RootDKJ Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Date(s) Skied: November 29, 2010 Resort or Ski Area: Belleayre Conditions: Hardpack with death cookies Trip Report: I couldn't have ask for a better day for my 1st day. It was 28* when I left home and 33* when I pulled into the lot at Belleayre. The drive up went pretty quick and kudos to NY for re-paving Rt 28. They were making snow when I got there, but turned it off before I could get a picture of it. I'd say they made a decent amount overnight as the boot tracks going up to the lift were 4"-6" deep. Conditions were pretty firm with marble and gumball sized death cookies. I thought that the sunny skies would soften the snow up, but that never happened. Onteora was the only trail open and I didn't care. It just felt so good to be making turns again. Around 10:30 I met up with ERJ-145C from Alpine Zone and skied with him until I left around 1:30. I had a blast and lapped Onteora 25 times. I felt really good control wise and my boots felt good once I had them on a while. By the end of the my day, I was feeling very comfortable moving at high speed, but the amount of breaking needed to stop once I was back at the lift was wearing me out. Today I feel damn good with very little soreness. I didn't take many pics because I was having too much fun with the skiing. Onteora Looking off the back deck "Behind" the parking lot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan- Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Wish i could of been up there yesterday. Would be nice to ride with no people on the trail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootDKJ Posted November 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Wish i could of been up there yesterday. Would be nice to ride with no people on the trail. Yeah, it was pretty dead. Never any more then 5-6 people on the whole trail at any given point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan- Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Yeah, it was pretty dead. Never any more then 5-6 people on the whole trail at any given point. Haha yeah, i heard the lifties joking about how dead it was going to be on monday and it was definitely the time to be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgrwilco Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 <3 belleayre. Cant wait to get back up there this season. Possibly going to try plattekill as well, since they put bogo's in a coupon book we get in south jersey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Law Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Plattekill is cool and you can actually rent the place out if your private group has the bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootDKJ Posted November 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 (edited) I've got the green light to start my season, but it's not looking good for this weekend. I'll probably do opening day at Belleayre or Hunter if they open up next week. I noticed Belleayre changed their webpage from opening 11/25 to "We'll open as soon as possible." So am I going to get in turns before you this season? Edited November 22, 2011 by RootDKJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride Delaware ? Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 I hope it drops soon even though the end of the 10 day doesn't exactly look great... Even Onteora is decent after a long off season... Its the drive that really sucks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicSkier Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 I hope it drops soon even though the end of the 10 day doesn't exactly look great... Even Onteora is decent after a long off season... Its the drive that really sucks... The Belleayre drive is no sweat...and an easy day trip. It's 3hours or so from the B. I always enjoyed catching up to GSS on Root 28 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride Delaware ? Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 The Belleayre drive is no sweat...and an easy day trip. It's 3hours or so from the B. I always enjoyed catching up to GSS on Root 28 I went up when I was a senior on April 10th, and it was amazing... Only took me 2:40 from ole Psi U... I just meant 3 hours for only Onteora was a bunch... Especially only the top half... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicSkier Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 I went up when I was a senior on April 10th, and it was amazing... Only took me 2:40 from ole Psi U... I just meant 3 hours for only Onteora was a bunch... Especially only the top half... Doug and I skied 15"+ during a Noreaster on April 15th a few years ago at Belleayre. It was my first time actually skiing the whole mountain. I had previously only skied Onteora on opening weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASKIINGSUCKS Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 Doug and I skied 15"+ during a Noreaster on April 15th a few years ago at Belleayre. It was my first time actually skiing the whole mountain. I had previously only skied Onteora on opening weekend. That's the day you wanna push waaayyyyyy skiers left, I've heard there is a defunkt resort over there that is skiable. Actually I've camped on it. The bell is cool and has some good hiding spots if ya know where to poke around. I was with a girl who was a boarding instructor there last winter so I kinda got a guided tour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride Delaware ? Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 I forget what the resort is called, but the access road is there still and quite visible. Signage is still there and the trails are still decently maintained. I have heard that the state bought it and is planning to develop the outside property in conjunction with a private developer and will connect it with a lift and trails to Bell. When they had the 09 Feb superstorm Bell was taking guided cat tours over there. Heard it was fun... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASKIINGSUCKS Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 I forget what the resort is called, but the access road is there still and quite visible. Signage is still there and the trails are still decently maintained. I have heard that the state bought it and is planning to develop the outside property in conjunction with a private developer and will connect it with a lift and trails to Bell. When they had the 09 Feb superstorm Bell was taking guided cat tours over there. Heard it was fun... Highmount I heard the development plan fell through. Camped there this summer and there certainly wasn't anything going on. Rusty old lifts, snowgun lines all over just rotting, locked up deteriorating lodge, and lots of high grass. I've never skied it but I heard it gets poached a couple times a season by some of the locals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgrwilco Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 ^I poached it last season. You can clearly see the place from the deer run trail, super easy to get to. the trail is open at the top but super grown in the rest of the way. The trails further to the other side are still decent. Sucks the deal went through, the addition could have been pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride Delaware ? Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 I hadn't heard for sure if it went under, but anything adding something to that area would be nice... Belleayre needs something for the economy for sure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASKIINGSUCKS Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 I hadn't heard for sure if it went under, but anything adding something to that area would be nice... Belleayre needs something for the economy for sure... Pretty sure the locals and trout unlimited fought it off due to environmental impact. It is kinda dead up there around the bell but I think the locals like it that way. Heard a lot of the bell employees will be lost this year as the state has cut some of their funding I think. Lots of long timers won't be returning. Kinda sad, it has a nice small mountain vibe up there. Lots of nice restaurants in the area but that's about it. I'd still like to throw the kayak on the esopus some time though. Had a bad split with a girl from the area though so I doubt I'll be there at all this season. Might check out Hickory up closer to lake george, heard it has a MRG feel to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride Delaware ? Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Pretty sure the locals and trout unlimited fought it off due to environmental impact. It is kinda dead up there around the bell but I think the locals like it that way. Heard a lot of the bell employees will be lost this year as the state has cut some of their funding I think. Lots of long timers won't be returning. Kinda sad, it has a nice small mountain vibe up there. Lots of nice restaurants in the area but that's about it. I'd still like to throw the kayak on the esopus some time though. Had a bad split with a girl from the area though so I doubt I'll be there at all this season. Might check out Hickory up closer to lake george, heard it has a MRG feel to it. Most of the bell employees were cut last year from full to part time... No additional cuts were made this year from what I've heard... They may not want the added infrastructure, but they need more $ going into that economy... So many of those towns are basically ghost towns... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASKIINGSUCKS Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Most of the bell employees were cut last year from full to part time... No additional cuts were made this year from what I've heard... They may not want the added infrastructure, but they need more $ going into that economy... So many of those towns are basically ghost towns... maybe I'm thinking of folks that said they wouldn't return to work part time. yeah ghost towns except for saturday and sunday, ever try to get a seat for breakfast in phonecia on the weekend??? that town bumps just like jim thorpe or new hope on the weekend, so does woodstock. I kinda got the vibe that the locals like it just the way it is honestly. It's not that bad, I've seen less going on in parts of norther PA......well before all the shale drilling at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASKIINGSUCKS Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Phoenicia has a few restaurants..but otherwise that entire Kingston to Belleayre corridor is super depressed and a high percentage of people live below the poverty line. I wish there was a decent chain hotel near Belleayre. I'd wager you've never done anything but drive through if that's your take. Ever walk around in woodstock??? I'm not gonna say there aren't a bunch of run down houses along and around 28, but to say most are living below poverty is a bit of a stretch. Stop in the peekamoose next time ya drive through there and tell me there isn't still some money floating around in the catskills. I kinda like the feel of the area actually, granted I haven't seen it since the floods, but it wasn't that long ago that I was actually thinking of moving up there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASKIINGSUCKS Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 I've never walked around Woodstock. I have had dinner at the sportsmans in Phoenicia a few times and the fancier restaurant next door. Definitely not the vibe you get up in Stowe or out west. Belleayre is cool for a quick day trip but not much to do for an overnight and lodging is crap. The money in the Catskills is from tourists not locals. If you moved to the Belleayre area how would you support yourself? Not many jobs outside the service industry. I've had to drive 40 minutes to work down here, and I'd imagine I'd do the same up there, kingston ain't that far off. Peekamoose just before belleayre is as classy as any restaurant in Vermont, I highly recommend it actually. Short ribs to die for, but anyway. There is lodging in the area that is not crap, you just gotta poke around as it's more toward windham I've found, but it's easy to do a couple days up there. I rented a private hot tub room up there for around 150 I think and it wasn't trashy at all. There are loaded locals too trust me, but yes lots coming in from NYC too. Drive around in the backroads up there sometime and you will quickly see houses that are definitely not run down. I'd say there is a fair amount of wealth up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootDKJ Posted November 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Head over to Saugerties or Purling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryHugo Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Head over to Saugerties or Purling. Saugerties is a cool, little town. It has some really good restaurants and lots of art galleries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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