The food at this place is theft. I won't go into details but pack your own meal for lunch. Otherwise you will pay a small fortune for a Burger King type meal. Extremely disappointing. The mountain is ok. read more

Snowed on Friday, frigid temps conducive for snow making and the whole place was ice. Other lifts not operating until 930 am. One lift kept breaking down. Was stuck on the lift for almost 30 minutes just sitting there. It was a madhouse everywhere. Laughable lines. Proof of vaccination to eat crap food? No thanks. read more

They have since refunded my card since I disputed the amount but re-billed me on the purchase date. Lmao this place is a fucking joke. Don't come here unless you like getting scammed. read more

Before I get into this, this is not so much a review as it is an everything you need to know guide if you are considering visiting Hunter Mountain or already plan on taking a trip there. I will break it down by paragraph, so feel free to skip around to what is relevant for your particular situation. Let's get into it! HUNTER VS OTHER SKIING ALTERNATIVES- There are many ski areas in the area and in the east in general. Out of the 5 major areas in the catskills (Hunter, Windham, Belleayre, Catamount, and Plattekill) I think it ranks second, just behind Windham. However, Windham is 20 min further from NYC which is something to consider. Hunter can get very crowded, but it is the best option for the tri-state area. It is MUCH better than local New York ski areas like Thunder Ridge, Campgaw, and Mohawk Mountain. It is also better than Mountain Creek, but Mountain Creek is a good, closer option that is still fairly large, but make sure in advance that they have a lot of snow and at least 3 out of their 4 peaks are open. However, if you plan on an extended stay, if possible I strongly recommend you drive the extra 30 min to Jiminy Peak, or the extra 1.5 - 2 hour drive to Gore, Mt. Snow, or Stratton. LODGING- There are limited options, but its not bad. Like I said in the previous paragraph, if you want an extended stay, go further North, but if you are going to stay here, I recommend the Kaatskill Mountain Hotel. It is beautiful, but a little pricy and requires a week-long stay which I don't recommend. If you are just looking for one or two nights for an extended day trip from NYC I recommend a Holiday Inn in the nearby town of Saugerties which is 30 min south of the mountain, or the Courtyard Marriott or Hampton Inn in Kingston which is about 40 min south of the mountain. CROWDS- Hunter is known for its crowds due to its close proximity to NYC. I have a few tips to avoid crowds. Unless you are interested in beginner terrain stay away from Hunter east and B lift. If the line for their main lift, the Kaatskill Flyer is long, but you are interested in going from the main base to the Summit, I strongly recommend taking the double chair located next to the Kaatskill Flyer halfway up the mountain, then skiing down to D lift which is a triple chair that starts halfway up the mountain, and then taking D lift to the top. As for crowds on the slopes, it is not bad. The blacks on the main face are always empty and most of the blues are as well aside from Belt Parkway. To further avoid lift lines and crowded slopes, I like Hunter North as it has good, varied terrain with very few people in the area. LEARNING TO SKI/BEGINNER TERRAIN- This is a great place to learn. The instructors are for the most part very friendly and they have a sizable bunny hill with a large magic carpet. They also have a 4 person lift which could be a good first chairlift for younger kids and it leads to a green that is incredibly easy. As for other greens, there isn't much. You can take B-lift and there is a few greens there, the best of which being Gateway to Mossy Brook. There is also Rusk Road located in Hunter North, but it is very flat and short and also requires taking quite challenging blues to access it. INTERMEDIATE TERRAIN- The blues here are limited, no doubt. Madison Avenue, Gun Hill Road, and Kennedy Drive are all very bland and boring. There are two other blues on the main face, Belt Parkway and White Cloud. White Cloud is a spectacular trail and is a great warm-up for more advanced skiers. Belt Parkway is the longest trail at Hunter. It is very scenic, but it has three major flaws 1- it is extremely crowded! 2- it is %100 a green, and should be labeled a green, not a blue. 3- it is very easy to get sick of it because you will likely end up on it a lot of you plan on spending time on Hunter North. There are only 3 other blues at Hunter that I haven't covered- all of which are on Hunter North- Sleepy Hollow, Rip's Return, and Way Out. Sleepy Hollow is incredibly boring, it is not scenic and is very flat and should be a green. Rip's Return and Way Out are similar, both very challenging blues. There are icy, steep, pretty bumpy, and reminiscent of the blue-blacks at Windham. Lastly, Minya Konka is a short black at the summit and is a great trail to be someone's first black. EXPERT TERRAIN- There are plenty of blacks and double blacks at Hunter and that is the main draw. Its expert terrain is unrivaled by any other nearby. Most people will automatically flock to Hunter West, which is a face of the mountain comprising entirely of double blacks. While there is excellent expert terrain here don't miss out on everything else. The the two blacks on Hunter North are my favorite trails on the mountain- overlook and twilight. Also, The Cliff, Hellgate, Jimmie Huega, Eisenhower Drive and K27 are fun blacks on the main face. Lastly, Racers Edge was a great double black and serves as a perfect transition from doing blacks to doing double blacks read more

Hunter Mountain - View from the summit - Ski Resorts Near Me - Hunter, New York

My skis were STOLEN from a rack by the main entrance. I stepped 20 feet away to change out of my boots, came back 3 minutes later, and the skis were gone. Apparently Hunter has a major theft problem, as indicated by the other comments online. And yet it still has no cameras and has apparently taken no steps to address the issue. This came after a day of lousy skiing in icy conditions on an overcrowded mountain. Won't be back to Hunter, even with replacement skis. read more

I came to Hunter Mountain on a Saturday around 10am and it was super packed, like omg it took a really long time to get the ski rental because of how long the lines were. However I purchased the package that includes the lesson and the instructor was super helpful and determined to teach the group. I definitely felt more confident skiing afterwards. In addition the snow was powdery which was great since icy pistes can be intimidating for newbies scared of falling like me. I would totally return! read more

While I'm very new to skiing I find this resort to be great! Awesome learning terrain and the lessons I have taken in the past have been very beneficial. They have a lot of deals, especially for lessons that help you save money. The mountain has a ton of slopes at varying levels. The ski lodge itself is nice and has a good cafeteria as well as a bar. There is a hotel on site, however I have never stayed before. I have also been here for Taste of Country Music Festival in the summer and camped on the mountain. Very fun experience. I really enjoy this mountain and as a beginner enjoy a lot of the learning amenities they have. They also offer zip lining tours which I have been wanting to try but haven't gotten around to. Definitely something for everyone to do here. read more

Booked on line a 12/26/21 ski pass, for $99. arrived to location on 12/25/21. drove by resort and right away noticed that most of the trails were closed. very surprised about this, because Hunter used to be know for the best snow covering in the east coast. But since the original two Brother owners sold the place to Vail, that place is going down the drain. Vail are used to run places in the rockies and it probably works for them there, but the way they managed Hunter is not to standard, and by not using the snow machines enough, completely turned me off of Hunter now, I hope they don't screw up Stowe next! I be asking for my ski pass refund tomorrow Monday. Please people, go ski in Europe! Where I grew up in Courchevel 1850 the day ski pass is $50 for 528 acres, now Hunter is only 150 acres and they can't open all the slopes for a Christmas week end. Even if you have to get an airline flight ticket to Geneva airport it's still a bargain compare to any Rockies ski resort since you have to fly to those as well from the east coast. Rockies are three hours difference and Europe only three more... Last thing Courchevel is linked to the three vallées, meaning four ski resorts connected together making 370 miles of slopes for $88 a day pass! Do I need to say more? read more

New management acting like grubby loonies. Closed the mountain down early during a storm, turned off their precious equipment to protect it, but their customers? The families that come here and trust them, well they can POUND PAVEMENT because in order to transfer the ridiculously overpriced tickets to another day we had to walk (or better yet DRIVE) in the violent lightening storm to their main desk. No thank you, not trying to put myself and my kids in danger because of Hunter Mountain's greed. Come in the next day to grab the discount? NOPE, don't let the door hit you on the way out, should have risked your life and made the trek yesterday. You'd have to be loony tunes to think this place cares about you and your kids. If they care so little about your safety during a storm, how much care do they put into their lifts and trials I wonder hmmm? read more

Have been skiing this mountain since I was a little kid and returned this week for the first time in about 6 years. Had an awesome time with some pretty great conditions. Had a great first day skiing and the second was made even better when I decided to take a snowboarding lesson (first time). My instructors name was Josh. He was absolutely awesome! He was very patient and knowledgeable and has a knack for teaching! I'm excited to keep snowboarding after 18 years of skiing thanks to him! Haha read more

Not what it once was. I made the mistake of going to Hunter Mountain on President's day weekend. It is probably the busiest weekend of the year so you should expect long lines to get rentals and get on a lift. But I was not ready for how slow and how much waiting, and little skiing there was. Pre-Purchased tickets with rentals. I got to the mountain at 12:00 to avoid the rental lines, but it was not to be. It took 45 minutes to get skis for me and my girlfriend. The worst part was that once we got outside, the bindings on the skis did not fit either of our boots. It was incredibly frustrating. Went back inside and walked up to the front of the line and waited another 15 minutes to get back on the snow. Once outside, strapped in and on the beginner slopes (my gf is a beginner) the line to get on the beginner's lift was another 20 -25 minutes. Conditions on that first run were bad, light layer of snow over ice. My gf did one run and went to the lodge - frustrated and disappointed. (I was not too upset, I was going to get to do some runs) I left the small hill and tried to go to the top of the mountain but their main lift was down. The lift that was running had a huge line and another 20 minutes waiting to get to the middle of the mountain, not even the top. Its a busy weekend and you should expect delays but the rental did not have to take that long, there were 3 people handing skis to what looked like three hundred people waiting online, and with the main lift down, you would think that Hunter would consider giving the people suffering and experiencing half the experience, a half ticket or something. The lodge was fun as always, but I was disappointed with was always my favorite mountain in the north east. read more

Went to Hunter Mountain on the weekday for skiing and snowboarding. I purchased the peak discovery pass prior to 12/24 for $99 which included 3 lift tickets, 3 lessons and 3 rentals. Everything was very organized from picking up our tickets, filling out the electronic waiver forms, picking up our rental boots, helmet and skis/snowboard. All the staff at each step of the way were very friendly. They scan each item you rent before you go off to the slopes. The weekday lessons were at 9:20am, 11:20am, and 1:20pm lasting about an hour. You just need to arrive outside of the learning center and they sort you into groups based on beginner, intermediate and expert skills. I took the snowboarding lesson on the first day and skiing lesson on the second day. If you want to switch from snowboarding to skiing in the same day you have to pay a $10 change fee. The snowboarding beginners class was 11 people and the instructor taught us how to figure out which stance to use and do some toe/heel turns. Even though it was a lot of people he made sure to reach out to each person to see how they were doing and if they had any questions. The ski class on the second day was taught by Ken and he was awesome. The group was only 5 people total and it felt more like a private lesson. He was very calm and patient in teaching my mom how to ski. He gave us helpful tips and helped improve our skills. The way of getting on to the lifts could be improved if there was another worker that was putting people into fours. Even though there were separate lines for the ski school, quad, and singles everyone got into a traffic jam and pushed for the lift. There's two lodges with a few food options and a bar. Lots of tables to relax and eat. Some of the greens were a little icy but the temperatures were below zero. The blues and blacks were softer and more empty. Overall pretty good mountain and very close to the city! read more

The skiing was surprisingly decent, given how little snow there has been. It's not going to be great; this is still the Catskills we are talking about. The reservation system is a pain, but that's due to COVID and anybody complaining needs to read better so that they understand why it is happening. Most mountains are doing the same thing. On the subject of COVID...if they are limiting capacity at Hunter to promote social distancing, it certainly doesn't show. The place was packed and the lift lines were long even on a very, very cold day. Staffing seems too light for the number of guests too, which meant that people were bunching up in the lines and in the pavillion. Social distancing was a suggestion that was lightly enforced--it seems to be more of a case of everybody looking out for themselves. I'd rather fewer people and more distancing, but YMMV. read more

I've been skiing Hunter for 25 years. I have been trying to contact customer support to buy a military ticket, which you can no longer do at the lodge, via their phone number that no one answers. This was day 5 of trying to get in touch with person, any person. No response via Facebook, email, phone, Facebook messenger. Veil resorts has ruined this poor once family owned mountain. read more

October 15th 2022, bought tickets in advance for the skyride. 40 minute wait just to pick up tickets. Give up and left after waiting another 40 minutes to get on the gondola, and only getting 1/6th of the way through the insane line, having been promised a similar ride on the way down. They massively oversold tickets. No refund offered. Total waste of time and money - avoid avoid avoid. read more

The board shop hooked me up and fixed my binding in 5 minutes when my ratchet broke off. Such nice people and great service. Didn't even take long enough for the snow to melt. I appreciate you guys!!! read more

As many others state, the lift lines give priority to the ski schoolers and will hold the line up and not alternate for those with regular day passes. This mountain has zero amenities at the base, no trash cans, no fireplaces, no music, and not enough space for all the skis and snowboards as many people placed them on the ground instead of on a rack like most mountains supply. This has to be one of the worst mountains to visit because of how close it is to NYC is my guess. There are no parking lot attendants so expect for a crazy arrival if you come when the mountain is opening..children running in between cars and people trying to park in impossible spots. Honestly try any other mountain and you will notice a massive difference. read more

Came here a few months ago for some snow tubing. I purchased tickets online ($18 each for adults) for 2 hours of tubing. We made our reservation from 1-3PM. The tickets are very detailed and have good instructions for parking and where to go. One thing that annoyed me is we still had to wait in line to get our "lift ticket" even though we purchased tickets online. Why have people buy online if it's not going to speed up the process? I agree with another reviewer, the food and drink options are very limited. The inside is super dated and there's no changing rooms, only bathrooms. It's very inconvenient having to change in a small bathroom stall. You actually really don't need to change because the tubes have a bottom to it so your pants won't get wet. You can wear jeans or sweat pants and be fine. The tubing area itself was fun, but there were a lot of unsupervised kids running around, which is pretty much expected. When you get to the top they have high school aged employees that will kick or push you down so you go faster. Overall this was a pretty fun activity for both kids and adults. read more

For my boyfriend's birthday, I got us both two day passes to Hunter. We stayed two nights in a Kaatskill Mountain Club suite and we both loved it. The room was clean and was exactly what we had expected. The mountain was decent too for being open so early in the season. A little icy but we expected that since there was rain on and off all weekend. The ski patrol and hotel workers were great as well. However, we had two awful dining/bar experiences that absolutely pissed me off and ruined the experience... YOUNGER COUPLES BEWARE The bar at the base lodge looked so appealing from the start. My mom has been to Hunter many times and told us that we must go during our visit. Upon taking a seat at the bar, an old lady working looked absolutely disgusted to see us sitting in her section. I thought it was maybe because my boyfriend and I were the youngest looking couple there and that she assumed we were underaged (I'm 23 and he's 24 so, I get that). After staring at our IDs for an uncomfortable minute, she took our order. He got a beer and I got a rum and coke - nothing fancy. She handed us our bill and as I went to add a tip she said "18% tip is already included cant you read the sign?" and proceeded to walk to the end of the bar, pick up a sign that I very much could not see from where I was sitting, walked back, and slammed it down on the bar in front of my face. Whatever. My bad I guess. THEN, literally 30 seconds after I paid the check, my boyfriend was twirling the beer cap in between his fingers and this MISERABLE woman came up and ripped it out of his hands like he was a toddler. She didn't say a word, just turned around and threw it out. In hindsight, maybe he shouldn't have been playing with a bottle cap (lol) but he wasn't making a sound or disturbing anyone. And even if he was, miss Karen should have used her words like an adult. I've never felt an urge to throw my drink on anyone ever until that moment. Thankfully, we both brushed it off, finished our drinks, and walked away. I was so upset because I was really looking forward to just relaxing and having a few drinks after a long day of skiing. I cant think of any reason she treated us this way besides the fact that maybe we looked a little too young. She seemed to be friendly with everyone else. We had a similar experience the night before at the Van Winkle restaurant located at the resort. When we got there, we were seated and a younger waiter threw two menus down and said "what do you want?" When we ordered drinks, he also analyzed our IDs for an uncomfortable amount of time and rolled his eyes when he handed them back to us. Again, we look young, I get it. He was just rude and wanted us gone as soon as possible for the rest of the dining experience. He was going out of his way to make us realize how much he did not want to wait on us. He seemed to be friendly with his other tables though so I don't know what the issue was. The only thing I can come up with is that we looked too young to be drinking but I really don't know. My boyfriend and I are such quiet and shy people. We rarely experience situations like this and I've never felt obligated to write a bad review ever until now. I paid to be there, just like everyone else and I expect to be treated like an adult. I wish I could rank the hotel and mountain separately because I would give them both 4.5 stars. But these two incidences really threw off the whole experience. read more

Screw these idiots that give Hunter a bad review -- for NY skiing and riding during these tough times, Hunter does a bang up job. People are dumb. And big shout out to Taylor at the ticket counter today - super helpful and made our day. - AK47 read more

Today we went snow tubing and we reserved our time from 2pm-4pm online, the first hour was okay, we were able to go down the hills a total of 4 times, the lines were very long. The 2nd hour we waited on line for a tube for nearly 10 minutes & then when we got a tube we had to wait in another line (another 10minutes) to get on the conveyor (which by the way kept stopping while we we're on it). Not nearly enough tubes for the amount of people! The time slots should not overlap, when the people came in for the 3-5pm slot we were still there for another hour and only were able to go down the hill twice. Very unhappy!! We drove almost 2 hours to get to Hunter and did not have an enjoyable time. I did speak to a Manager and he did reimburse me. He understood my frustration and he apologized. We won't be going back to Hunter Mtn. read more

Octoberfest on Hunter Mt. Was amazing. Great beer, great food, friendly staff and the views are breathtaking views. Oh did I mention the boots were also lanyards so cool. read more

Came for a tubing session with my children. The last time we were here was about 10 years ago when they were infants and it's amazing that absolutely nothing has changed. We purchased our tix online and arrived early. Decided to have some hot cocoa inside the building - concession stand has the exact same items from 10 years ago (hot dogs, chili, canned chicken noodle soup) and only takes cash. In this day and age, that a business doesn't take card is unbelievable. Also, would it kill them to add a few things to the menu every decade or so? Who wants to eat processed meat hot dogs as the only option? Even Dunkin Donuts figured out how to make sandwiches in a convection oven. $6 for a cup of canned chicken noodle soup? Additionally, the bathrooms were absolutely filthy. My wife was shocked that the ladies room could be kept in such deplorable conditions. Yes, I get it that people go in with snow boots, but the staff should know this and have someone mopping the floor and performing regular maintenance. The outdoor fire pit was non-existent - why advertise it on the website. Just two pieces of smoldering wood. Despite advertising two separate sections, the staff (all teenagers) decided to close one of the sections. Without any tact for the customers, the staff was complaining loudly that they did so because one employee "didn't want to do anything". Where are the adults to supervise staff so that customers can have an enjoyable experience? Because there was only one section open, the conveyor belt to take folks up the hill had to be shut off because the lines were backed up. While an annoyance for us, I felt bad for the families with little kids who had to walk up, dragging multiple tubes. Thank goodness it was only two hours. read more

Vicky is the best bartender! She was so friendly and fun and provided excellent service at the bar today. Outstanding!

DO NOT RENT EQUIPMENT HERE.... The most inefficient rental I've ever experienced. Over 2 hour wait, only two people at register and you don't even get the paperwork to fill out until you get to the counter. It's absolutely pathetic that they are running a rental place at a busy mountain like this. read more

Had a great time skiing today with 4 kids. We signed them up for group lessons with Russell and they had a blast.

So for a first time visit to the mountain with my wife and my family, we went tubing at the mountain. We found it to a great experience! Sure the lines were a bit long, and you had a little wait time to get a few runs in down the slopes, but it was worth it! Great family fun experience! Small "mini lodge" as compared to the main lodge for the skiers and snowboarders. Overall a great experience! Besides the winter activities they also offer summer activities as well. We may have to come back and check these out come spring/ summer. Besides that, great hiking trails in the region as well to explore as well as great restaurants in the village just outside the resort! read more

Hunter Mountain Oktoberfest is nothing more then just a pretty view with a beer party at most. Sad they don't do Oktoberfest the right way. They did away with Germanfest where they had the tent and traditional German dancers and music. This is how they should do Oktoberfest. read more

2 hour wait to park is unacceptable. Any other resort would have had the snow plow truck clean the snow before business hours, not Hunter. Also fresh snow and beautiful mountain, but none of the trails were groomed which made skiiing a bit erratic. Last trip here. read more

Went snow tubing today it was AMAZING! 2 small children with us they had fun! Lines were a little long at moments but the staff kept everyone moving! It was a great 2 hours to spend on a winter day! read more

I went to Hunter on a Saturday and I honestly had a lot of fun. The best part was that their runs are pretty long. The snow was fluffy and the staff was friendly. read more

Skiing at this mountain was awesome!! The whole experience was good, from checking into the resort to getting on the mountain. On the first day, Joe in the ski boots department was very helpful, he went beyond just giving me the right skii boots. He actually helped me get my feet in them!! Lol Afterward, I was placed with Andrew for the group lesson, who was also very knowledgeable. On the second and third day I was placed with Adrian and Vera respectively, each basically was a private lesson since no one else was in my group. Both were very knowledgeable and great instructors. They taught me a lot and I definitely recommend private lessons with all three of my instructors!! If you can't afford the private lessons then do the peak discovery package, it includes gear, lift tickets and group lessons, can't beat that package !! read more

We visited the mountain yesterday. Only had to buy 1 ticket with lesson package. Had a toddler and a family member to keep him company on the board at bunny hill. We went up to the counter for pricing, was told by this long blond hair lady who had all the answers to our question. Each one of you have to buy a ticket 75$ without lesson and 79$ with the lesson (which is complete BS). To enter bunny hill to watch the kid, you need an entrance ticket (BS). But the toddler can ride free. How very generous. I would definitely recommend this 5 star customer service and blood sucking behavior. read more

What happened to Hunter Mountain? In the past, you could always count on Hunter making snow at every opportunity. That is no longer the case. Hunter hasn't made snow in weeks and we've had days that were cold enough. What's going? The new owner, Peak Resorts, is ruining a mountain that was known for it's great snow making capabilities. To top it off, yesterday and today the Flyer and F lift were not running because of mechanical problems!!! And this, all before Presidents' weekend. Poor management! read more

It's funny. It's been 10 years since I have been here. And after today, I realize why that is. Bad management and bad service. I will not make the mistake of coming back again. And this was over a $5 locker fee which the attendant did not say to return at 4:30. Manager said there were signs. There are signs of everything everywhere for everything. We even looked and it said end of day return key. No time. We actually thought they closed at 5 and I returned locker key at 4:33. Great job losing a customer over $5. Heading to Windham tmw. read more

It's a shame that at the price you pay for ski rentals and lift tickets, the staff were less than helpful. Thankfully I've been snowboarding before but good luck if you've never been and are having trouble with your boots. Unfortunately several runs and lifts were closed but the few that were open were nice. The best thing about the lodge was the bartender. read more

Was excited to hit up hunter on my way home from Vermont today. When I arrived at hunter it was 8 am , lifts open at 8:30. I had left my equipment back home and I went to the demo shop to try and take out a pair of skis. Since I didn't have boots, I was sent to the rental shop, where I stood in a line of people for 10 minutes before a worker decided to tell us that counter isn't open and to go to the one across the room. By this time it was already past first chair. I get to the front and tell the woman I need to rent boots to use with the demo skis I'm taking out. I was hit with a hard " we don't do that. If you want to get the boots you need to purchase the full ski package. You don't have to take the skis, but you can't get just the boots." Okay. So I mentioned that I was a vail employee and it should be a discounted rate. "We don't honor those services. We just got bought over 6 weeks ago, it's not something we do. You'll have to pay full price for both packages" I was so frustrated with that encounter and the attitude that this woman was putting forth that I almost got in my car and drove back home. However, I went back to the demo shop talked to Sue one last time. She was able to go above and beyond to track down a pair of boots for me so I could take out those sick K2 skis I had my eye on. She was so wonderful and deserves a little (or a lot of) recognition for providing such amazing customer service & giving me the chance to shred some corn out there today... first time skiing the new trails... pretty amazing read more

Tried to go today, supposed to open at 930am, crowd of 300+ people gathered by 10:15am waiting then they announce they're no opening for the day. No refund or complimentary anything given, even though they claim so on social media, called Vail and was told "the resort was open today". Such a terribly run place. Lift lines yesterday were huge and also had no masks on most riders, including the friends of the lift attendants. read more

Super helpful staff on my first time skiing. The private lessons were worth it! I enjoyed each instructor. The red center could be a bit better by the learning center but all in all a very nice staff and the equipment was well taken care of read more

I'd consider myself an above average intermediate rider. I went on a Sunday and got there as soon as lifts opened for the day. The first hour was actually quite enjoyable. They blew.. a little.. snow the two days before with the cold temps. I could really grip the ground below me and it made riding square and single diamonds quite enjoyable. However, the conditions just got progressively worse as there were so many people just stopping sideways down the mountain, scraping away any powder and making it seriously icy. Crowds both for main lift and on the slopes themselves were an issue. This is a steep mountain relative to it's size. To take advantage of the 1600 ft. vertical most will want to ride the Catskill lift the whole way up. Unfortunately for the intermediate or beginner rider - there's not a whole lot of "easy" ways down the entire mountain, and the easiest ones are also the most narrow, making it even more crowded/dangerous, especially due to the ice. The trails are marked, but not all that well, as to what terrain is upcoming. You can easily find yourself starring down a steep and icy slope by accident. The squares and "family" zone marked at the top are under estimates to their actual difficulty. You'll come across some pretty steep stuff. Trying to avoid an inexperienced family of 4 on icy steep slopes isn't the best experience. Would never suggest in-experienced children to ride this. "Family Zone" is an outright dangerous lie. The fact the 3 people died last year on this mountain is an awful tragedy first and foremost. My sincere condolences for their family and friends. Although these tragedies happened on trails not open this particular Sunday, I do not think this is merely coincidence. Too much ice, and trying to avoid many in-experienced riders in front of you adds much more risk of danger. The alternative to this for the novice rider is to only use the easier side of the mountain, which means equally long or longer lift lines, a slower lift, and for half, or less than half, of the run length as compared to the peak. This is why you see so many newer riders on the narrow "square" runs at the top. If you are an advanced skier that can ride steep AND icy terrain, you've got no issues even on a crowded day. You can ride trails and specific lifts where crowds aren't bad. If you're a slightly above average rider that can navigate steep slopes, just not the ice - come on a weekday that has seen plenty of snow being made beforehand. Not recommended to the below average rider or for families on weekends as you will probably eventually find yourself on a steeper slope than you can ride, slated with ice, trying not to crash into other riders struggling to get down. Or you can ride the easy slopes and still wait long lines with no slope length. read more