A Mid-Week Senior Program Includes Clinics, Group Lunch, Yoga, Plus.
Driving from New Hampshire through Vermont to Windham Mountain in the Catskills of New York on a recent weekend I felt some trepidation as to what I would find. There had been rain, lots of it, and temperatures reaching 60 degrees over the course of the weekend. Arriving at the mountain on Monday mornin,g it was not looking promising – lots of bare ground and brown spots. But everyone in our group was game to try it out so we booted up and headed for the lift.
And what a pleasant surprise was in store for us! There had been a small window of snowmaking temperatures Sunday night,, and the mountain crew made full use of it. While it didn’t allow any new trails to be opened, it did a wonderful job of patching and spot resurfacing. The groomers smoothed out the surfaces, and, though only a small percentage of the trails were open, those skied very nicely on softish, granular sugar snow.
Windham is a sizable mountain with a 1600’ vertical. To me, it feels like a much bigger mountain. There are 54 trails, ranging in length from 300 to over 12,000 feet, serviced by a total of 11 lifts including a high speed six pack and two high speed quads. Snowmaking covers 97 percent of its trails and slopes. Much of that is fully automated, making it very responsive to changing weather conditions. There were several trails open off the Westside Six, the six-pack going to the West Peak summit, and the Wonderama Express Quad. We found enough good skiing to keep us entertained over the course of a day and a half. An Express Quad took us up to East Peak where we found a couple of good runs including Wanderer, a long, easy cruiser that sweeps along the ridge at the edge of the resort and eventually winds its way to the base. All were in agreement that the mountain ops crew did a fantastic job in recovering from the “R” event prior to our arrival.
The modern, airy base lodge houses a spacious cafeteria on the ground floor and a table service restaurant with an upscale menu upstairs. Also on the upper level is a private club with its own food service and lounge areas.
The resort has spent more than $12 million in the last two years to elevate the guest experience, and it is quite apparent from snowmaking to grooming to base area and resort amenities.
Midweek Program Just For Seniors
Windham boasts an active 50+ Midweek program which runs for eight Tuesdays from early January to early March. There’s an optional yoga program at the beginning of each day followed by on snow clinics with the instructors then a group lunch. During lunch, there are presentations on snowmaking, product reviews, what’s happening at Windham, and various other topics of general interest. The program currently has more than 70 participants who come from New York City and its environs as well as the local area. The Midweek program costs $250, pass not included.
The Adaptive Sports Foundation has partnered with the mountain to bring in the Ski and Ride Simulator which provides real skiing and riding in virtual reality. Used by the race teams for training, it is also available to the public for a fee. Skiers and riders of all ages can test themselves on virtual race courses from around the globe simulating real World Cup and Olympic courses. From grandparents to grandkids, it can an enjoyable challenging to all. A portion of the proceeds help support the Adaptive Sports Foundation.
The Alpine Spa, kids snowmobiling, snow tubing and ice skating will keep everyone – kids to parents to grandparents – busy when not on the slopes.
While we didn’t get to ski all of Windham, what we experienced was great and certainly whetted the appetite making us eager to return when the mountain is fully operational to explore what is truly big mountain skiing just 2 ½ hours from New York City.
Tickets And Passes
Day tickets for 65-74 are $76; 75+ is $70. Windham also offers a four-hour Flex Ticket good for any four consecutive hours. 65-74, $52; 75+, $35.
Season Passes, 65-74, $659; 75+, $229. A Sunday-Friday mid-week pass is $549 for all ages.
Click here for Windham Mountain Web Cam.
Click here for Windham Mountain Trail Map
I understand there’s a nice Nordic operation on the golf course too.
Thanks for the Great oratory about our visit to Windham Mountain in the Catskills of NY!