Wyndham or BellAyre

bman1 · Feb 15, 2012

Which is better mountain? Which is less crowded? I went to Hunter last saturday and it got really crowded. I'm hitting either Wyndham or Bellayre this Sunday.

legalskier · Feb 15, 2012

Belleayre hasn't been crowded at all this season. Here's a TR from Monday:
http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?t=107274

Haven't been to Wyndham yet this season- similar terrain but it caters to an upscale crowd.

Both have very good grooming capabilities.

kingslug · Feb 15, 2012

Belleayre...

SKIQUATTRO · Feb 15, 2012

Bell...

ScottySkis · Feb 15, 2012

Bell is less crowded but their a good 1000 vertical hill that just a little past Bell which gets lots less people and snow stays good the whole day in Roxburry I recommended Platty. http://www.plattekill.com/winter/trail-report-and-weather

BenedictGomez · Feb 15, 2012

Scotty said:
Bell is less crowded but their a good 1000 vertical hill that just a little past Bell which gets lots less people and snow stays good the whole day in Roxburry I recommended Platty.

I need to get my decoder ring for this cryptogram

abc · Feb 15, 2012

BenedictGomez said:
I need to get my decoder ring for this cryptogram

No need for decoder ring, but a few punctuation would help go a long way.

oakapple · Feb 15, 2012

bman1 said:
Which is better mountain? Which is less crowded? I went to Hunter last saturday and it got really crowded. I'm hitting either Wyndham or Bellayre this Sunday.

As far as "less crowded" goes, Belleayre will win every time.

They are both good mountains, but for different purposes. Almost all of Belleayre's blacks and double-blacks have fairly long blue run-outs, which makes it annoying for people who want to lap those trails, and only those trails. Most of Belleayre's double-blacks and single blacks are not very long, and might be single blacks or "hard blues" at other places.

Belleayre's blue and green trails are arguably the best of any Catskills ski area. It is not totally lacking in the black and double-black categories, but the skier who wants to focus on advanced stuff might like Windham better.

Although it doesn't sound like you are asking about this particularly: Windham has the better lodges.

andrec10 · Feb 15, 2012

oakapple said:
As far as "less crowded" goes, Belleayre will win every time.

They are both good mountains, but for different purposes. Almost all of Belleayre's blacks and double-blacks have fairly long blue run-outs, which makes it annoying for people who want to lap those trails, and only those trails. Most of Belleayre's double-blacks and single blacks are not very long, and might be single blacks or "hard blues" at other places.

Belleayre's blue and green trails are arguably the best of any Catskills ski area. It is not totally lacking in the black and double-black categories, but the skier who wants to focus on advanced stuff might like Windham better.

Although it doesn't sound like you are asking about this particularly: Windham has the better lodges.

If you can find a place to sit in their lodge!

TropicTundR · Feb 15, 2012

oakapple said:
As far as "less crowded" goes, Belleayre will win every time.

They are both good mountains, but for different purposes. Almost all of Belleayre's blacks and double-blacks have fairly long blue run-outs, which makes it annoying for people who want to lap those trails, and only those trails. Most of Belleayre's double-blacks and single blacks are not very long, and might be single blacks or "hard blues" at other places.

Belleayre's blue and green trails are arguably the best of any Catskills ski area. It is not totally lacking in the black and double-black categories, but the skier who wants to focus on advanced stuff might like Windham better.

Although it doesn't sound like you are asking about this particularly: Windham has the better lodges.

How about Windham's cookies and waffles!

gladerider · Feb 15, 2012

skiersleft · Feb 16, 2012

Frankly, I don't understand the answers given here. Objectively speaking, it's no contest. Windham is clearly better than Belleayre terrain wise. It's bigger, more challenging, better cruisers, more vertical, better infrastructure, better lifts, etc, etc. The list goes on.

Now, if you're looking to avoid crowds, then go to Belleayre, definitely less crowded. But know that you're sacrificing terrain for emptier slopes, which is fine, but at least you know that you're giving up something,

Also, as was already pointed out, if what you're looking for is decent skiing with the least crowds possible, then you're looking in the wrong place. Your top choice in the Catskills would then be Plattekill, not Belleayre. Better terrain, less crowds.

millerm277 · Feb 16, 2012

I like Plattekill, but it is only 5 runs or so open. Good terrain, but that is it. If you think 2 Expert runs, a single diamond, an intermediate, and a beginner run can entertain you for the day, Plattekill has excellent terrain and no crowds.

I'd say Hunter has the best terrain and significant crowds, Windham is less on both, and Belleayre is the least. /all in terms of what an expert skier would like.

Ski the Moguls · Feb 16, 2012

As a bump skier I much prefer Bell. Windham grooms almost everything flat. Bell likes to let quite a few trails bump up. At least they have in the past - can't speak to this lousy snow year.

ScottySkis · Feb 16, 2012

millerm277 said:
I like Plattekill, but it is only 5 runs or so open. Good terrain, but that is it. If you think 2 Expert runs, a single diamond, an intermediate, and a beginner run can entertain you for the day, Plattekill has excellent terrain and no crowds.

I'd say Hunter has the best terrain and significant crowds, Windham is less on both, and Belleayre is the least. /all in terms of what an expert skier would like.

15 trails open, look at their website and if they get snow saturday i know the whole place will be open.

skiersleft · Feb 16, 2012

Ski the Moguls said:
As a bump skier I much prefer Bell. Windham grooms almost everything flat. Bell likes to let quite a few trails bump up. At least they have in the past - can't speak to this lousy snow year.

Perhaps Belle has more trails with moguls, but it's an overstatement to say that Windham grooms almost everything flat. On a typical year, they let about half of their expert terrain bump up. Of course, this year is not a typical one, so both Belle and Windham are grooming more than they otherwise would.

legalskier · Feb 16, 2012

skiersleft said:
Frankly, I don't understand the answers given here. Objectively speaking, it's no contest. Windham is clearly better than Belleayre terrain wise. It's bigger, more challenging, better cruisers, more vertical, better infrastructure, better lifts, etc, etc. The list goes on.

I've skied both areas countless times. Wyndham basically flattens out to very little pitch at the bottom of the blacks. Belleayre's blues have more pitch over a sustained distance, many have a series of steps. Nothing at Wyndham is steeper than anything at Belle, though some (like Wolverine) are longer. Nothing at Wyndham has a long challenging blue quality that Dot Nebel does. The lifts are comparable- each has a HSQ with several fixed grips. Wyndham is more expensive and divides their lodge up into different level "clubs." . Belleayre is much less crowded and the people are more like regular folks. Reports I've heard is that Wyndham opened trails with just a bit of base, no thanks. I will admit that the fashion show on the lift lines is more upscale at Wyndham. Belle has better bump runs. Belle let's you ski in the trees.

"No contest" you claim? No way.

kingslug · Feb 16, 2012

Windham is the only place in the Cats that I NEVER ski anymore..they are more interested in real estate than skiing...

RENO · Feb 16, 2012

On weekends Belleayre wins by a lot over Windham and Hunter. Definitely far less crowded. One thing I don't like about Belleayre as a snowboarder is the flatness at the top getting off the lifts.

BenedictGomez · Feb 16, 2012

Scotty said:
15 trails open, look at their website and if they get snow saturday i know the whole place will be open.

You know better than that, lets keep a little honesty going here. The number is between 5 and 15, but his number is closer to the truth in number of "runs" than yours.

Wyndham or BellAyre

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