Belleayre Conditions

[jasonwx]

here's a simple brief report
Bell was good today until it wasn't.. Steep stuff was skied off quickly, freezing drizzle made for construction grade cement..

 

[Low Angle Life]

Killer day out there today which made up for the terrible driving conditions on the way up. All kinds of visibility and precipitation throughout the day. I think it rained, it definitely snowed, dense fog at times, dense heavy granular on top of boiler plate, probably 10" total. Rode pretty much the entire mountain and managed to find fresh pockets all day. Very glad I decided to get out, hope a couple others on here managed to make it out as well!

Lower Seneca around 9am, it was looking like this for my first two runs.

Upper Yahoo, right side of the photo just below Goat Path had some sneaky pockets around 1pm.

Lower Yahoo around 1:30 still holding up pretty well.

 

[jasonwx]

it was a bit of sporty ride up..
conditions were more conducive to snowboarding
glad i went , even though i bailed early..

 

[Low Angle Life]

it was a bit of sporty ride up..
conditions were more conducive to snowboarding
glad i went , even though i bailed early..

Getting on PIP at 303 in Orangetown I was immediately greeted with a car flipped around and stopped in the left lane, that set the tone for the rest of the ride. Still managed to make it in 2 1/2 hours.

Probably was a lot rougher on the legs as a skier, one of those days where you really couldn't let your speed get out of hand.

 

[gorgonzola]

here's a simple brief report
Bell was good today until it wasn't.. Steep stuff was skied off quickly, freezing drizzle made for construction grade cement..
View attachment 13279

still jelly sitting here at my desk, I had 4 proposals to get out today.

 

[JTG]

Probably was a lot rougher on the legs as a skier…

Thank you.

I had this discussion earlier today.

Took a couple of guys who wanted to tag along (they didn’t know where they were going) on my last hike on the Long Trail to Castlerock. One guy on a board, one on skis. We had fun skiing Rumble, a lot of fun (not that either one of the f@&kers offered to buy me a beer when we met at the base, taking our skis off, when they were headed to the bar). Thing is, the guy on the board was pushing down the run non-stop. I don’t think he was great, but what do I know? Anywho….my thighs are BURNING (so are the other skier’s).

I’m thinking….please tell me snowboarding, under certain circumstances, can be a little easier on the legs than skiing!

Boarder dude didn’t give me that. “Aw, my legs are a’ burnin’, too”…

DB!

 

[Low Angle Life]

I’m thinking….please tell me snowboarding, under certain circumstances, can be a little easier on the legs than skiing!

It's just easier to stay on top riding in the chop vs skiing, still a lot of hard work in heavy snow regardless of what you're on. I'm only a beginner skier though so it's not the best comparison, both have their difficult parts and each their own advantages.

If the guy you were with on Castlerock was on one edge the whole way down best believe his legs were burning. If you're not properly carving from and to edge and just pushing only heal or toe side you're overusing the same muscle group far too long and will burn em up quick.

 

[billyb3]

Groomers and bumps were pretty good yesterday! Part of B glade was open and it was THIN!

 

[Low Angle Life]

Sunday saw more crowds and more portable speakers than I would have preferred. Got up to the hill just before 9:30 and parked in lot H which has become our favorite parking area for weekends. Sunny, 24 degrees and windy on arrival, lifties were making us boarders bring our snowboards into the gondola cabin (those ski and snowboard holders get sketchy in the wind). Crowds were manageable up through lunch time but after 12:30 the gondola line got longer than I've seen it this season, the cars parked on the mid mountain access road were a testament to the volume of people.

Snow conditions were good, packed powder on all low angle terrain, steeps held okay given the glacier beneath everything. I would say the mountain got what it needed to push things comfortably into March. Snow report from last night indicates they did some blowing too.

With a full season under my belt at the Belle I feel like I've really learned the ins and outs of the mountain. I still can't decide if I hate the location of the gondola or love it. Towards the end of the day Belleayre Express stopped running, we kept traversing over to the east side of the mountain and were pretty happy with how quiet things get when Belleayre Express is closed, it was deserted. It got me thinking, how many people only ski or ride Deer Run? I would estimate that this single blue sees 90% of the mountains top to bottom traffic. I don't know where I am going with this but it just seems odd to have such an expensive lift investment made to service such a small amount of terrain.

 

[Brownski]

I still can't decide if I hate the location of the gondola or love it.

You hate it