Fun & Fitness over 50

Skied today at Plattekill Mountain in Roxbury, NY in the Catskills. They advertised a $15 day so I decided now was the time. The weather has been a bit dicey too; rain just about every week. Today was supposed to be an unrainy day and there was supposed to be rain friday so this was it.

I was the second car in the parking lot. I didn't see anybody on the lifts or the slopes. Eerie. I like it uncrowded but this was a little strange. Eventually people started trickling in.

First run was on Powder Puff to warm up and test surface conditions. Consistent grooming, a little hard, no icy or bare spots. I think I got first tracks on that one

Then I did Sundown to Shredded Mozzarella, a blue run. Not bad. Looked like I was the second skier down it. Shredded Mozz is often tricky. There's a sharp turn with a reverse bank and it's faster than it looks. There's usually some kind of chop from the grooming on the corner too. Took a spill on that one.

My next planned run was Sundown then a right turn on to the Lower Face rather than continue on to Mozz. Lower Face is a Blue run but steeper. What Jiminy would class as a high intermediate. This is usually faster than I'm comfortable with and was what I had planned on working on today.

I pretty much alternated those runs today, concentrating on getting confident on the Face. I kept eyeing the Upper Face which is a black diamond cause it runs right under the lift. I have done it before. I finally tried it and it was ok if a little hairy. But I got down it alright.

After lunch it started snowing. I think it helped conditions a little but psychologically it's a big boost. It's so beautiful.

The upper face kept calling to me. I did it a few more times and got pretty comfortable with it. I think I've crossed a line. I'm craving steeper runs now. More Gs per turn! ;-)

The only other runs open today were the north face and blockbuster. I never got over to that lift. Had enough to work on I guess. Blockbuster was pretty nasty looking. Huge bumps. I think they just made snow and never groomed it out. I never saw one person on it all day.

Had another great day on the slopes. This has definitely been my best season so far in spite of the lack of snow and cold. I know the new skis (Rossi Bandits) have made a huge difference.

Here's video I made going down Powder Puff. I'm just using a regular hand held camera here.