Snow Business: Catamount's Cabanas, Continuity Amid Coronavirus

HILLSDALE, NY — Catamount is another shining example of how snow sports areas have been creative and undaunted in giving skiers and snowboarders in Connecticut an option close to home during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Let's first backtrack to last March — early last March. Catamount was riding a wave of capital improvement success that included a new lodge and unclogging the lift system on the Massachusetts side of the mountain.

There was plenty of snow and it seemed like the beginnings of a good spring season.

Then, the virus prompted first tight restrictions and then closures and the season came to an abrupt halt.

The consternation was obvious in the voice of Catamount General manager Rich Edwards into the summer, but the staff forged ahead by finishing up the new lodge and taking out the old yellow double chairlift to set the stage for a new lift on the New York side.

A new trail called Lookout was cut that offered views that stretched into the mid-Catskills and the ridge was widened.

Still ... the pandemic stretched the ambiguity into the fall. After the dust settled on capacity and the rules, though, Catamount was ready.

First and foremost, a trip to Catamount last month felt safe — period. Yes, the same face-covering requirements and lift regulations (immediate families and groups ride together) are in effect. Partitions have been set up in the lodge for each table. Quick visits to boot-up are permitted inside the lodge as well. Some food is available and long lodge stays require a food purchase.

Bathrooms have space limits but are open indoors.

Most visitors have been opting to stay outside and plenty of chairs, picnic tables and fire pits have been installed.

Catamount has also constructed a cabana village at the base area that adds a new flair to the resort. The wood structures feature bench seating inside and can accommodate families and small groups. They come with portable propane heaters.

Combined with the fire pits and the picnic tables, the cabanas add a festive atmosphere to the base area. They can be rented for the season and daily. See more on the cabanas here.

The challenge with last month's visit was to give a new skier here first 1,000-vertical foot experience, that sort of introduction to summit views and runs.

Catamount's expanded ridge area was perfect.

The new skier is athletic — a lacrosse midfielder — and she has taken to skiing very quickly.

After a couple of warmups omg the bunny hills — Catamount has two magic carpet lifts — and a run at the halfway point off the Meadows chair, we were ready to hit the summit.

The work on Ridge Run showed. Edwards said a considerable amount of blasting took place to widen the entire traverse, making it more accommodating for families who want to stay together.

The new skier has been glowing about the experience ever since.

After Ridge run, the trail of choice for the youngsters was Upper Promenade. The surface was great.

Things are even better after Catamount picked up about 15 inches of snow this week. Crews already had a snowmaking head start on the trademark summit face double blacks, so things should be stellar heading into President's Weekend.

The next visit will be an introduction to the new Lookout trail.

For now, head to catamount because it won's disappoint.

For ticket information, click here.

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Chris Dehnel is a Patch Editor who has been writing about skiing and snowboarding for more than two decades. He is a past-president of the eastern Ski Writers Association and board member of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association. The Snow Business columns runs periodically on Patch during the season.