Hunter: Mid-December or Mid-Winter?

After two weeks of good cold temperatures and a couple of decent storms, Hunter’s ski report was touting midwinter conditions.

Hunter-Mountain-View

And it was all true.

I met up with NYSB’s Meteorologist JasonWx and daughter Zoey. We spent the morning cranking out high speed, packed powder turns all over the main face of Hunter.

Hunter-Base-Lodge

Despite the number of cars in the parking lot, the trails were empty. There was no line for the Kaatskill Flyer 6-pack, although it seemed every chair had four riders. The Zephyr Express Quad on Hunter West was also ski-on.

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Hunter Opening Day: White Friday

There was a lot of talk about Black Friday this year, and the morning was exceptionally dark when I left the house at 6 to beat the crowds at Hunter’s opening day. But driving through Tannersville early was more reminiscent of a Christmas snow-globe scene then madness that shoppers dealt with in the local malls.

Hunter Mountain opening day 2013

In another contrast, there were no mixed reactions to opening day for skiing, either. The crowds that I had worried about seemed more likely to enjoy the day like a college reunion then fight for a pole position on I87 or down the aisles at the big box.

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Belleayre, Skiing and Growth in The Catskills

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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