Albert Neubert
HUDSON VALLEY- We went deep into the snow zone in ski country when Winter Storm Quest arrived Friday night and lasted well into Saturday. Like most of the storms this season, it was heavy and wet and mixed with rain in the more southerly areas. Local areas like Mount Peter in Warwick, Thunder Ridge in Patterson and the Victor Constant ski slopes at West Point were on the wrong side of the system and missed out on any snow accumulation.
Further north in the Catskills, the extra elevation made all the difference as Belleayre Hunter, Windham, and Plattekill got around 10-12 inches.
Across the Hudson, Mohawk in the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut and Catamount, on the New York and Massachusetts, border got from five to seven inches. The bullseye for Quest was at Gore, in North Creek in the Adirondack Mountains, which saw 16 inches.
The Green Mountain of Vermont, the Whites of New Hampshire, and the mountains of Maine had anywhere from 10-14 inches of the same heavy snow.
Ski area marketing folks were touting the big snowfalls and excitedly reporting the great powder conditions. The stuff that fell this weekend was anything but powder and was more like mashed potatoes as it fell and temps warmed to just above the freezing mark. With huge turnouts across all resorts, conditions were more lumpy, bumpy, and clumpy by mid-day Saturday. It was “chowda” instead of “powda,” and wore skiers and snowboarders out quickly. By Sunday, ski area operators were able to groom the snow into their bases and you had some of the best conditions of the season. The weather cooperated with comfortable temps in the 30s and just enough cloud cover to keep surfaces from becoming heavy.
Dave Brywczy, a coach for the West Point Junior Alpine Ski Team, told me on Saturday that the team canceled its training for the season because of the lack of snow at their home facility, the Victor Constant ski slopes at West Point. The ski area struggled to get open and has only managed a beginners’ run and the Rod Smith intermediate trail from the summit of the triple chairlift, and that was only over the past few weeks. Brywczy skied there on Saturday and said that it was classic spring skiing conditions which is not surprising since the area got rain on Friday night and temperatures were in the upper 30s.
I made my way across the Hudson on Route 23 east from the Rip Van Winkle Bridge at Catskill and to Hillsdale and the two miles east to the Catamount ski area last week. It was a picture-perfect bluebird day with comfortable temps in the 30ss and no wind. I was there following the seven-inch snowfall from Winter Storm Piper. Catamount sits on the New York and Massachusetts border just north of Connecticut.
The area has a 1,000-foot vertical drop and 44 trails served by two quad and three triple chairs along with three magic carpet lifts for beginners. There are three super steep trails in Catapult, Ripper, and Christopher’s Leap that rival anything at Hunter, Windham, or Plattekill. There’s a long novice run from the top of the summit Ridge Quad that traverses the trail network and connects to the Massachusetts side of the resort. That part of the trail network is ideal for novices and lower intermediates and has really pleasant fall-line terrain. Fall line slopes follow the natural contours of the topography and are much more comfortable and enjoyable to ski or ride on a snowboard.
Catamount’s management has done a fabulous job in revamping the infrastructure at the resort. The base area is almost unrecognizable when compared to the original base lodges from just a few years earlier. It has a look and feel like a major Vermont or New Hampshire mega-resort. The main lodge is stunning with spectacular views of the slopes and has a very warm and airy feel to it with its tall ceilings. The deck in from of the main lodge has picnic tables and several fire pits and provides a great viewing area for the racing slopes just above the lodge. Catamount’s management is offering a special spring skiing pass called the Spring Equinox Pass. The pass is priced at $139 and is good until the end of the season. It’s a great deal since you only have to go a few times and you will come out ahead versus buying daily lift tickets. For more information, you can visit the Catamount website at www.catamountski.com
On Tuesday I paid a visit to one of my favorite mountains, Windham, located in the northern Catskills just seven miles north of Hunter. Windham has evolved into the most upscale of the Catskill resorts and with the addition of another high-speed quad chairlift, can boast four in total, which rivals many of the large destination resorts in New England.
It was breezy but not nearly as bad as it was in the valleys on my way to the ski area. I arrived in the parking lot just before their 9:00 AM opening with my car thermometer showing 28. It was a bluebird day with a few puffy clouds and temperatures stayed in the mid-30s which kept the snow surfaces dry and powdery. It was by far and away the best conditions I encountered all season and the groomed runs were perfect from top-to-bottom. In two hours of blazing around the trail network, I never saw or hit any icy surface, a first for me this season. Windham’s super-efficient lift system means you can always find chairs without much of a wait, if at all, even on the busiest days. Take it from somebody that is allergic to lift lines, I like to spend my time on the slopes and not standing around waiting for my uphill transportation.
Think more cold and snow, and happy skiing and riding!
You can contact me at asneubert@aol.com or you can visit my Instagram page at asneubert.
