Belleayre 2/11

[kingslug]

I must have been crazy to attempt this..but I did. Worked a double, stayed on call in a hotel on 8th ave until 4am, hopped a 5 am train to LI, dug out my girlfriends house for 2 hours..and went to Belleayre. Needles to say I didn't bring my A game..or B or C...
They reported 8 inches..OK...started with Belleayre run, the usual half groomed half moguls, which where the most consistant moguls on the hill. Saw a guy ripping them all day, straight down the zipper line..the fact that he was 57 made it more impressive...you need shorter poles he tells me...hacksaw time. Then tried the run to skiers right of it (I can't even spell some of the names) weird, huge irregular "bumps" Belleayre seeems to develop these, kind of look like...huge truffles...I don't know. Same on Yahoo and Onteora, except they had gigantic icy blown snow "mountains" weird. Time to find the 8 inches.
Tomahawk liftline..Ok here's some powder. Ripped down that a few times..nice. Went into the woods next to Yahoo.....deep but a little sketchy..as in hidden rocks..which I found..the hard way, got a nice scratch down the length of one ski base, spun me around as well.
Time for Cathedral brook, not the top, I'm not hiking... really nice in there, full coverage. But damn I remember when it used to be...hard. You had to hike out of it but now its just a short natural bumper with a mile long runout...still worth a few times.
Now I'm pretty shot, been here since 11, now its 2, got a fat head cold to boot, time for a few more mogul runs. getting sketchy, the top runs are getting down to base...a few more and I'm done.
I guess conditions are pretty good considering all the rain earlier but they need more. And I need different skis. After spending 8 days on soft twin tip double rocker fatties, my AC 40 Carbons feel like thin steel planks...need something in between.

 

[zyk]

Was there on Wednesday 2/10. Seemed more like 4-6 inches to me. Realized I really like the mountain, but maybe it was just the conditions... Couple of ugly spots (Uts.. something comes to mind), otherwise very nice until it started to get skied off. I agree they just need a bit more snow.

 

[abc]

Mmmm... thanks for the up-to-date condition report.

I was thinking of playing hooky to hit Belleayre tomorrow in anticipation of stellar condition. Now I'm having second thoughts...

 

[skidbump]

i ski there every day all trails have good cover only glades and woods are little sketchy

 

[ta&idaho]

I must have been crazy to attempt this..but I did. Worked a double, stayed on call in a hotel on 8th ave until 4am, hopped a 5 am train to LI, dug out my girlfriends house for 2 hours..and went to Belleayre. Needles to say I didn't bring my A game..or B or C...
They reported 8 inches..OK...started with Belleayre run, the usual half groomed half moguls, which where the most consistant moguls on the hill. Saw a guy ripping them all day, straight down the zipper line..the fact that he was 57 made it more impressive...you need shorter poles he tells me...hacksaw time. Then tried the run to skiers right of it (I can't even spell some of the names) weird, huge irregular "bumps" Belleayre seeems to develop these, kind of look like...huge truffles...I don't know. Same on Yahoo and Onteora, except they had gigantic icy blown snow "mountains" weird. Time to find the 8 inches.
Tomahawk liftline..Ok here's some powder. Ripped down that a few times..nice. Went into the woods next to Yahoo.....deep but a little sketchy..as in hidden rocks..which I found..the hard way, got a nice scratch down the length of one ski base, spun me around as well.
Time for Cathedral brook, not the top, I'm not hiking... really nice in there, full coverage. But damn I remember when it used to be...hard. You had to hike out of it but now its just a short natural bumper with a mile long runout...still worth a few times.
Now I'm pretty shot, been here since 11, now its 2, got a fat head cold to boot, time for a few more mogul runs. getting sketchy, the top runs are getting down to base...a few more and I'm done.
I guess conditions are pretty good considering all the rain earlier but they need more. And I need different skis. After spending 8 days on soft twin tip double rocker fatties, my AC 40 Carbons feel like thin steel planks...need something in between.

Sounds pretty fun, actually. Maybe I need to give Belleayre another shot. I've never been there when any of the woods or Cathedral Brook were skiable.

And I need different skis. After spending 8 days on soft twin tip double rocker fatties, my AC 40 Carbons feel like thin steel planks...need something in between.

I've thought about this point a lot this season, after demoing some pretty fun fatter (but softer) skis at the Hunter demo days in December. For the kind of skiing you're describing (bush-whacking through manky crud, picking your way through sketchy bump lines, etc.), I think a softer ski would make a lot of difference. I wouldn't have expected this when I moved out here, but I don't end up skiing a lot of pure groomers in the East, especially places like the Catksills where the snow is the worst. I actually had a lot of fun on skis like the Salomon Lord (high 80s underfoot but soft tips and tails with a slight early rise) and even something much fatter like the Elan 1010 (again, early rise tip) when I was at the Hunter demo days. I had discounted fatter skis because I've never felt I needed more "float" to enjoy powder skiing (except maybe after deep, heavy dumps in the Sierras), but the stable platform and softer flex pattern seems to make them pretty fun in the mix of Eastern conditions I end up skiing.

 

[abc]

Maybe instead of calling them "powder skis", they should really be called "natural snow" skis (natural meaning un-groomed).

To me, there're only two kind of skis. One that handles ice well. They're usually narrow and stiff. The other handles everything else.

 

[kingslug]

I was able to rip through anything at Alta with the Rossi s3's, powder, bumps, groomed....my AC40's I think are preventing this. I bounce down hardpack moguls which are a joke compared to the 35 plus degree monsters out west. I felt like a total piker yesterday. Problem will be finding a pair to try out here, although I may buy them from a shop in Utah at the end of the season..best deals will prolly be for rentals.

 

[Shredder of Gnar]

OK...started with Belleayre run, the usual half groomed half moguls, which where the most consistant moguls on the hill. Saw a guy ripping them all day, straight down the zipper line..the fact that he was 57 made it more impressive...you need shorter poles he tells me...hacksaw time. .

Kingslug, nice to meet you Thursday! Didn't realize that you were an Azoner... Did you hack those poles down yet?

 

[kingslug]

Nope, pretty bad head cold, prolly why I was skiing like shit that day...think I'll wax up my K2's, they have a little give to them...might end up at either Whiteface or Killington next week. Have to hack them soon though, maybe today.
Ever go to Hunter or Plattekill??

 

[Shredder of Gnar]

Nope, pretty bad head cold, prolly why I was skiing like shit that day...think I'll wax up my K2's, they have a little give to them...might end up at either Whiteface or Killington next week. Have to hack them soon though, maybe today.
Ever go to Hunter or Plattekill??

Actually I've had a mid-week pass at H for the last 10+ years -- last 2 or 3 years though spent more time at B (they get more snow, they groom less, and way better bumps, overall) -- P I try to hit on powpow days, but unfortunately those are few and far between -- great place to be when it does happen though!

 

[kingslug]

I ski Hunter on Mondays,,what they don't get from the sky...they blow!!!! They had a great early season..even stayed a few nights at the K club...
Used to have a place right up the road from Bell a little past Rotmans...

 

[Shredder of Gnar]

I ski Hunter on Mondays,,what they don't get from the sky...they blow!!!! They had a great early season..even stayed a few nights at the K club...
Used to have a place right up the road from Bell a little past Rotmans...

Yes! H had a *great* early season -- spent many days doing top to bottom bumps, cillf to racers, or claires and purna -- then the snowmaking stopped and the grooming began -- once it deteriorated to mostly nothing but ice bumps on upper Xover or lower K, I decided I'd rather pay to ski B than ski free at H... sad....