Belleayre 1-11-18: new gondi and soft snow

[legalskier]

Slipping out the door just before tomorrow's rain storm, I arrived mid morning for my first day here this season. I wanted to try the new gondi.

First ride up. It's a very smooth comfortable- and fast- ride.

Fog shrouded the upper mountain.
Skied a lot of vertical off this lift. Needless to say, it significantly boosts the Belle's uphill capacity and takes pressure off the Superchief chair. Mild temps softened the snow to springlike conditions, while the cloud cover prevented things from getting too warm. Applying some Zardoz to my bases helped a lot, so I turned up the throttle to carve in the soft snow. Most trails on the upper mountain were either open, or had enough snow that they could have been open (got the feeling they're saving some for the holiday weekend, e.g. Belleayre trail.) Bumps could be found on Winisook and Onteora.

Heading back down to the lower mountain, here's the ski bridge that spans the road to Overlook Lodge.

"A View from the Bridge"
The gondi re-orients the axis of the ski area more to the center of where it is on the map and spreads traffic towards the west side. Luckily for me, there wasn't much traffic at all today. Had most trails to myself, a nice sense of freedom.

 

[kingslug]

Havent been there in years but want to check it out. Learned to ski there.

 

[raisingarizona]

That chain link fence looks kind of ugly. You think they could have been a little more creative with that.

 

[Mapnut]

How was the new trail below the bridge, back to the gondola? Pretty flat?


I'd be disappointed if Dot Nebel and such trails were open but the Tomahawk chair wasn't running and I had to ski down to the gondola.

 

[legalskier]

How was the new trail below the bridge, back to the gondola? Pretty flat?
I'd be disappointed if Dot Nebel and such trails were open but the Tomahawk chair wasn't running and I had to ski down to the gondola.

The downside off the bridge has some pitch to it but not very far, then things flatten out. The trail then flows onto Iroquois near the learning area, then some more pitch down to the loading area, which is very close to the lodge.
I would think that Tomahawk lift will be running on busy days. The day I was there didn't have enough traffic to justify it- I enjoyed riding the gondi instead.

 

[mriceyman]

That chain link fence looks kind of ugly. You think they could have been a little more creative with that.

Really? Its a freaking fence


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[raisingarizona]

Really? Its a freaking fence


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Yup. It looks cheap.

 

[SkiRay]

That chain link fence looks kind of ugly. You think they could have been a little more creative with that.

Totally spot on with that...

 

[SkiRay]

Either way, we plan to check out Belleayre - its been a couple of years.

 

[legalskier]

That chain link fence looks kind of ugly. You think they could have been a little more creative with that.

What kind of fencing would you have preferred? A plastic orange one perhaps? Very eye catching.



Or orange netting that's so ubiquitous these days?



Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[skimagic]

You figure if NYS can spend a few mil on a gondi, new trails, and a ski bridge, a nicer fence could be installed. Like this one, split-rail to wood lined sidewalls.

 

[Cornhead]

No one will notice the fencing on the bridge. They will be concentrating on what they will find on the blind drop just beyond the bridge. Newb yard sale, snow boarder gathering, etc.

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[danimals]

I didn’t even notice the fence, or think about it, until it was mentioned here.


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[skimagic]

This weather is such a bummer that all we can talk about is a fence at Bellayre.

 

[raisingarizona]

You figure if NYS can spend a few mil on a gondi, new trails, and a ski bridge, a nicer fence could be installed. Like this one, split-rail to wood lined sidewalls.View attachment 23055

Proper planning makes such a difference in everything.

Some people don't care I guess but I do and I like good designs. The metal fencing looks terrible and cheap and has a prison/school yard feel to it. ghetto is the first word that pops into my head. They should try a little harder.

 

[da-bum]

You figure if NYS can spend a few mil on a gondi, new trails, and a ski bridge, a nicer fence could be installed. Like this one, split-rail to wood lined sidewalls.View attachment 23055

this kind of fence would be a joke. If there is any amount of accumulation from snowmaking, that fence would end up being 6 inches high, and people would be skiing right off it. You can't negligently build hazardous structures and tell people ski at your own risk.

 

[benski]

this kind of fence would be a joke. If there is any amount of accumulation from snowmaking, that fence would end up being 6 inches high, and people would be skiing right off it. You can't negligently build hazardous structures and tell people ski at your own risk.

You could make the lower part a foot or 2 taller...