The air snaps cold at Windham, and there’s a steady stream of boarders, boots thumping on metal stairs. Inside the lodge, grill smoke and chatter drift out toward the lifts. All day, sharp edges make work of the frontside as the wind combs the ridgeline and the lights carry the mountain into night.

Mornings at Belleayre start quiet, mist lifting off the valley as groomers carve the first lines. By midday, families and lifers share lifts under the pines, trading stories that stretch back decades. It’s a mountain built on rhythm — steady runs, clear air, and that old Catskills feeling that still lingers at the base.

Tucked deep in Roxbury’s hills, Plattekill runs on local grit and mountain weather. Chairs hum slow, the lodge smells of wood smoke, and familiar faces gather over chili and beer. It’s the kind of hill where first tracks and last runs still belong to the same crowd.

Snow settles soft over the lifts at Holiday Mountain, where lessons echo on the beginner hills and locals trade runs between breaks by the fire. Nights here feel easy, a mix of kids’ laughter, headlights in the lot, and that small-mountain rhythm that never quite left the Catskills.

Wind lifts off the ridgeline and carries the sound of edges cutting snow. Hunter’s trails run wide and steady, drawing skiers from every corner of the range. By dusk, lights glow at the base and the talk turns to tomorrow’s runs and sore legs by the fire.