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Belleayre Opens Gondola Today
- Thread starter catskills
- Start date
I didn't realize that it was...but the plan says it is so I'll take their word for it for now.
Harvey
Well-known member
What is the cutoff?
Who is "they?"
Who is "they?"
Hawkshot99
Active member
When we are talking about a lift at Belleayre "they" is clearly Belleayre....
I font know what the cutoff should be, but the rude is to short to require taking off skis and walking in there.
I'm not a huge fan of the gondi at Gore either. Why have it not go to the summit? I liked the old ones route much better.
I skied Belleayre today and tried to give the gondi a fair try.
-I am never a fan of having to take my skis off for a gondola or tram
-Getting out of the wind was nice, but could be accomplished with a bubble lift as well.
-I didn't time the ride, but it seemed to be traveling pretty slow.
-I can see it as being a cool lift for the normal catskill/Pocono skier that has never ridden a gondola but that seems a small marketing group.
-the run out past tomahawk down to the base sucks and takes forever. The dropoff on the downhill side of the road crossing was quite steep. I was able to get some fun air on it, but I see that as a problem for some beginners.
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Harvey
Well-known member
If "they" is Belleayre then you are incorrect. The Gondi wasn't requested by Belle, the way those funds were spent was not determined by Belleayre.
I also don't like taking my skis off.
The Gondola at Gore made skiing possible over this most recent holiday period. There were two days last week when the Gore vert would have been 280' without the Gondi. There was definitely some significant ROI this holiday for all hills with enclosed lifts.
The gondi makes more sense the way it is now at Gore vs going to the summit. Gondolas should serve all levels, not just experts. Beginners are often young children and protection from the wind is important. The way the Gore gondi is set now is good, especially if you don't like waiting in lift lines.
I also don't like taking my skis off.
The Gondola at Gore made skiing possible over this most recent holiday period. There were two days last week when the Gore vert would have been 280' without the Gondi. There was definitely some significant ROI this holiday for all hills with enclosed lifts.
The gondi makes more sense the way it is now at Gore vs going to the summit. Gondolas should serve all levels, not just experts. Beginners are often young children and protection from the wind is important. The way the Gore gondi is set now is good, especially if you don't like waiting in lift lines.
chuckstah
Well-known member
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I have no hands on knowledge of Bell as I've never been but I'm thinking a Chondola may have been a good choice. Skis on in the winter for those that prefer that and Gondy cabins for summer events and the bad weather days. Sunday River's Chondola is popular at only about 1150 vertical. The K1 at Killington is their most popular lift at about 1650 vert, with a lot of runout. I would say give it a chance and I think most skiers will like it. But most here will likely not. I may try to hit Bell in a couple weeks as I hope to be in the area.
BenedictGomez
Well-known member
I generally agree, though if it's a long enough ride it's a lot more tolerable.
Taking off your skis for the 3 second lift ride at Belleayre, however, is just laughable.
Honestly, my only issue with gondolas is lifties often struggle when it's busy to fill cabins to capacity and they tend to go on windhold more frequently than chairs.
The whole whining about taking skis off thing, I just find amusing. Sure, we all have preferences, but is the twenty seconds to click in and out of skis that much of a pain? Or is it the walking with skis in hand while waiting in line? This might be the king of skiing related "first world problems."
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The whole whining about taking skis off thing, I just find amusing. Sure, we all have preferences, but is the twenty seconds to click in and out of skis that much of a pain? Or is it the walking with skis in hand while waiting in line? This might be the king of skiing related "first world problems."
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jmgard
New member
I used to like gondolas until bubble chairs came around. Taking your skis off isn't that big of a deal but when there's an alternative that offers similar benefits without having to do that, it makes it seem a little worse. I mostly ski midweek and like to just ski directly up to the lift without having to stop when possible. Plus most of my gondola experience has been at Loon, where a 4 person gondola seems somewhat inefficient compared to 8 seaters at Stowe/Gore/Killington/etc.
Harvey
Well-known member
The windhold and the value of an enclosed lift are opposite sides of the same thing. The more wind protection you get the more susceptible they are to windhold. Bubble chairs are a good compromise because it is usually your face that is really in danger of frostbite.
I'm not badly out of shape, but I'm pushing 60 and getting the second tele ski on isn't always easy for me. 20 seconds is a dream. At least tele boots are comfortable and I don't have to buckle/unbuckle my boots.
How long is the Belle gondi ride in minutes?
I'm not badly out of shape, but I'm pushing 60 and getting the second tele ski on isn't always easy for me. 20 seconds is a dream. At least tele boots are comfortable and I don't have to buckle/unbuckle my boots.
How long is the Belle gondi ride in minutes?
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Hawkshot99
Active member
So you are saying Belleayre never spoke to the state at all on things they would like to have. Randomly one day they just received a phone call saying they were getting a gondola? Yea seems pretty unrealistic to me to.
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7.22 minutes per the Doppelmayr contract.
As for the complaints about taking skis off or not...I don't particularly like taking my skis on and off, but that's not part of my issues with the lift.
Harvey
Well-known member
That's not what I am saying. I'm sure Belle speaks to the state about things they would like to have.
I'm saying that this specific project came about through a political process similar to the way Burnt Ridge and the Ski Bowl were developed at Gore. Those projects did not start with the GM saying "we need this."
All the GMs want more snowmaking. More terrain makes your life harder (in the short run) more snowmaking makes it easier.
I actually think in this case that isn't too far off...a new lift along that configuration has been in the proposed master plan for a while. However in the plan as recently as the 2015 version with the final environmental impact statement it was slated to be a HSQ. I would not at all be surprised if it was a politician that wanted something flashier for their money that orchestrated the decision to change it to a gondola.
The Belleayre Unit Management Plan spells out in great detail what Belleayre "wants" or believes it "needs" to be a competitive mountain for the future. Some of the pieces of the plan are quite impressive and fairly well thought out. For example the plan wants to increase their snowmaking capacity to 10500 GPM (7500 GPM for the upper mountain and 3000 GPM for the lower mountain). Current water capacity is 4500GPM (3000 upper and 1500 lower). That is a sizeable upgrade and would put Belleayre in a very nice position from a snowmaking pov.
MEtoVTSkier
Active member
That's not really a short ride. K1 is 8 minutes.
SIKSKIER
New member
While taking skis of once is not the end of the world,taking them off every run is a real no go for this guy.I never use the tram at Cannon and actually cant stand being herded into a cabin like cattle and pressed up against bad smelling people.Then the race out the door to get your skis on and take off before the masses beat you.A gondi doesn't have all these issues but staring at a couple dweebs I dont want to is not for me either.I enjoy talking with others on a chair if they want but I dont have to be face to face if Mr douchebag is on the same lift with me.
KustyTheKlown
Well-known member
the reason I don't like aspen (ajax) is that you need to take the gondola to access a long run of vertical, so you are constantly taking skis off
Wah wah wah!! Complaining about having to take your skis off?
First world crybabies.
I'm all for letting them execute the plan and see what emerges in 5 years or so. Sure the Gondola looks out of place right now but that's because it is a 21st century piece of equipment in the middle of a mid-20th century ski area.
It is possible that the long range planners have a better idea of the realities of this upgrade than the AZ ski area development council here.
First world crybabies.
I'm all for letting them execute the plan and see what emerges in 5 years or so. Sure the Gondola looks out of place right now but that's because it is a 21st century piece of equipment in the middle of a mid-20th century ski area.
It is possible that the long range planners have a better idea of the realities of this upgrade than the AZ ski area development council here.
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