiing all three ORDA mountains. I adore Gore. Yes, it requires a lot of hiking here and there, but the terrain is so varied, and it has pockets that are breathtakingly beautiful, especially the old hand cut trails.

 

[marzNC]

The Catskill and Berkshire mountains were clear winners from the recent snowstorm. Bellayre, Hunter, and Windham all got close to 2 feet in a couple days! Jiminy Peak was reporting almost as much as well. Gore reported 7 inches. Certainly should help get a solid base built on all trails before the holidays.

 

[Like2Ski]

Berkshire East reported 14" at last count and Catamount 9"....wish I could've been there!

 

[echo_VT]

I am late to the thread but we’ve been to Hunter on opening weekend. However they have suffered quite a bit of rain so I don’t know what the conditions are like after that happened. We head back there this weekend.

Will be skiing the season at Hunter... after some hemming and hawing it looks like I may not teach this year if my husband doesn’t get the race coach position. So I will do another year of seasonals with adults which is fine.

 

[NYSnowflake]

Has anyone been to Belleayre this week? My friends want us to meet them at Belleayre on Saturday. However, I don’t think there’s much terrain open for intermediates there. I am more inclined to go to Mount Snow (better coverage and more open intermediate terrain) unless I hear an encouraging review on Belleayre’s current conditions.

 

[marzNC]

Has anyone been to Belleayre this week? My friends want us to meet them at Belleayre on Saturday. However, I don’t think there’s much terrain open for intermediates there. I am more inclined to go to Mount Snow (better coverage and more open intermediate terrain) unless I hear an encouraging review on Belleayre’s current conditions.

With the new base quad and gondola at Belle, it's a harder call. I like Belleayre, but I've never skied Mount Snow. The day I might have gone one early season, there was so much wind that with wind hold it wouldn't have been worth it. I drove from Boston to Killington instead even though there was essentially only one run top-to-bottom and a couple other short trails on the upper mountain.

The advanced skiers who post on NYSkiBlog are all very excited about heading to the Catskills this weekend. They know how much new snow the storm dropped because there are members who live near there or were driving past. A couple men had a grand time at Hunter on Monday.

During early or late season, for me personally the opportunity to meet up with friends tends to be a strong factor for deciding where to drive for a day trip. Even if conditions might be slightly better at an alternative.