Today was an absolutely beautiful day, by any objective standard. Cold overnight, warming to 25 during the day. Not a cloud in the sky. Soft manmade snow all around, good coverage on almost all of the trails.
The big news at Gore today was the 2010 debut of Sagamore — the long, steep, liftline run that was added to the trail map last year. It’s a mile, with 1400 feet of vertical, and it’s serviced by a deluxe quad that takes less than nine minutes to deliver you to the top. More on that later.
Jamesdeluxe has joined NYSkiBlog as an author. James began alpine skiing in his mid-30s following a move back to the northeast after, go figure, living five years in Colorado and four years in New Mexico. Because James puts a premium on the “vibe” of where he’s making his turns, he’s been known to pass over world-famous resorts in favor of smaller, under-the-radar ski areas. Since 2003, James has written for First Tracks Online, Snowjournal, and Alpine Zone.
James travels to the West or Europe to mix things up, but he’s an unapologetic champion of East Coast skiing and a perfect fit for NYSkiBlog. His avatar, above, was taken on Upper Parkway at Whiteface in mid-December 2009 after a 20-inch dump.
Jamesdeluxe and I were invited to attend the MLK day press event at Belleayre, in Highmount, NY. I’d never been to Belle and definitely wanted to ski New York’s mountain in the Catskills. We were hosted by the gregarious and energetic Tony Lanza, Belleayre’s Mountain Superintendent, the top guy on the hill.
The day started with breakfast in the Long House Lodge, which is situated at 2500 feet, strategically positioned between Bell’s lower mountain beginner terrain and the upper mountain. Tony is extremely proud of Bell’s lower mountain terrain and led about a dozen of us, through the gentle and well groomed terrain.
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