The Catskills Blog

There’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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If having condescending thoughts like “youth is wasted on the young” makes you a grownup, then I think I might be more mature than Matthew McConaughey’s seminal character in Dazed and Confused. Maybe the 90s movie reference makes me even older.

Regardless, more than a lack of money or energy, what I miss most about that golden era is the amount of free time I used to have. It seems everyone I know is always busy. I’m not the only one who didn’t get 50 ski days this year.

After watching the last month slip away without adding one ski day to my 2013-2014 ski season, the weather and my life finally aligned for me to enjoy the world away from the cold glow of my computer screen.

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