Catamount has installed a Wonder Carpet more generically known as carpet or conveyor. This 300ft. conveyor takes people up the newly expanded beginner slope in a standing position and removes the fear that first timers have of chair lifts and other types of surface tows. Also new is a high intermediate trail from the top of the mountain to Turnpike and then to Holiday. All new snow making equipment has been installed on these trails.

Trails for Everyone. By skiing Upper and Lower Glades to On Stage you would be skiing the full 1,000-foot vertical drop. With a distance of more than one mile, it provides one of the best runs in the Berkshires. The longest trail for intermediates, Ridge Run, is 2.5 miles long and traverses the entire vertical drop. Ridge Run, along with a number of Catamount's trails, wanders from New York State to Massachusetts and back again, a feature that is unique to this ski area. The Mountain View double chair gives beginner and novice skiers an area all to themselves. Beginner trails, like all of Catamount's trails, are distinctive in the Berkshires for their super-wide style. With a state of the art grooming fleet and countless hours of trail conditioning, Catamount's slopes and trails maintain the most desirable skiing surface. Catamount skiers will find they have more time to ski, due to shorter lift lines. With five lifts, Catamount has the ability to carry 5,200 people per hour. Skiers will find "ski right on" during midweek skiing, and only short lift lines during choice periods.

• A few years ago, many would choose Butternut over Catamount because of its draw for families. Butternut has a lot of easier trails. But Catamount has recently dedicated an entire area to beginners called the Meadows and it is serviced by its own triple chair lift. The triple offers to places to get off. One is halfway up the mountain where you can take Ali's Alley or Kelli's Run to various other greens.

  The mountain offers an incredible variety of terrain for a small mountain. It has difficult trails such as Catapult, one of the steepest trails in the Northeast. It has black diamond cruisers such as Alley Cat and a favorite intermediate cruiser in Sidewinder. If one should desire a nice, long trail, one could take Ridge Run to Promenade for a 2.5 mile easy run.

  The views while skiing are incredible. Some of the notable views include when you ski on the New York side from the Summit right before you get on Glade. When you reach the bottom of Lower Glade or Upper Alleycat, there is a fabulous view of the rest of the mountain. Likewise, when coming down Mountain View on the Massachusetts side, you can see the rest of the mountain.

  Overall, the mountain is great for what it is. It is small but will keep you busy all day. It is uncrowded and family friendly.

  Tips for a Great Day

  • Stay away from the Catamount Double Chairlift. It is always crowded and does not take you high enough to make it worth the wait. Just go to the top.
  • Ski during lunch time. Everyone goes inside the lodges then and the lines are very short.
  • If you can't ski all day. Get there early so you can get the good snow and short lines. If not, you gotta wait til the end of the day for short lines and by then, the snow is no good.

  Easiest (Green Circle)

  • Ali's Alley - Has no snowmaking and therefore is rarely open. Nice easy Green.
  • Kelli's Run - Perfect green run for beginners. Not steep but steep enough to get going if you want.
  • Cat's Meow - Flat trail that takes you from the middle of the mounatin over to the meadows. At times you must "skate" so you can move because the trail is so flat.
  • Colonel's Caper - A surprisingly fun green that can take you from one side of the triple chair to the other.
  • Esplanade - A great, wide green trail. Excellent for all abilities and easy to learn techniques, etc. Makes Walter's Way worth taking.
  • Holiday - Great, wide, expansive green trail. Steep at the end.
  • Upper and Lower Promenade - Great, flat trail, with some surprisingly decent pitches at times. Fun trail for beginners, giving them a long option from to top of the meadows. Beautiful views at the beginning.

  More Difficult (Blue Square)

  • Catamount - great wide trail with decent pitch. An excellent way to finish Chute and Glade although not entiely worth it if you only take the Catamount Doublt to the middle.
  • Chute - Great way to zip down from Alley Cat to the middle of the mountain. Steep pitch. You can really get some speed and finish off with an array of blue and black trails at the bottom, including Catamount.
  • Ridge Run - beginning of the longest run on the mountain. It starts off slow and flat but you soon encounter a number of good pitches. The run always has a good amount of snow on it. Gives you options when you get to the meadows.
  • Mountain View - one of two blue options when you finish Ridge Run. Has fabulous views of the mountain and is a wide trail with decent pitch. Great snow grooming and one of the most underrated trails on the mountain. You meet Holiday at the bottom.
  • Walter's Way - The other of the two blue options in the meadows. It's okay and has a decent pitch but is often very icy. What makes the trail worth it is after when you get to Esplanade, which is arguably better than Holiday.
  • Race Slope - small trail from middle of the mountain. It's okay. usually closed for Race Training.
  • Upper and Lower Sidewinder - Since it's addition it has been one of the most popular trails on the mountain. It is a great long cruiser with steep pitches and not as steep pitches, making it truly enjoyable. It is filled with twists and turns including great views as you pass through the trees and weave through the mountain. One downside is , because of it's popularity, by the end of the day it is icy, especially Upper Sidewinder.

  Most Difficult (Black Diamond)

  • Upper and Lower Glade - A great, wide black trail with nice pitch, especially right before you get to the middle of the mountain. Can be icy at times.
  • Upper and Lower Alley Cat - Simply the best trail on the mountain for good skiers. It has fabulous twists and turns, great snowmaking, and rarely has people on it. Great, steep pitches allowing for great speed.

  Expert (Double Black Diamond)

  • Catapult - One of the steepest trails in the Northeast. Enough said. very difficult, especially with moguls.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Retrieved on 2007-09-10

Approximate Distances:
Albany, NY - 45 miles
Bridgeport, CT - 79 miles
Danbury, CT - 62 miles
Hartford, CT - 55 miles
New Haven, CT - 80 miles
New York, NY - 110 miles
Poughkeepsie, NY - 52 miles
Springfield, MA - 60 miles
Stamford, CT - 89 miles
Waterbury, CT - 50 miles
White Plains, NY - 87 miles

If you use mappoint.com, mapquest.com or other route planning site, please enter the following address for Catamount in requesting driving directions:

3290 State HWY 23
Hillsdale NY 12529

If you are using a GPS navigational system, try using the following address:

3200 State HWY 23
Hillsdale, NY 12529

Or, perhaps the following directions will be useful to you:

From the southeastern New York:

Taconic Parkway North to Route 23 E exit; Route 23 East for 10 miles to Catamount.

OR:

I-684 N to Brewster, NY ; Route 22 N to Hillsdale , NY ; Route 23 E to Catamount.
From Southwestern Connecticut:

US Route 7 N to Great Barrington , MA ; Route 23 W to Catamount.

OR

Route 7 North to Danbury, CT. I-84 W to I-684 N; I-684 N to NY Route 22 N; Route 22 N to Route 23 E; Route 23 E to Catamount.

From Hartford:

Route 44 W to Route 7 N; Route 7 N to Gt. Barrington; Route 23 W to Catamount.

From Albany:

Taconic Parkway South to Route 23 E; Route 23 E to Catamount.
From Western Massachusetts:

Route 7 S to Route 23; Route 23 W to Catamount.

OR

NY 22 South to RT 23 East to Catamount.

From New Haven/Waterbury:

Route 8N to Route 44W to Canaan. Route 7 N to Great Barrington. Route 23 W to Catamount.

OR

NY 22 South to RT 23 East to Catamount.