Hunter Mountain December 2014

In some ways, Hunter is the victim of its own success. On yet another drive up 87 with a recent transplant, I was asked to describe the hill. Being articulate or coherent at a quarter-of-six is hard work, so I settled on my gold standard of sports analogies.

Hunter Mountain December 2014

Hunter Mountain is kind of like the Yankees. Even if they win 100 games, the season is a failure if they don’t win the World Series.

Since not everyone knows about Baseball, The Yankees are not only my favorite team but they are historically, the most successful. And in other news, precisely because of this, they have as many passionate detractors as they have casual fans.

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Plattekill Opening Day 2014

At Plattekill Mountain, NY, the ski season started off with a bang. The 3-day storm that punished the northeast with rain and snow held on to cold temps near the mountains of Roxbury.

Plattekill Opening Day 2014

In the end we were left with a soft fluff that clung to the slopes with the tenacity of a much older base. Taking advantage of early season rates ($35 thru 12/21), powder hungry skiers gathered early for a chance at shredding the weeks accumulation as the lift turned for the first time.

Our group was wide-eyed and diverse.

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Belleayre Mountain Improvements 2014

Belleayre-LogoThere’s a nice list of Belleayre Mountain improvements that are getting attention at ORDA’s new ski area in Pine Hill NY.

Snowmaking and Grooming

The biggest news is the “zoning” of Belleayre’s snowmaking system. Before this season in order to blow snow anywhere on the hill snowmakers were required to charge or pressurize the entire system. Now the system can be sectioned off allowing ops to be much more flexible and cost effective.

In addition Belleayre has added a new electric Cameron Turbo Air 3000 compressor and 25 new Sky Giant flanged heads for snowguns. Coupled together these two improvements will allow the use of high efficiency guns at the top of the mountain.

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