Ski resort reviews can be helpful only if you know the skill level and skiing perspective of the person authoring the review. My perspective is focused on the actual skiing experience (terrain, crowd, and snow factors), and not so much on the ancillary aspects surrounding skiing. I am a middle-age advanced skier with no interest in jumping off cornices or cliffs. I will often at high speeds hit a small lip in the terrain and get a little air, but that is about the extent of it. I venture in and out of moderate mogul fields in an attempt to become a better all-around skier, but I tend not to spend a majority of my ski day dealing with the bumps. I love moderately spaced glades, but shy away from the dangers of extremely tight glades. If I had to describe the type of skier with which I most closely identify, it would be a high speed cruiser who enjoys medium to giant slalom turns. Presidents’ Day week is the traditional time that me and my granddaughter take off and try to do at least four consecutive days of serious skiing. This year, like the singer Bill Joel, we had a New York state of mind and decided to spend a day in New York’s Catskills and ski Plattekill; then take a two hour drive north to New York’s Adirondacks Mountains, and ski Gore Mountain for the remaining three days. Here are my impressions of Plattekill, using the 1 to 5 rating scale:

Terrain: Rated 4.0:
All the following fellow reviewers enjoyed their visits to Plattekill and recommended it highly. What they didn’t do, is to tell you why it deserves all of that praise. The reason why Plattekill is such a great ski hill, is that for a mountain of only 1,100 feet of vertical, the terrain is awesome. If Alta Mountain in Utah, married Mad River Glen Mountain in Vermont, and that union produced a baby mountain, then that baby mountain would be Plattekill. The same spirit of skiing that inhabits those two legendary giants, is inherent in Plattekill’s “skiing as it should be” terrain. Plattekill has steeps, killer bump runs, and cruisers that make you think that you are qualifying for the Olympic downhill. Plattekill represents big mountain skiing, but in a relatively smaller package. Plattekill should be the poster-child for the saying,” Size doesn’t matter.” Elk Mountain in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountain Region and Plattekill are the only ski hills at, or under 1,100 feet that can honestly claim big mountain skiing in the Pocono, Berkshire, and Catskill regions of the northeast. My granddaughter and I took the morning to explore many of the Plattekill’s novice and intermediate trails. They are generally classic narrow, twisting, and scenic New England skiing trails that cut nicely through the woods. In the afternoon we tackled such double-diamond trails as “Blockbuster” and then the double-diamond trail named “Northface.” “Blockbuster is usually a heart-thumping steep bump run, but they had groomed it, so we decided to sample it without the bumps. The steepness intimidated my granddaughter at first, but once she made her first couple of turns she was fine. The “Northface” trail turned out to be my favorite. At the summit, it starts out as a relatively steep double-diamond, but about half way down it mellows out to an advanced/intermediate trail and is the ultimate cruiser. It was so nice, we had to do it twice. What Plattekill does lack, is a decent gladed run, but after you get over that fact, there is some darned good skiing to be had at Plattekill.

Service: Rated 4.0:
Plattekill is sort of a locals mountain. The employees know that they have a good thing going on, and are somewhat folksy with a down-home sort of charm. They don’t hesitate to ask how your ski day is going and even the young woman selling lift tickets readily struck up a conversation with me. After skiing the “Northface” trail, I asked a ski patroller and his companion the name of the trail. He identified it as “Northface, and then gave me the advice to try “Blockbuster,” which had just been groomed. Later in the day as I entered the base lodge, that same patroller came up to me, introduced himself, and asked how I like it. Plattekill’s base lodge is rather small and may seat about 300 at best. I had a bowl of chili for lunch, it was decent with a spicy kick. The base lodge is rustic and log cabin looking, and could use a little sprucing up (especially the rest rooms in the lower level). But once you put on your boards, all thoughts of the quaint lodge leave your head.

Crowds: Rated 5.0:
The beauty of Plattekill was that it was a national holiday and still the crowd was very meager. When we were cruising “Northface,” which extends almost the entire vertical of 1,100 feet, there may have been only eight or nine other skiers on the entire trail. No lift lines, plenty of room on the slopes, as well as the base lodge cafeteria. You can’t beat good skiing accompanied by empty slopes.

Activities: Rated 2.0:

Plattekill does have tubing, but if you go to Route 28 towards Belleayre, or head over to Route 30 toward Windham Mountain, you may find a little bit more of “civilization.” But take it from me, when approaching Plattekill you would think that you have ventured into the Ozark Mountains. You are definitely out in the boondocks.

Value: Rated 4.0:
The cafeteria food is probably priced in the neighborhood of most other ski resorts, but their lift tickets are definitely cheaper. They have a host of discounted promotional days throughout the ski season, which will usually make Plattekill a bargain in comparison to neighboring ski resorts.

In summary, if you define a “family” ski resort as one that has slope side condos, health spas, swimming pools, ice skating rinks, a host of amenities, and several fast food chain restaurants; then Plattekill will not suit your tastes as an all inclusive skiing experience. But if you wanna rip, and have that tired but satisfactory warm feeling accompanied by a cold beer after full day of skiing or riding, go spend some time at Plattekill. Take advantage of that throwback skiing spirit! That same one that is present at Alta and Mad River Glen.