Date(s) Skied: 2/27-2/28 2010
Resort or Ski Area: Belleayre
Conditions: powder, power, powder, pack powder, bumps
Trip Report: My 8-year old daughter and I skied Saturday and Sunday after the great dump on Friday. We ski Belleayre frequently, but have stuck to the groomers, because the moguls are too big, hard and icy for my daughter (and I am not so great on them either). This weekend was obviously different and we hit almost every trail on the mountain.
We got a late start, but were half a mile from the mountain at 9:30. Then the excitement began. The last half mile took us 30 minutes, though we never figured out exactly why. I heard some cars got stuck on the road to Belleayre, which backed traffic up on to 28. We parked at the Tomahawk lift where there was just one ticket window and about 40 people ahead of us. Folks in the line were patient, friendly and eager to get on the mountain. Someone mentioned that Hunter was closed, likley adding to crowds at Belleayre.
We finally got on the lift at 10:45 and started with the round-about, Deer Run. It was nicely groomed in the middle, but both sides of the trail had deep powder. We saw a little girl who tried to ski between the trees and ended up stuck in 4 feet of powder. After that we skied Dot Nebel, which is usually groomed, but was now covered with deep, heavy powder. Only a few people had skied it to that point and it was a real challenge for us. Neither of us had skied such deep, wet powder before and we struggled to keep our balance.
From there, we moved to the east side of the mountain, which had been skied quite a bit more. Instead of the deep powder, this side was covered with soft moguls, which we skied well. Our confidence built and my daughter started to like the moguls. At the end of the day, she asked to ski Seneca for the first time, which had big, but soft moguls. She skied it great, which set the tone for day 2.
We spent the night in Pine Hill and were on the Tomahawk lift at 9:02. We started with Deer Run again, which had been groomed, but had was covered with two inches of nice fresh powder. Dot Nebel now had soft moguls, which was much nicer for us. Then we hiked over to Cathedral Brook, which I have always wanted to ski, but never had the chance. I rarely ski alone and my daughter was not ready for it before. It's about a 10 minute hike, but was well worth it. Judging from the tracks, only about 20 skiers had been there before us. The snow was deep, but we were now better equipped to handle it. Nonetheless, my daughter struggled a bit and I was surprised (and proud) that she wanted to do it again. We did that, but only after skiing all the other blacks like Yahoo and Onteora that we had previously avoided due to moguls. We also skied our first glades, which had great snow and were fun.
In summary, what a weekend! It was a game changer for us. My daughter has gained a ton of confidence and feels like she can ski almost anything. I feel like I am skiing as well as ever after taking 15 years off and doing mostly "family skiing" for the last 5 years. I feel for the folks in the Catskills who are still digging out from this storm, but I have to admit that I love the snow. I can't wait until next weekend, when I'll take my 5-year old girl to Belleayre. I don't think we'll hit the same trails, but we'll have fun.
This is my first ski report.
Resort or Ski Area: Belleayre
Conditions: powder, power, powder, pack powder, bumps
Trip Report: My 8-year old daughter and I skied Saturday and Sunday after the great dump on Friday. We ski Belleayre frequently, but have stuck to the groomers, because the moguls are too big, hard and icy for my daughter (and I am not so great on them either). This weekend was obviously different and we hit almost every trail on the mountain.
We got a late start, but were half a mile from the mountain at 9:30. Then the excitement began. The last half mile took us 30 minutes, though we never figured out exactly why. I heard some cars got stuck on the road to Belleayre, which backed traffic up on to 28. We parked at the Tomahawk lift where there was just one ticket window and about 40 people ahead of us. Folks in the line were patient, friendly and eager to get on the mountain. Someone mentioned that Hunter was closed, likley adding to crowds at Belleayre.
We finally got on the lift at 10:45 and started with the round-about, Deer Run. It was nicely groomed in the middle, but both sides of the trail had deep powder. We saw a little girl who tried to ski between the trees and ended up stuck in 4 feet of powder. After that we skied Dot Nebel, which is usually groomed, but was now covered with deep, heavy powder. Only a few people had skied it to that point and it was a real challenge for us. Neither of us had skied such deep, wet powder before and we struggled to keep our balance.
From there, we moved to the east side of the mountain, which had been skied quite a bit more. Instead of the deep powder, this side was covered with soft moguls, which we skied well. Our confidence built and my daughter started to like the moguls. At the end of the day, she asked to ski Seneca for the first time, which had big, but soft moguls. She skied it great, which set the tone for day 2.
We spent the night in Pine Hill and were on the Tomahawk lift at 9:02. We started with Deer Run again, which had been groomed, but had was covered with two inches of nice fresh powder. Dot Nebel now had soft moguls, which was much nicer for us. Then we hiked over to Cathedral Brook, which I have always wanted to ski, but never had the chance. I rarely ski alone and my daughter was not ready for it before. It's about a 10 minute hike, but was well worth it. Judging from the tracks, only about 20 skiers had been there before us. The snow was deep, but we were now better equipped to handle it. Nonetheless, my daughter struggled a bit and I was surprised (and proud) that she wanted to do it again. We did that, but only after skiing all the other blacks like Yahoo and Onteora that we had previously avoided due to moguls. We also skied our first glades, which had great snow and were fun.
In summary, what a weekend! It was a game changer for us. My daughter has gained a ton of confidence and feels like she can ski almost anything. I feel like I am skiing as well as ever after taking 15 years off and doing mostly "family skiing" for the last 5 years. I feel for the folks in the Catskills who are still digging out from this storm, but I have to admit that I love the snow. I can't wait until next weekend, when I'll take my 5-year old girl to Belleayre. I don't think we'll hit the same trails, but we'll have fun.
This is my first ski report.
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