NYSkiBlog Directory: A History of Belleayre

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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Q+A with a Legend Maker: Greg Stump

Greg StumpGreg Stump was an accomplished skier who starred in films by Dick Barrymore and Warren Miller. Inspired by the two legendary filmmakers, he began to make his own films in 1983. His sound tracks featured distinctive music by established artists and his narrative style was compelling.

His most well-known film — The Blizzard of Aahhhs — is credited by many with putting the sport of extreme skiing into the public consciousness. With his new retrospective The Legend of Aahhhs, Stump puts his original game changing ski film — and those of many others — in context. The film is currently screening nationally. Our interview with Greg follows.

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The History of Ski Aerials


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Dick Barrymore was a ski film pioneer who started making films at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. He spent the next 30 years shooting around the world. He rarely had a script for his films — he captured the action as it unfolded and was a master of improvisation.

He did most of his own filming with a hand-held camera and did all the editing himself. He narrated and selected the music. And like Warren Miller, he traveled the country to do live narration of his films in theaters. From “powder to projector” Barrymore was involved in every part of the process.

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