Hitting the Slopes

By Sandra Deckelman & Steve Flynn

REGION — We are continuing to review the slopes of northeastern Pennsylvania and the Catskill Mountains. If there is a slope you are dying to try, but want to hear about it first, drop us a line and we’ll try to add it to our hit list. We can be reached at sandy@riverreporter.com or 845/252-7414, ext. 22.

The Villa Roma Resort

CALLICOON — The Villa Roma is where Steve and I both learned to ski. My children are also learning here. Small slopes, great staff and locality make the Villa Roma my “home” slope. Located in Callicoon, NY, the Villa seems to be within a half of a hour from anywhere in the river valley, as well as Monticello and Liberty in New York, and Honesdale in Pennsylvania.

The staff is young and energetic and willing to help in any possible way. The Villa hires all locals and many of its instructors have grown up on the slopes there.

I recently began taking snowboard lessons while chaperoning my son’s ski group from school. The instructor was funny, informative, and a good teacher. Our lessons were scheduled for an hour, and several times we ran well past our time limit. But the instructors stayed with us and made sure we made it back up the mountain. I have a firm grasp on the techniques needed to further my desire to board as well as I ski.

The Villa Roma offers four slopes and two lifts. The easy and more difficult slopes are serviced by a chair lift and the two black diamond slopes offer a t-bar. All of the slopes are great for season warm ups or if you are looking to hit the slopes for a few hours without travelling far.

For more information on the Villa Roma, you can call 845/887-4880 or check out the web at www.villaroma.com.

Make sure you check us out next week after we visit an upstate NY slope. If you are intrested in doing some spring skiing or would like to hear about the slopes we’ve visited, you can contact Sandy at 845/252-7414 ext. 22.