Author: NYSkiBlog

The source for NY and Northeast ski info and stoke!

The Ski Season in Photos #1

Posted on by NYSkiBlog

The 2012-13 season started on a bittersweet note when Hurricane Sandy delivered three feet of snow in the mountains of West Virginia on the backside of a storm that devastated coastal areas New York and New Jersey.

hurricane-sandy-radar-image

Often with early and epic snow the jones is high, and the hardcore will travel long distances to get after it. This storm was no exception and several skiers from the NYSB and TGR communities drove hundred of miles south to ski the snow.

MadPat, mattchuck2, ml242, Moeghoul and others headed for Timberline, Canaan Valley and White Grass, which were in the bullseye for snow.

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Tagged: Friday Fantasy Photo1 Comment

Belleayre, Skiing and Growth in The Catskills

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In April of this year the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) unveiled the most recent unit management plan (UMP) for Belleayre Ski Center. It included a recommendation for $74M in upgrades over the next several years. At the same time they released a revision of the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Belleayre Resort development.

Belleayre Ski Center and Belleayre Resort
Belleayre Expansion • image courtesy Crossroads Ventures

The UMP for the Belleayre Ski Center calls for the construction of three new lifts, refurbishing two others, cutting 16 new ski trails (primarily at Highmount) and upgrading the ski center’s snowmaking infrastructure.  The plan also includes a new lodge, expansion of both the Discovery and Sunset Lodges and several parking lots.

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Tagged: Belleayre, Catskills, Hunter, Plattekill, Windham26 Comments

NYSkiBlog Directory: A History of Belleayre

Posted on by NYSkiBlog
Belleayre's Historic Double
photo courtesy chairlift.org

Belleayre Mountain holds a prominent place in the history of skiing in New York. It was the first lift-assisted ski area in the Catskills, and boasted New York’s first chair lift — a Roebling single that was installed in 1950. Carved out of the forest preserve, the creation of the ski area required constitution amendments to allow creation of an “intensive use area” at Pine Hill.

Belleayre’s fortunes have ebbed and flowed. As early as 1929 the mountain was viewed as the place to ski in the Catskills. The legislative bills and public referendum that were required to allow the construction of the ski area faced relatively little opposition.

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Tagged: Belleayre, Catskills, NYSkiBlog Directory, Ski History