Belleayre Conditions

[marcski]

Also, neither Tomahawk nor Lift 7 were running.

Other than that, the snow was exemplary. Have a blast!

WTF was up with Tomahawk not running today. It is such the perfect Covid lift/lot situation and has been running all year. If they stop running it mid-week now during Covid, it is just stupid. You can be sure as hell they arent letting any staff go. To have no upper mt. Chair running other than the Superchief during Covid is dumb. I'm with you guys, no gondi for me.

What is the (your) opinion since ORDA has taken over management from DEC? You longtime Belle skiers would certainly know better than I.

 

[Ripitz]

Surprised they didn’t run Tomahawk or 7, not cool

 

[snoloco]

My guess would be staff shortages.

 

[snowalrus]

They posted that it was to give their lifties a day off yesterday and today. Understandable for sure, but feels like that's something that they could've announced a bit more in advance.

 

[DomB]

They posted that it was to give their lifties a day off yesterday and today. Understandable for sure, but feels like that's something that they could've announced a bit more in advance.

Where did they post that? I have been checking the snow report pretty regularly and never saw.

I had a fun day as the snow was pretty awesome (one of the rare times I have had soft bumps on Belleayre Run - I actually fell at the very tope because I was expecting the hard, ungiving bumps and got powdery goodness). Cathedral Brook was phenomenal and worth the skate/hike. There must have been some additional snow because there were no tracks on the trail from the top.

Utsy was also phenomenal. But a five minute walk/skate because 7 and Tomahawk were not running. If either was running, you could have easily lapped that all day without anyone around!

I left around 12 because there was a line at Belleayre Express and I am not comfortable with the Gondi. It was fine because I don't really have my ski legs, got primo quality on Cathedral Brook and Utsy, but I agree with Marcski that it makes no sense to not run 7 or Tomahawk. Those are my go-tos on crowded days, never mind Covid-world.

Also, for folks thinking about going, if you can safely go I would get to Belle or Platty, as the patrollers were saying the temps will hold low, so the snow quality should stay high on the ungroomed trails.

Great day all around.

 

[Stan_dupp]

They posted that it was to give their lifties a day off yesterday and today. Understandable for sure, but feels like that's something that they could've announced a bit more in advance.

Paid??

 

[DomB]

WTF was up with Tomahawk not running today. It is such the perfect Covid lift/lot situation and has been running all year. If they stop running it mid-week now during Covid, it is just stupid. You can be sure as hell they arent letting any staff go. To have no upper mt. Chair running other than the Superchief during Covid is dumb. I'm with you guys, no gondi for me.

What is the (your) opinion since ORDA has taken over management from DEC? You longtime Belle skiers would certainly know better than I.

My opinion of recent management at Belle form a skiing experience is not high. From a COVID perspective it seems they are working hard on it.

Marc, on this one, I think I first started skiing Belle shortly after ORDA took over. The old timers tell me it is not the same. Apparently Belle would blow snow in a way that was expensive but very high quality, and they didn't really focus on budgets. (I know there is a huge debate on the forum about state run mountains and efficiency; not trying to poke the bear).

I had a few seasons in before the current GM started, and I do not have a high opinion of current management. The character of Belle has changed. (1) the Gondi has flooded trails like Deer, Dot, and Seneca. Deer used to be a great family trail, but now there are human missiles everywhere. They regraded Deer to take away some of its character.

(2) For a few seasons, they really took away bumps, which was one of the reasons I made Belle our home for a few years. That was a bummer. To be fair and honest, this season they are making an effort to have some bump runs. I counted 5 ungroomed or bump runs that were of quality today. I can't remember the last time that happened. And I think the Belleayre Run bumps at the top were the best I have ever seen them in 5 seasons at Belle.

(3) PreCovid post new GM, there was clearly an emphasis on flooding the mountain with skiers.

Next year we may go to Southern Vermont because my daughter's friend skis there. It is not a mountain with character and I don't even want to say its name here out of embarassment . . . .

I personally cannot hold it against the Mountain that they are trying to get more skiers, and if they get more fast lifts, they will get more crowded. If my kids were very young now, I probably wouldn't start them out at Belle.

 

[DomB]

I think that’s up for debate

Yeah Brown and Rip - it is a personal judgment, but from what I could see, riding a Gondi is considered a higher risk than a normal chair. That does not mean it is high risk; just higher risk. It ends up being closer to an indoor environment than a chair.
Of course, you can only be exposed to Covid from your eyes, mouth, and nose, so it does stand to reason that a Gondi is fairly low risk. I guess you could touch a contaminated surface but I imagine they clean frequently.

From my POV, I know chairs are lower risk and certainly at Belle have shorter lines (lower risk); I am pretty risk adverse (yes, going to the mountain is a risk) so I just skip the Gonid.

 

[snowalrus]

Where did they post that? I have been checking the snow report pretty regularly and never saw.

On their social media (Facebook/IG) people were also asking about why Tomahawk and 7 were closed. Their response was something like "scheduling for staff to have a couple days off" (don't remember word for word).

 

[DomB]

On their social media (Facebook/IG) people were also asking about why Tomahawk and 7 were closed. Their response was something like "scheduling for staff to have a couple days off" (don't remember word for word).

Got it thanks. I don't have the Facebook. Maybe I will change that at some point . . . .