Plattekill Mountain Ski Getaways

Close to dead center in the high peaks region of the Catskills, Plattekill Mountain rises steeply from it surroundings. Its 1100' of vertical tops out at the summit of a 3500' mountain, and this advantageous altitude in the southern New York snow belt produces an average of 165" of snow a year.

While you might think that with a base elevation of 2400' Plattekill could squeeze out another few hundred feet of vertical below it, rest assured that the trails occupy the best vertical on the mountain. There's a bunny hill and a couple of longer beginner trails, Overlook and Powderpuff, but kids will need to get better fast to join the rest of the family. Forty percent of the terrain is rated advanced or expert and even a few of the blue square trails have the occasional steeper drop.

Double diamonds include Plunge, under the "Northface Express" (a double chair which provides an alternative to a long, steep, T-bar), Freefall, Blockbuster, and Pipe Line, plus a couple of shorter shots. Single blacks are Bumps (which will warm you up for Blockbuster or Pipe Line), the short Twist and Ridge Run, and The Cliffs, off the intermediate, and lower, section of Ridge Run.

Intermediates need not fear; there are plenty of choices from the top. Most of Ridge Run is blue square (the black diamond top section can be avoided by taking Cat Track), North Face is mostly blue, and there are Buckle Up, Bail Out, and Sundown off the triple.

With such interesting terrain a terrain park seems, well, redundant, but for those who want more formal challenges, Shredded Mozzarella delivers. It has moguls, bumps, jumps, spines, and a quarter pipe.