Below is a link to some comments on a 3 day trip I made this past weekend to the Catskills. I'm saving my best photos and gory details for a full report next Fall sometime on DCSki. We experienced the kind of conditions that will grow hair on your chest.

http://forums.epicski.com/showthread.php?p=876885#post876885

Dang Jim, you beat me to Plattekill. Been on my to do list for a while.

Yeah, but I saw it when it had both hands tied behind its back and a ball and chain on one foot:-)

The lodge had a nice vibe that was a cross between Whitegrass and Blue Knob. The last ascent of the access road presented me with a unique traction problem - so muddy my tires spun a little. You'd love it on a good day.

The Catskills have had a very poor year for natural snow; from what I've heard Plattekill relies mostly on it. Seems like a Blue Knob on steriods (or a MRG shrunk down.) Problem is that Plattekill is about a 6 hour drive from DC; when the conditions are good I wonder if it justifies the extra 3 hours compared to BK or if an extra 3 hours justifies going to MRG?

Any lodging recommendations for that area?

We were up in the Catskills all last week. Skied Belleayre, Hunter, Windham. Wanted to go to Plattekill Friday but figured the rain from Tues. and Wed. did it in. We ended up heading home Fri. to try to beat the big storm that hammered Ohio.


We liked all three places with Belleayre being the favorite. There are some wild trails at Hunter, that is one gnarly mountain. That log home on Lower Wipeout at Windham is some thing to see. Do you see the psychadelic moose a little further down the trail?

We also went to Kaaterskil Falls.Did you hike back to the big falls? We didn't make to the big falls. The trail was very icy and we didn't want to take the chance. The falls close to road were very impressive though.

We stayed 3 nights at the Forester Lodge. Great place. I highly recommend it.

Here are some of our pics.

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=881

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=880

http://forums.alpinezone.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=882

Nice going Buckeye.
So many ski areas, so little time. We drove into the upper Belleayre parking lot for a look after our time at Plattekill. Couldn't see much due to rain/fog. The two are within about 10-15 miles of each other. In fact, as crow flies most Catskill ski areas are within about 25 miles of each other.

From our area the Catskills are an interesting option for a three day weekend and I'd be inclined to try more than one to justify the drive/stay for three ski days. I stayed in a boring chain motel by I87, but affordable $50 something per night.