Plattekill 3-27-11

[Ride Delaware ?]

Well, after leaving Elk, we got on the road and started cruising through a bunch of back roads to get the Super 8 in Kingston, NY. If you have ever been to any of the Catskill resort areas, you know that there are very few food options in the area. We decided to get food on the way if we found a place that fit our needs. After about an hour, halfway between our start and destination, we were driving through Liberty, NY and found a bunch of fast food restaurants lined up on a side road. We decided to drive down the road to see our options, and we saw this small restaurant called the Milestone Grill and Restaurant. We went inside to find a very elegant atmosphere, but not very elegant clothing. We asked the owner if we were dressed appropriately, as we were still in our boarding clothes, and he said not to worry about it. We were going to try to sit in the bar to watch the Florida Butler game, but the bar was tiny and was more of a service bar with no draft beer. We went back to the dining room and were seated. The restaurant had new tile floor and frosted glass half walls. Afroman7 got a burger while I got the grilled pork loin special. I can't speak for Afroman7, but my pork and green beans were absolutely stellar. Maybe one of the best pork loins I have ever had. However, the rice pilaf that came with it was less than marginal and was far too bland. The pork was reasonably priced at $16.99 and was an excellent change from the normally cheap eating I do on snowboard trips. After hearing that Butler won, with a majority of the patrons cheering, we got back in the car and got to Kingston at about 7:30. We watched the end of the Kentucky North Carolina game and decided to get to bed around 11PM.

 

The alarm went off about 6:50 and we were quickly dressed and packed. After a quick continental breakfast we were on the road. The temperature was about 16 degrees when we pulled into the lot at Plattekill at 9:05. There were several more cars in the lot, but it seemed even slower on the slopes than last week. We remembered to take our leashes with us this time, and after paying our $44 for our discounted lift ticket, we were on the slopes by 9:40. The beginning of the day was the same as last week with only the triple running as they finished grooming everything off the double. Just as I did with Elk, I shot a picture at the top of the mountain to show the difference between last week and this weeks conditions. Here is that shot:

 

 

Plattekill was reporting 5" of snow this past week, and it was apparent from the lift. All of the brown spots were gone, the trees were back in play, and some trails that had been closed were reopened. We started off on Powderpuff and then traversed all the terrain off of the triple. It was granular mixed with pack powder and it was smooth and never bumped up. I ended up poaching Crossover, going over a 3 foot bridge of natural snow, and then up and around a snowgun to get back to the Lower Face. It was a fun little run, and as usual, the ski patrol didn't care at all. After our 5th or 6th run, we saw that the triple was open and headed right over. I shot this picture looking down Plunge with the Giant Slalom cutoff on the right slightly farther down the trail:

 

 

After a few runs down Plunge, Slalom, and Twist, we decided to try out Overlook. Overlook was fully covered and skied excellent. There were a bunch of tracks into the woods which was not very crusty. Here is the bottom section. It has more pitch and speed than it looks like from the picture:

 

 

After a few more runs we decided to head in for lunch. After a quick 45 minute lunch, we got back out on the snow and went up the double. I decided to go into the woods off of the double beside Powder Puff, and was rewarded with some fresh snow and some good tracks. It linked up with a mountain bike trail and had some great speed, turns, and bumps. Unfortunately, the runout was a little flat and I had to skate about 20 feet to get back on the trail, but other than that it was quite rewarding. Here is a picture pretty deep into this wooded section:

 

 

Before heading over to the triple to end our day, we decided to head down the North Face. I took a run through the terrain park which was in much better shape this week than last week. The jumps were shaped and several rails were in place. Overall, I was still not impressed. All of the rails were basic straight rails and the jumps were still setup pretty poorly. I hit the last jump which was a mini kicker with a 2 foot wide takeoff, but didn't get much air. I headed straight through the park and down to the triple where I linked up with Afroman7.

 

We set our lineup for the last couple runs, and on one of them, I decided to head down freefall. Freefall is a mostly natural trail and was incredibly beat up last week. In fact, the headwall had about a 3 foot snow gap all the way across it with a bunch of brush popping through the bare spots. The bottom was also very bare. However, after the snow this past week, there was only one bare spot. It was ungroomed, so it was a little bumpy and gave me a good workout, but overall, it fas a fun run with good pitch. Heres a shot from the top:

 

 

I linked back up with Afroman7 at the base and we went back to the top for our last three runs which were to be down Ridge Runner, Twist, and Overlook. Many of the areas the week before had not been groomed and were basically solid ice with ski tracks still in there. However, they had groomed much better this week and there was very little ice like that to be found. I saw that the Cliffs had opened up and I tried that out while Afroman7 continued down to the lift. The Cliffs is true to its name and has several dropable cliffs in trail. After the drops, the trail was ungroomed and had some good pitch. At the bottom it was a little hardpack and ice, and I had a bunch of good speed going. Unfortunately, I didn't realize it, but the entire width of the trail where the trail intersected with the Lower Northface had a water bar running across it. It was easily 2 feet by 2 feet. Luckily I was able to stop at the edge before falling in and went in the trees to go down where I could find a place to cross. On my next run down Twist I also went down the Cliffs and was able to ollie over the water bar fairly easily. On our last run we hooked it to Overlook and then over to the lodge. We were back in the car and on the road by 4 PM. The temperature was a balmy 28 degrees.

 

Overall, it was another great weekend with another great day at Plattekill. The extra snow last week combined with the cold temperatures will allow them to open this weekend as well. With the snow they are receiving as I type, they may even decide to stay open until the 10th. The lifties said that management said they would open as long as possible if they had the snow. After seeing the "crowds" this weekend, they surely aren't basing their decision to open on lift ticket sales. I won't be able to make it back to Plattekill this weekend, and probably not the rest of the season, but I would say I am hooked. If I am ever in the area again, I will make it a point to stop by. I am definitely looking forward to a Plattekill powder day someday in my future. It looks like it would be a bunch of fun. This shouldn't be my last trip for the season. I am hoping on getting a day or two in Vermont late next week or early the following week. Lets hope the weather continues to cooperate. While the PA season is winding down, it looks like many area in NY, VT, and ME are in it for the long haul. If you want it, you can still get out there and get it. Stay Thirsty my Friends!!!

[vinnyv11]

Nice report. How is the drive there? Doable for a daily or need an overnight stay?

[vinnyv11]

Gotcha. The wife has some friends near the Scranton area so I may be able to cut the drive a good bit to be able to not spend the extra cash.