Belleayre Mtn N.Y 4-17-04

K

Kevin

New member
Todays ski conditions: <BR> <BR>Snow Surface: Mashed Potatoes <BR>Trail Count: 26 wait 25 wait <BR>Weather: HOT HOT HOT 75+F <BR> <BR>I made the trip up to Belleayre today, and boy was the weather very warm. I did not expect to be skiing today at such warm temperatures, but after a warm front went screaming by this morning, the temperatures really soared. Anyone who has skied this place during last winter will recall that there were very deep base depths laid down on most trails. This was evident during the warmth of today, sure there were thin and bare spots, but they were easy to get around. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3786.jpg" ALT="Belleayre Ski Area April 17th 2004"> <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3787.jpg" ALT="Upper Yahoo"> <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/your_image.gif" ALT="3,Lower Yahoo"> <BR> <BR>I skied today on brand new ski's and did not worry about thin cover. Uppper yahoo was thin and narrow in spots, but fun to ski. The problem that faces this place if they even try to ski past this weekend is that the conecting runs and approaches to chairlifts are dissolving in the heat. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3788.jpg" ALT="Approach to the Tomohawk Chair"> <BR> <BR>The Onteora trail still had good snow, but the approach to the headwall had burnt away in the sun, forcing one to ski about 10' over mud. The Bumps runs had a frozen top, with deep slush in the troughs. <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3789.jpg" ALT="Upper Onteora"> <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3790.jpg" ALT="Lower Onteora"> <BR> <BR>The difference between Sugarloaf last week and Belleayre this week is that it was to warm last night for the snow to set up, so it was wet and heavy from the start. At Sugarloaf the snow started out cold and stayed that way for most of the day. Tommorow is the last day of the season for Belleayre, so I am glad to get some of the last goods of the year in New York.
 
My son and I were at Belleayre on Saturday as well. We had a great time and both thought it was a perfect spring day. Enjoyed bump run after bump run, especially on Onteora where we took great pleasure in skating up to speed and straightlining the mud patch on top. Yahoo was good too but got very thin in the afternoon and you had to hug the right edge to avoid rocks. Seneca on the Tomahawk lift had nice bumps too. I was impressed with the amount of open terrain they had and they did a decent job of farming snow to keep things connected. While I think I might get a bit bored skiing there regularly, it was a great way to end the lift served season in NY.
 
I also thought that It was a nice spring day, just a little bit to hot, especially after skiing Sugarloaf the week before with temps 50+ cooler that weekend. Onteora was nice but I only took one run down, as mud and rock's are not the thing to ski with brand new ski's. This is a decent place for me as the drive is about 3 hours, and the beginner area is great for my son. I have heard that they will be converting the quad chair on skiers right to a detachable quad. Pesonally I think the lifts are okay as is, but I really dont care for a mid-station on every upper mountain chairlift. I talked with a snowmaker in the lodge and he seemed very pround of his job, I agree that they did a tremendous job this season, having alot of the mountain still open on closing weekend, even with the warm weather.
 
I'm a Hunter regular...I live only 1 hr 15 min from door to door and Belleayre is actually about 1/2 hr further for me. Don't blame you for not being into the grass skiing on Saturday with new skis! Do you ever go to Hunter or have you been scared off by the bad rep? I'd go to Belleayre more but Hunter has more interesting terrain, although I admit I saw several areas in the woods at Belleayre that seemed ideal for skiing when there's enough natural snow.
 
I only skied Hunter once this year on December 26th and the snow was great, weather was warm and there were NO crowds at all. I did not ski there with my son yet as he is still timid and I don't want other people skiing on top of him in the learning area. I would have liked to ski Hunter last weekend but they closed early on April 11th. Why did they close before there announced last day of April 18th? Surly they make more snow and had better coverage than Belleayre? It is interesting to note that the only two areas still opened in New York last weekend are both state owned. I guess that once it was not profitable, many area closed their doors.
 
Hunter did not blow as much snow as they could have this past season, yet you are correct that there is still alot of coverage there and they certainly could have stayed open longer. They are more concerned with developing their resort image and groundbreaking for the new time share "hotel" there was on the 14th. In order to build they needed to construct a road across most of the base area, so that's why the lifts were shut. I understand your concern for your son being run over at Hunter one. I taught and coached at Hunter for years and my 2 oldest sons learned there. Perhaps we can hook up next season and I can show you some of the less congested areas (there are plenty) for him to ski so that he will be more comfortable.
 
Hunter Mtn and Resort, can one even put those two words together? While I like the mountain, it will always be a day trip for me. Thanks for the invite for next year, it would be fun to ski with you. What do you mean by less congested areas? At Hunter? I have skied Plattekill and Bobcat, but for my son I need a place with a beginner chairlift. He has skied on T-bars, but I have to hold him between my ski's. Do you know why <BR>Hunter has not been making snow on Westway? that has to be one of the best trails on the mountain. <BR>There are plenty of snowmaking hydrants on the trail, perhaps the width of the trail makes snowmaking on it expensive?
 
I hear you on the Hunter/resort connection but I'll forego any further comments for now. <BR> <BR>H-lift on Hunter one would be perfect for your son; it's all the way to the left of the area near the Hunter Highlands condos and is virtually ignored by most skiers and instructors. Good beginner terrain also accessible from C-lift. <BR> <BR>Westway (trail 44) is a great trail and one of my favorites there, but management won't commit to opening it every year. It is a snow pig and takes massive amounts of snowmaking to get it open; they won't even start making snow there unless there are already 2 feet of natural on it, thus why it never opened this season. Prevailing winds from the NW often scour it, especially the headwall, so alot of what is blown there is blown off. The other big issue is liability...there is a mild double fall line on it that sucks many who fall (and who shouldn't be there to start) into the fence on skiers left. I've witnessed many ragdolls/fence scrapers in my time.
 
Thanks for the information on Westway. I think that the last time that I skied the trail was in 2002 after a big dump. Even more fun are the narrow trails between Westway and Clairs Way. How old is your son? my son is 4 and has skied about <BR>15 times since he started in late 2002. It is too bad that there will be no skiing left for him until next November. I think that I will try to get in a weekend at Killington in mid-May, but the skiing will be too difficult for him at that time.
 
The trail between 44 and Claire's is called Taylors and is a natural snow run. The wooded sections in there are good areas to teach intermediate woods skiing. <BR> <BR>David is 10 and an expert skier already; Peter is 8 and needs another season of experience and he'll be right behind David. James Jr. is 21 months old and has walked a bit on plastic skis but has no clue yet why. Can't wait to go through the teaching process with him next season.
 
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