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FINDING TREASURE OFF THE BEATEN TRAIL
by John Williams
Do you have those days when you wake up and want to try something different, some perfect little hidden away mountain with trails made for happy lovers and those lazy for the day? Probably many of them exist and we'll search them out for you, ski areas off the beaten trail. And we just found one in the Catskills of New York State...Ski Windham. So get your boards and come on along.
I went up to New York City the other day wondering about this rather strange February weather. But skiing was on my mind and the minds of my friends. There were lots of ski area targets, but we decided to wait until morning and then make our decision.
I got up thinking of a dreamy snow day, mellow trails to be skied to interior music. The sort of morning feeling that we called a "Buttermilk" day back when Aspen was part of my life. Easy rambles, sliding along to sweet, happy rhythms. Soft white snow, deep blue and white sky, scented and caressing air.
But what was that sound? That patter, patter, patter, drip, drip, drip? Yup! Dammit, rain.
Over breakfast and coffee we considered possibilities. Drive to Vermont in rain? No way! Hunter? Not much fun in lousy conditions. And then someone said, "There's Windham, and it's close. If it's still raining, we'll just give it up early." That suggestion carried the day. And off we rolled.
WINDHAM NEVER HEARD OF IT!
If you're saying "Windham? Never heard of it!" Well here's some specifics that I'll pass along to you before telling you about my ski day.
Ski Windham boasts of being one of the largest ski/snowboard resorts in New York state. You can drive there from New York City in about two and a half hours or come down from Albany in about an hour. It sits at the northern tip of the Catskill Mountains, famous for Rip Van Winkle and other exotic country types as well as quaint towns, summer resorts and antiques of every variety, people included. Of course, like so much of America's back country, it's changing...and growing Ski Windham is part of that.
To drive there from the New York City area, you go north on the New York State Thruway to Exit 21 onto Route 23 West. From the exit it's 25 miles to the town of Windham and Ski Windham which starts right up the hill from the village.
And what do you have when you get there? Well, the vertical is 1,600 feet, one of the highest verticals for the Catskills. The base is at 1,500 feet and the summit tops out at 3,100 feet. There are some 34 trails of varying skiing difficulty, as well as a beginner area. The longest run, Wraparound, runs for two and a quarter miles. Three-quarters of the runs are for beginner/intermediate and the balance are labeled for advanced or expert skiers. Nothing really breakneck here, but be sensible and take the area's guidance on the level of skier/rider competence called for before you just push off, nose downhill.
Windham has lots of lifts, seven in total. There is one high-speed detachable quad, four triples, one double and one surface lift. All this uphill capacity should be able to handle 11,800 skiers per hour.
The season runs from mid-November into April. And winter snowfall records suggest that through that period the area will average 100 to 110 inches of snow. Unless global warming and surprising rainy winter days such as I was facing does it in. To help put that threat off, Ski Windham provides leading-edge snow-making capability over 97% of all their skiable terrain running down from two mountain peaks.
Some other Windham snow-fun features may be of interest to you. For riders The Park offers some five and a half acres loaded with ledges and natural hits. Warm-Up, their "learning park" has been redesigned and enhanced with lights for night time riding. And on other trails across the mountain you'll find natural rollers, big hits, mounds of snow, moguls, spines and whales left in place. Air aplenty.
For family fun and the expression of youthful exuberance Windham has added snow tubing at its new MountainTop Adventure Park. It has six sliding lanes, two tows, night lighting, and is open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays during the winter season. Didn't try it but sounds like a good new way to just have fun.
Well, anyway, there we were, heading north, our commitment quite half-hearted, as we trekked through the cold morning rain. I was rain as we took the valley road into town, but it was getting into thicker drops on the windshield. When we turned up the road from town leading to Ski Windham base, a hazy picture ahead of us, the rain became icy snow.
THE CROWDS & ICE
So it was a Thursday morning with lousy weather. No one would be here, of course. But to our surprise the parking lot was filling in out to the edges. What give? And as we looked up to the mountain there were hordes of ghostly skiers drifting down through the snowy mist. A lot of them seemed sort of small, kids??
We got the explanation at the ski ticket window. "It's President's Week and the schools are closed." As we looked around at this mob scene, trying to make up our minds about both the weather and all the kinder plowing up the snow, we decided the only saving grace to the situation was the many, many handsome young mothers looking out for this mob. So we signed up and headed for the hill.
Through the day, the icy snow kept falling giving us a soft granular surface to play in. Th heavy mix of children, snowboard riders and skiers really didn't create problems. There was lots of room and except for the occasional totally-out-of-control child headed straight down the hill, skier civility was of a very comfortable order. Wet-cold as it was, we had a lot of fun banging and rambling.
Not quite my early morning dream of a lover's day on the snow, cruising and dancing. But all in all, a long wet drive was justified. Ski Windham, even in unpleasant weather, provided a good time...and they offer a nice "one-hour" guarantee; if you find the snow for skiing or riding unacceptable they 'll issue you a full value snow check for another day. Gotta try it again when the snow is deep, the sun out, wind calm and all systems go.
And think about it for yourself. That day you wake up lazy and loving and just want to have a great slide downhill in very pleasant surroundings and nice people, think Ski Windham. You can call them at (518) 734-4300 or find them on our Ski Area Link Page.
FOOD & DRINK
After enjoying the second floor bar in the base lodge at day's end -- lots of handsome young mothers to chat up -- we headed out and found a second highpoint for the day. We stopped at the Point Lookout Mountain Inn, just minutes away east from Windham, on route 23, which they call "The Mohican Trail." What a view! Fine food and drink! The inn sits on a north-facing hillside at 1900 feet elevation and looks out over vistas stretching for more than 180 miles, with Albany in the dim distance.
We stretched out our ski-tired legs; stretched our eyes out over the vista, and with the help of a very pleasant staff order drinks and food. Excellent in both categories. A final testimonial is that the chef also eats here; and he owns the place too.
Have a great day...even if it starts out with rain. To visit their web site click Ski Area Links Page