If you’re not heading for a Swiss chalet in Gstaad for some two-planking this winter, don’t worry: A starving New York artist can do just as well upstate at Hunter Mountain. For the cost of a few pounds of alpine Swiss cheese, you can do some serious down hilling less than two hours from the city. Last year, I drove up with a fellow food lover, chef Joel Trocino, a native of Poughkeepsie and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America: It’s best to learn the art of the skiing daytrip to Hunter Mountain from a local. And since I traveled with a foodie, I ate as richly as I skied – and took home an excellent recipe for Hunter Stew.

“After the snow reports start rolling in late November, that’s when we head up to Hunter,” Mr. Trocino said, “the Friday after Thanksgiving is usually big. But if we big get a big dump of snow in early November, we’re there.” (Up-to-date snow condition information is available at www.huntermtn.com or via the “Snowphone” at 800-367-7669.)

We took with us the makings of a picnic: Picholine, Large Morroccan, and Nicoise olives, baby Italian artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and capers in wine, some whole grain mustard, and several varieties of cured meats. (“The Serrano ham’s got a little more cure on it,” Mr. Trocino said.) We also took a chunk of Rolf Beeler Hoch Ybrig, a nutty Swiss Alpine cheese, some baby romaine, and a baguette. With that, we set out.

We took the Henry Hudson Parkway north, across the George Washington Bridge, and headed toward Saugerties along the windy roads that lead up the mountain. There is a point in the road, a sharp turn Mr. Trocino called “Deadman’s Curve,” that’s “a good place to drive carefully.” The road cuts and follows a steep incline up the mountain to a scenic overlook. Mr. Trocino recommends the town of Tannersville, which you pass on the way up, as “a good place to go for a beer, after a good day of skiing.”

Getting to Hunter is easy if you live in the city and are without a car. Bus lines going there from Manhattan abound; a list is available online at the Hunter Mountain Web site. Buses run by local sporting goods and ski shops, like Paragon, Princeton, Blades, and Emilio’s, generally head up every day of the week except Monday. As the season gets going in November, it’s a good idea to contact individual bus tour operators directly for up-to-date information.

David Lilly, who closed his pro shop in Cooper Square after a new hotel moved into the neighborhood last month, is focused on operating buses to Hunter Mountain from Manhattan through his Web site,www.nycski.com. “We try to offer an adventure. A lot of instructors at Hunter that live in the city take our buses,” Mr. Lilly said. “We hope to run buses on regular Fridays this year, which isn’t a busy day, from Penn Station. Last year we took 2,700 people skiing. … Sixty-five dollars will get you a roundtrip bus ride, an all-area lift ticket, a fresh bagel, and a drink.”

Mr. Trocino and I arrived at Hunter early and stashed our picnic in the Base Lodge. We suited up and put our freshly tuned skis on before the lift opened at nine. There was snow on top of the mountain. “That’s a good sign,” Mr. Trocino said. As an advanced skier, he was ready for a day of black runs. I – not at all an advanced skier – was planning to work on my form on the blue runs. I resolved that if I found a black diamond I felt I could get down, I’d go for it.

Hunter’s rental shop includes the Burton Method Center, where adults and children can learn to snowboard. Hunter One, on the left as you look up the mountain, has mostly beginning- to intermediate-level runs and is where many families and new skiers start out.

On the Quad lift – the Snowlite Express – to the top of the mountain, Mr. Trocino gave me his recipe for Hunter Stew, using venison shoulder (see sidebar).

“I come from a family of butchers,” he said. “My grandfather ran three butcher shops in his life. The last one was Sam’s Cottage Meats in Poughkeepsie, where I learned from him. My uncle is a butcher. My cousins in Italy are butchers. I’ve processed and smoked my fair share of deer.” Mr. Trocino pulled down his goggles. “I’ve got a shoulder of venison on ice in the cooler for you to take home!” he said, and sped downhill. Later, at home, I used the venison he gave me to make a delicious pot of Hunter Stew.

We made first tracks down a long blue run called the Belt Parkway to size up the snow. It curves between Hunter Mountain and Hunter West, the west side of the mountain, which is all advanced black and double-black diamonds (and may be too much to handle for some skiers).When we got to the bottom of the hill, we decided to split up and meet later at lunchtime to see about our picnic.

I skied blue runs on the main mountain all morning, but I got in one black run called “Way Out” on Hunter West. It has a lot of moguls but is pretty open. After catching some air – and feeling pretty radical – I went back to blues. Mr. Trocino had said he was going to ski the blacks on top of Hunter.

(David Lilly, also an advanced skier, has his own routine when he skis Hunter. “I do Hunter West early, and then, as the light gets flat later in the day, I ski the lower half of Hunter East,” Mr. Lilly said. “I’ll use the triple chair that goes half way up the mountain and avoid the Quad lift. No one goes on that triple chair. And I get good skiing going down black runs like Eisenhower and Racer’s Edge.”)

Mr. Trocino and I met back up and enjoyed our picnic at one of the lodge’s tables in the Colonel’s Hall. After some ambitious talk about another run, we decided to drive down to Tannersville for a microbrewed beer. “The great thing about Hunter,” Mr. Trocino said, “is there’s something for everyone, whether you’re a skier or snowboarder, a beginner or a pro.” Hunter’s amenities – a new lodge and lift-side condos, a tubing hill, child care, and lots of equipment – make it a great weekend getaway for the New Yorker without much time to spare. Or, as Mr. Trocino put it, “Hunter rocks.”

HUNTER STEW

On the lift to the top of the mountain, Mr. Trocino gave me his recipe for Hunter Stew, which starts with a shoulder of venison: “You season the venison, sear the meat off on high heat with some olive oil, and then move it onto a plate. Then you chop lots of carrot, some parsnips, rutabaga, celery, and onions and saute them on medium heat ’til they’re caramelized, then add a big spoonful of tomato paste.

“Add flour to the excess drippings and veggies and stir for a few minutes to make a nice roux. Then deglaze the pan by adding a full-bodied red wine, like port. Reduce and add veal stock. Then throw in dried bay leaves, juniper berries, and the seared venison, and simmer for about two hours.

“Add salt and pepper to taste and a sprig of chopped rosemary and thyme. I sometimes do a second preparation of large-diced carrots, rutabaga, parsnips, and onions, roast those and serve it with whipped potatoes. I strain the stew and use that as a sauce.”

And enjoy!