Steve Aaron’s Favorite Catskill Ski Trails

I long enjoyed Top Ten lists since the time when magazines ruled the day.

I find them fun, informative and sometimes thought provoking.

The idea of producing a Top Ten list of Catskill ski runs has interested me for many years.

With more than 50 years of Catskill skiing under my belt, here is my list of favorite Catskill ski runs.

Your comments and input on your own favorites are welcomed below.

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Maple Ski Ridge: Go Big and Go Home

In the eight years I have been writing for NYSkiBlog my biggest takeaway is vertical drop doesn’t matter as much as you think. The joy of sliding on snow is more than a number.

Maple Ski Ridge

Maple Ski Ridge in Schenectady is a perfect example. Those newbies on the rope tow don’t care about vertical drop, they are just thrilled to be on the snow. On a recent trip back from parts east, Farah and I decided to shift our mind set and check out Maple on a warm spring Sunday.

It was quiet inside the lodge as we booted up and redeemed our Indy Pass a little after 1pm. The sun was beating down on the hill but the snow was going strong.

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Newcomb Ski Slope: Community Spirit

I’ve gotten my ski days this year but I haven’t done much to advance my goal to ski all the lift-served hills in New York. Life has required me to stay close to home this season, and it shows in the list of areas I’ve skied.

Newcomb Ski Slope

Early this year, I realized that skiing Central NY and Western NY wasn’t realistic. I made a separate list of ski areas ranked by their distance from our base in the Southern Adirondacks. I thought “what if I try to tick them off in order of distance?” It would be something at least, some progress towards my goal.

This brought two pieces of ripe, low hanging fruit to my attention: Dynamite Hill and Newcomb Ski Slope.

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