Snow Business: April Madness at Catamount

HILLSDALE, NY — It took one quick message on Saturday from Catamount vice president Rich Edwards to change the Sunday plans.

It's going to be a nice day, he said, so why not get one more day in on the mountain before the crazy youth lacrosse season kicks in.

And oh, was he right. Sunday wound up being one of those epic spring skiing days.

Catamount is one of those snow sports areas that is totally conducive to the spur-of-the-moment decision because of a few factors:

• It's close — as quick as 90 minutes from some easy-of-the-river towns, depending on traffic, and that gets even quicker as you make your way along the Route 44 corridor and eventually to the Massachusetts-New York border on Route 23.
• It's high enough. There is 1,000 vertical feet to ski and ride.
• It has terrain. Catamount has a good mix of Greens, blues and blacks and the blacks are blacks. They have steepness. The greens offer enough variety for all ability levels from the summit.
• It has attitude. That means smiling lifties, a great snow sports school, an adaptive program and good, reasonably priced food. Some celebrities quietly go there to experience the low-key, neighborly feeling.
• The novelty. You can ski in both New York and Massachusetts.

With two 7-year-olds who were on summit lifts since their fourth time out in tow, the focus was on the terrain on the Massachusetts side — to the far downhill left. And it was all good.

The temperatures started out in the 30s and crept up to near 50 as the day progressed, meaning the transition from frozen granular to mashed potatoes was gradual. It wasn't crowded, so the kids were able to experience their first really warm spring day at their own pace.

It was just a solid day after all, but that's the norm with Catamount. It's one of those places you can never get enough of once you experience it.

For season pass information visit: www.catamountski.com.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel

Chris Dehnel is a patch editor. He has been writing about snow sports since 1999.