On Sunday the 18th, I had the chance to get down to Catamount for the first time this season in the Indy Pass. The weather was going to be perfect and all the major trails were going to be open. Being the middle of a holiday weekend, I knew it was going to be busy, so I left home early and got to the mountain by 830. It's an easy drive for me down 87-90-Taconic and then back roads.
Upon arrival in the parking lot I bumped into my friend Rich Edwards, who has long been involved at Catamount in prevoius ownership/marketing, who was helping to park cars. Chatted with him for a bit while he did so and was good to catch up. Went in line, got my RFID reloaded for the Indy, booted up and then headed out to the slopes.
The first hour (like at Magic the day before) was relatively quiet on the mountain, so I cranked out several nonstop runs - including two in a row on Catapult, which is a double diamond, well groomed, quite steep, wide open and uncrowded. The photo doesn't do it justice:
I then made a run down Christopher's Leap. I had yet to ski that trail, and it too was groomed. But wow, that is steep! According to Google Earth, it drops 329' in 912 linear feet, with a max slope of 76% and an average slope of 40.7%. It felt steeper (and Google Earth confirms) than Catapult or Ripper. The picture doesn't do it justice:
I took another run off Catapult while it was still good, as it does tend to skied off during the day.
The crowds slowly started to show up. UVM was hosting their Winter Carnival race there, with Dartmouth, Harvard, Plymouth State in attendance. It was supposed to be at Stowe earlier in the winter but was cancelled due to rain, and was rescheduled at Catamount. They were racing on Lower Alley Cat, so you could watch them from the Glades Triple which was fun. There were lines from mid-AM until mid-afternoon for Glades and the Ridge Quad, but it wasn't crazy or unexpected. I mixed it up with some runs on the Meadows chairlifts or the Catamount Quad when the lines were at the longest. Catamount Quad never had a line:
I skied just about every open trail except for Ripper and the two beginner trails off the midstation of the Meadows Triple.
For lunch, I caught up with my friend Dave Kulis who I've known through NELSAP forever, and is the Assistant General Manager at Catamount. We ate at Fat Cats, the revamped pub in the Berkshire Lodge. I was looking for a healthier option, and ordered their grilled salmon salad, which was quite delicious and hit the spot. It was great catching up with Dave about the mountain and recent upgrades, the ski industry, NELSAP, etc. I recommend this pub if you are here on the weekends when it is open.
It was an excellent day of skiing. Got in 23 runs, 17,600' of vertical and 19 miles. Some more photos:
The ski area from Promenade. Catamount punches way above its weight and has trails for everyone, and it's quite expansive in scope too from end to end.
Glade triple and chair near summit:
Fishers Fluke:
