Snow Business: Smart Capital Improvement Continues At Catamount

HILLSDALE, NY — This week, we visit Part 2 of a three-part series on the three-mountain Summit Pass that includes Catamount, Berkshire East and Bousquet Mountain.

Last week it was Bousquet and this week, we will concentrate on Catamount. One cool fact to start with is that Catamount is one of three U.S. Snow Sports areas at which one can ski and ride in two states — New York and Massachusetts. Heavenly on the California-Nevada line and Lookout Pass in Idaho and Montana are the others.

That and the fact that Catamount has legitimate double-blacks on the face give it luster, along with a mellow skier-and rider-first emphasis that makes it a comfortable destination from all points in Connecticut.

This week, though, let's take a look at the next phase of a smartly planned capital improvement sequence that is making Catamount an even bigger player in the competitive Northeast 1,000-vertical drop market.

A wider trail on the main face of the lower mountain has really opened things up for the novices and those who prefer a shorter jaunt on which to warm up on the first few runs. Gone is a gully that didn't necessarily freak people out but gave the illusion that the trail was narrower that it really was. The wider trail spreads out the crowds and gives those working on their turns a lot more room to be confident.

Gone is a cool and vintage, but older chair that was tricky to load and lacked a modern capacity to get the crowds up the hill in a timely fashion. In its place is a larger-capacity lift that is newer, a lot more comfortable and easy-to-load chair that has produced a lot of happier faces on the lower mountain.

While we lament the passing to the old brown double chair, we are also saying goodbye to the old yellow chair on the New York side. I'll admit we all liked to ride it, though it was slow and was getting temperamental with age. I think it was about the character. But a new chair has more capacity and gets both the racers and those wanting to access the harder terrain in New York two options.

Catamount has also fashioned an improved and more cozy courtyard area featuring comfy chairs, fire pits and tables for outdoor dining.

The latest improvements join the new lodge and the improved lift system on the Massachusetts side. It's now two lifts out of the same line (if there's a line at all) over there. The two-tiered lodge is ultra-modern and features tasty foods and a comfortable place to boot up in the morning and relax at lunch and apres-ski. Live bands are often featured.

Catamount officials have made it no secret that they are making a concerted effort to make the mountain an attractive choice for the competitive Connecticut market. It's less than two hours from both the lower and western parts of the state (about 100 miles from the Route 7 interchange in Norwalk) and about 90 minutes (about 60 miles) from Route 44 in Farmington for the central and eastern parts of the state.

Aside from saving gas, the three-mountain pass is arguably one of the better bargains in the industry right now. See more about it at the Catamount website.

And ... by the way ... Catamount foresees a two-week snowmaking window in an effort to take the season well into March, despite the lack of ground snow in Connecticut. Plus, who knows, Mother nature may finally cooperate this winter.

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Chris Dehnel is a Patch editor who has been writing about skiing and snowboarding since 1999. He has contributed to several books about snow sports and is a past-president of the Eastern Ski Writers Association and board member of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association. His columns appear periodically during the season.