Season Pass Hunter Windham Belleayre ???

[zyk]

Considering a midweek pass for Hunter next year. Currently I have one for Windham but would like a change. Any input on the pros/cons of Hunter-Windham-Belleayre would be appreciated (especially on midweek crowds). Of the three I have the least experience with Hunter (only a few of days over the years).

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[RootDKJ]

No idea, but I'm glad to see another Windham fan on here.

 

[dmc]

Other then holiday weeks - I doubt there's crowds at any Catskill resort...

Speaking for Hunter -
The pros are - Lots of advanced terrain/easy to get a drink at the bar
The cons are - F chair doesn't run most weekdays. Which means you have to go all the way to the base and cover some flat ground to get to it...

 

[catskills]

As for quality snow conditions I think you will like both Hunter and Belleayre. They do a great job with their snowmaking and grooming.

The only time I have seen a midweek (non-Holiday) crowd at Hunter is the day they have the Firemen's races. No long lines on the lifts. Try to get get near the bar on Firemen race day is another story.

You might want to consider mixing it up with Mid-week discount cards at more than one mountain. Hunter has a Big Lift card for midweek discounts which is also very cool. If you buy it early enough you get a free day of skiing. This all depends on how many days a year you plan on skiing.

If you don't like crowds consider Plattekill when their is a lot of natural snow like this year. Even on weekends Plattekill has virtually no lines. Open Friday-Sunday, Holiday weeks, and Powder Daze.

All the Catskill ski areas are awesome. Give them all a try.

 

[catskillman]

Hunter's has blackout days - mainly Xmas week and Presidents week.

Also - check the website for discounts for buying the pass early.

For example, the full pass at Hunter is going up $200, but if you buy it by May 1st you can get it at this years price. (Early purchases will help the cash flow over the summer - new lifts are pricey)

 

[drewfidelic]

Over the last couple of years, I've noticed that the weekend crowds at Windham are getting worse than the weekend crowds at Hunter. The weekends at Windham take on a very different tone than the weekdays there. On the weekends, the lines at Windham's quads can be ridiculously long, the slopes more crowded with kids skiing recklessly and a sense of crowded chaos on the mountain. While Hunter still has far more aggressive skiers on the weekends and can be very crowded, the fact that the mountain has much more expert terrain and the overall caliber of skiers is higher, the non-Belt trails feels like a more managed chaos. And Hunter is simply a bigger mountain with more room on the mountain to swallow up the crowds. Plus, skiing the alternative to the high-speed quad lifts at Hunter (D,F,Z) is a much better experience than doing the equivalent at Windham (B,F) For midweek, of course, this isn't really a consideration.

But during the week, Windham feels more relaxed than Hunter midweek. At Hunter, you still have the same aggresive expert skiers -- just fewer of them. Midweek Windham skiers tend to be more mellow. Without the crowds, the drawbacks of the mountain itself are minimized -- Windham is noticeably smaller than Hunter, and there is no way that they have the same skiable vertical drop, no matter what Windham's marketing department wants to claim. But Windham is a much better intermediate's mountain than Hunter, with much more intermediate terrain.

Besides having more vertical and more terrain, Hunter's snowmaking capacity far outclasses Windham's. Windham's isn't bad -- and it's gotten better in recent years -- but Hunter's is first-rate.
________
Bondage handcuff

 

[bch224]

those experienced with hunter, how would you characterize avg weekend crowds at hunter west? do most of the crowds stick to the HSQ? thanks

 

[ta&idaho]

The cons are - F chair doesn't run most weekdays. Which means you have to go all the way to the base and cover some flat ground to get to it...

As opposed to Windham and Belleayre??? :wink:

My take: Belleayre if you want a terrain profile similar to Windham; Hunter if you want something steeper and with more challenging terrain (and you're willing to sacrifice most of the blue cruisers).

 

[oakapple]

Honestly, I think Windham is overrated. It's worth an occasional visit, but of the three, it's the one where I'd be least happy to have a season pass.

 

[dmc]

those experienced with hunter, how would you characterize avg weekend crowds at hunter west? do most of the crowds stick to the HSQ? thanks

avg weekend crowds on the Westside are a lot smaller then the quads on the front side...
Most people ski the hsq...
If the Y chair is running - it's ski on ski off - but only expert terrain..

 

[millerm277]

zyk, what's your ability level? If you're an intermediate, I wouldn't go to hunter. If you're an upper-intermediate/Expert, you should really give Hunter a shot. It does have the "aggressive" expert skiers, but if you ski well enough to be comfortable on Hunter's diamonds, you should be able to enjoy the mountain pretty well.

 

[zyk]

If you don't like crowds consider Plattekill when their is a lot of natural snow like this year. Even on weekends Plattekill has virtually no lines. Open Friday-Sunday, Holiday weeks, and Powder Daze.

All the Catskill ski areas are awesome. Give them all a try.

I go to Plattekill on Fridays whenever I can. Its rare for me to be free on a weekend so I'm a bit limited there.

Sounds like Hunter might be worth a try next year. One problem I've had with Windham is that they have very few discount days so if I'm bringing company they get stuck paying quite a bit. Hunter had Tuesdays and Belleayre had Wednesdays and Fridays this year which helps with that.


Thanks for the help. I want to make a decision before the pass prices go up (Hunter's goes up to $289 in May).

 

[zyk]

zyk, what's your ability level? If you're an intermediate, I wouldn't go to hunter. If you're an upper-intermediate/Expert, you should really give Hunter a shot. It does have the "aggressive" expert skiers, but if you ski well enough to be comfortable on Hunter's diamonds, you should be able to enjoy the mountain pretty well.

Millerm277- I'm a hack in the trees and bumps but otherwise ok. I think the terrian at HUnter might be more to my liking than that of Windham or Belleayre. Don't mind runouts so much, but the traverse at the top of Windham and the one at Belleayre are a bit annoying.

 

[RootDKJ]

Sounds like Hunter might be worth a try next year.

Just a thought...why don't you come to Hunter on Sunday 3/28 and give the place a good test ride?

 

[andrec10]

If you work the lifts, the lines are not even comparable to Windhams. I was at a race there in Jan, and dont see the draw that everyone else does. Plus, they HAVE THE BALLS TO SELL A T-SHIRT THAT SAYS "WINDHAM, THE NEW ASPEN"! Um...No way! Have they been to Aspen?:flame:

 

[jtothewang]

I understand why you would want to switch it up. I've had my pass at Windham for four years now, love it, but could use some additional terrain. I guess if I was you, I'd go with Hunter. I don't like the way Belleayre cut the mountain in half with their lodge. I've been hoping that Windham would buy out Hunter just so we could have two mountains with one pass. So, for me, my motivation to try another mountain would be new terrain. I think all the feedback on Hunter is accurate. I think a four mountain pass in the Catskills would be incredible. Hunter-Windham-Plattekill-Belleayre. With digital technology you could easily make the profit sharing fair by weighting multi-mountain pass income on a pro-rata basis based on each mountain's usage. For that to happen though, I think the Catskills would need a stronger chamber because I doubt the mountains would ever bite on that.

 

[jtothewang]

If you work the lifts, the lines are not even comparable to Windhams. I was at a race there in Jan, and dont see the draw that everyone else does. Plus, they HAVE THE BALLS TO SELL A T-SHIRT THAT SAYS "WINDHAM, THE NEW ASPEN"! Um...No way! Have they been to Aspen?:flame:

I think they may be talking about the Windham Mtn Club where the fee to join is upward of $50k. Just a guess, but it smells more and more like $$$ in Windham every year. But yeah, not even close to the Aspen level.

 

[RootDKJ]

I've been hoping that Windham would buy out Hunter just so we could have two mountains with one pass. So, for me, my motivation to try another mountain would be new terrain. I think all the feedback on Hunter is accurate. I think a four mountain pass in the Catskills would be incredible. Hunter-Windham-Plattekill-Belleayre. With digital technology you could easily make the profit sharing fair by weighting multi-mountain pass income on a pro-rata basis based on each mountain's usage. For that to happen though, I think the Catskills would need a stronger chamber because I doubt the mountains would ever bite on that.

I'd give up my pass at Blue for either of those options.

 

[JimG.]

Wow...

A totally sensible and accurate thread about Hunter.

I can die now.

 

[andrec10]

Wow...

A totally sensible and accurate thread about Hunter.

I can die now.

Glad we could help! Just kidding...