Ski2Live Live2Ski

5.5 hours until I get in the car headed to the big K :-)

That is my personal experience having driven to both places from NYC area dozens of times from 92 to 2010. In good weather 87 is a lot faster than Google figures it to be as they calculate based on the speed limit (actually 5 mph below I believe, so they generally overstate highway driving times). And the Hunter road is only windy for a couple miles and is much shorter than the road to Belleayre, which can be quite slow. If they widen the road from 87 to Belleayre, and improve their snow removal efforts there, they could make the travel time the same as Hunter.

15 min if no traffic but often 30 on weekends. And it is not great for intermediates unless they ride slow lifts and get off halfway. It is like half a parabola, steep up top then flattening out. Windham is the best place for intermediates in the Catskills. Same driving time as Belleayre without traffic but better road that is less likely to get mired in traffic.

Even with the full planned expansion which will mean you can take 1400' runs off of one lift instead of maxing out at 1100', the bottom part of it is so flat that nobody able to do the runs off the top would find that part remotely interesting. I love it as a way to get away from the crowds and as an area that leaves more of their terrain ungroomed. But those are not things that are going to draw big crowds. It is also a longer drive from NYC than Hunter.

As a skier I approve of taxpayer funded ski area expansion. But I really can't imagine Hunter has anything to fear from Belleayre.

They closed one of the learning slopes at the base. They are making snow on 3 new trails (upper chute, upper superstar and superstar headwall). Should be nice this weekend with each night cold enough for them to make snow and each day warm enough that they have to turn off the guns while we ski. Psyched to have picked up my new prescription sunglasses today as it will not be goggles weather.

Did I mention the PASR card? Full price is for suckers.

Tix $38 online

Belleayre opening tomorrow F Freedom

Checking Blues site a 6 hour ticket reload (that is plenty of time for me) is 30 to 40 nights, 50 weekdays, 65 weekends. Sunday night remains the best deal at 30

Puts Hunter and Peak to shame for all their claims of snowmaking prowess and the desire you would think Peak would have to show what they can do with their latest acquisition.

800 feet of vertical on upper and lower Onteora. Now folks in PA can start singing Wham! Tunes like "I don't want your Freedom." Personally I will pass on Belleayre tomorrow as I am heading to K for Sat and Sun turns.

Join a ski club and get a PASR card for $57 good for a day at each of 6 mountains including Blue (and so JFBB CB Shawnee and 2 lesser places). Use any day after Jan 3. Even if you only ski three of them it brings your price down to 19 per day. Best deal in PA skiing if you don't ski enough for a pass to pay.

Could snow tomorrow and make it look less WRODlike

Enjoyed a mid April 70 degree day skiing BB with the kids last year when everything else in PA and Catskills was closed and they were 75% open

2 hours is realistic time from exiting GWB to pulling into Hunter if no traffic. Allow extra time for getting to and over GWB, and for traffic, especially on the way home. Add 15 for Windham or Belleayre, add 45 for Plattekill. Mountain Creek under an hour from GWB.

Nice. Hope it holds up til I make it there for Sat and Sun.

4 more days

Hopefully not ones where you bought a season pass

The season or the "mountain"? Cool. Will do. Sweet gig patrolling there?

I grew up in PA and lived there when I started skiing. But yeah, in NJ now, and PA is the closest skiing and by far the easiest to do as a day trip.

90% of my ski days in Poconos the first 10 and last 5 years I have skied. 90% Catskills about 20 years in between. Made about 15 trips further North and about 10 West in those 35 years. Can't say I am most proud of the Poconos part, but it works for my location for the forsee able future.

Skiing PA more a point of convenience than a point of pride

If they have enough open I may bring the kids Saturday. But I doubt that will be the case. Kids aren't park rats.

What will be open?