Skiing in Belleayre
Belleayre Beginner Skiing
Belleayre’s large lower mountain full of winding green trails and uncrowded slopes makes it one of the best resorts for beginners in the East.
The resort’s beginner area offers 13 trails in a dedicated novice area. The vertical drop in the beginner areas is roughly 500′ and is serviced by a pair of double chairs. Three surface lifts service terrain for first time skiers at the very bottom near the Discovery Lodge.
Unlike many resorts whose beginner terrain consists of one main bunny slope and few scattered green trails, Belleayre’s novice area offers a real skiing experience. From the top of the twin double chairs, beginners can experience the sense of adventure that draws so many to the sport. Lots of ways down varying trails means that beginners have an opportunity to explore and wander. In many ways, the experience is similar only to Copper Mountain and it’s “naturally separated terrain.” By compartmentalizing the beginner skiing experience on the lower mountain, Belleayre offers beginners the best of both worlds – a safe, separate ski hill to learn on and a big upper mountain full of more challenging runs to advance to.
Another great feature of Belleayre’s beginner terrain is its lack of crowds. Due to the fact that Belleayre does not have a base-to-summit lift, expert skiers rarely venture into the lower mountain beginner area; no skiers whizzing by terrified novices here! Be advised, however, that there are no green trails from the summit. Beginners will be confined to the lower mountain. While that makes for a great learning experience, it can pose problems for groups of mixed ability levels trying to ski together as more advanced skiers will almost certainly want to stay on the upper mountain.
Many beginner skiers choose to park at the Discovery Lodge at the base of the resort as opposed to continuing up to the main base at mid-mountain. First timers should definitely park here as the learning terrain is at the bottom of the hill and not accessible from the mid-mountain except by more difficult green trails.
Belleayre Learn to Ski
Belleayre is amongst the best ski resorts in the East for learning how to ski. Belleayre’s ski school caters to busloads of first time skiers coming up from New York City and is well-versed in teaching children. The first class beginner area (described above) provides an incubator for novices to grow in their technique without encountering many of the elements of the sport that scare or intimidate. There are no steep runs to accidentally turn down, no out of control intermediates flying by and are, to borrow a turn of phrase Goldilocks, “Not too short, not too long – just right.”
Belleayre Intermediate Skiing
Belleayre’s blue trails are found mainly on the upper mountain below the steep summit headwalls.
Intermediates have 58% of Belleayre’s terrain to sample. However, options from the summit are limited because almost all of the summit trails begin with black or double black diamond headwalls. This can be frustrating for intermediates because it limits the vertical drop skiable in a single run. Moreover, the advanced trails are legitimately steep and progressing from blues to blacks is difficult at Belleayre since there is a stark difference in difficulty.
There are two main intermediate routes from the summit that wind their way down the periphery of the resort. The first main route is on the looker’s left side of the mountain. Here skiers fin the Ridge Run/Roaring Brook Trail – a rather bland blue whose only notable feature is a single switchback. Alternatively, blue skiers could try Horseshoe Pass or Howe’s Highway. The former is a spur which connects to the main Ridge Run/Roaring Brook trail, while Howe’s Highway is a connector run which is unfortunately quite flat and has the distinct disadvantage of crossing no fewer than 15 trails.
The second main intermediate summit trail is on the looker’s right side of the hill nearer the Tomahawk Quad. The Deer Run trail (and its various spurs) is the most interesting blue run on the mountain and winds its way through a beautiful part of the mountain whose topography is also more undulating.
Belleayre Expert Skiing
Belleayre’s expert terrain consists mainly of short steep pitches from the summit and great mogul skiing.
Expert skiing at Belleayre is a good news, bad news proposition. The good news is that the ski resort is laid out across a wide ridgeline and the top roughly 1/3 of the the ridge is quite steep. This means that expert skiers can enjoys 300-450′ descents down a long row of legitimately steep headrows. The bad news is that these headwalls are short and all have long blue runouts.
Additionally, there is little to differentiate one trail from another. Although Ultimate-Ski has visited Belleayre at least a dozen times, we find it incredibly difficult to remember particular upper mountain runs. Beyond moderate variations in pitch, the only real differences amongst the expert trails is whether or not they have been groomed. All the headwalls are generally the same pitch and width. Moreover, they are simply too short to be anything but straight.
That is not to say that the black diamond runs at Belleayre are boring. In fact, they tend to be challenging, particularly when moguled. Belleayre receives sufficient snowfall (141″) that moguls tend to form on many of these runs and mogul skiers will find Belleayre’s bumps to be the best in the region. High elevations and lower skier numbers than nearby Hunter and Windham combine to form wonderful, soft bumps. Belleayre (quite rightly in our opinion) leaves a large number of trails ungroomed and expert skiers appreciate these short, but fun black diamond runs.
Lastly, Belleayre puts its natural snowfall to good use by opening up large portions of the mountain for gladed skiing. The resort even offers hike-to terrain on the periphery of the resort. When conditions are good, the 10-minute climb to ski the double black diamond Cathedral Brook trail is well worth the effort. Visit our Belleayre Backcountry & Glades page for a more lengthy discussion of Belleayre’s tree runs.
Belleayre Backcountry & Glades
Belleayre offers the closest real tree skiing to New York City. Few other areas within a day trip of Manhattan can match Belleayre’s woods. Backcountry skiing is popular in the areas adjoining the resort.
Belleayre Glades
For a number of years, Belleayre offered the Catskills only cat-skiing. However, the resort has discontinued the operation and there are no plans to restore it at this time. However, Belleayre does have several marked tree runs and with 141″ of annual snowfall, they are usually skiable from mid-January through the end of March. Additionally, the resort’s high summit elevation and northern exposure tend to keep the snow that piles up in the trees in better shape than just about any resort in the region with the exception of nearby Plattekill.
The best of these off piste areas is on the looker’s left of the mountain – Cathedral Brook. Cathedral Brook is a steep double black diamond run and the woods adjoining it (“The Glen”) are fantastic when the snow is good. To access the trail, some hiking is required. A poling traverse from the Sunset Lodge brings skiers to the base of the climb which requires approximately 10 minutes. The hike is definitely worth the effort when snow conditions are good, though. It seems as if only a handful of skiers a day tackle the climb and powder can remain on this trail for days after a storm.
On the other side of the resort, Belleayre has recently opened the new Dreamcatcher Glade (entrance pictured above on opening day). Here expect to find a more traditional New England style glade with tightly spaced hardwoods and a moderately steep pitch.
Belleayre Backcountry Skiing
Many backcountry skiers enjoy hiking up from Belleayre Beach or the town of Pine Hill to the summit of Belleayre via public-access hiking trails. The two most common uphill routes are the Woodchuck Hollow and Cathedral Glen hiking trail. As they are on public land, these trails are open to snowshoe and uphill skinning traffic. However, skiing down the trails is prohibited to prevent collisions with uphill traffic.
The trees in this area are tight, but skiable by hardy expert skiers and a 2,000 ft descent awaits from the summit of Belleayre back down to Pine Hill/Belleayre Beach. However, be advised that neither NYS nor Belleayre ski patrol check these woods. Ski at your own risk.
Belleayre Mountain Restaurants
Belleayre offers several on mountain dining options, the most scenic of which is the 1940’s era Sunset Lodge at the summit.
Overlook Lodge at Mid-Mountain
The Discovery Lodge at the very bottom of the resort offers typical cafeteria food, but can often be mobbed by the beginners that roll in from New York City each weekend on school busses.
We recommend sticking to the Overlook Lodge at midmountain which serves similar fare from the cafeteria on the lower level and has a fantastic sandwich carving station upstairs. Additionally, there is a small bar/restaurant on the top level of the Overlook Lodge that offers upgraded food.
If you prefer a view, the Summit Lodge is open on weekends in midseason and while the food is simple (cold sandwiches, cookies, hot soup), the view from this beautiful stone lodge is spectacular. Snag a picnic table outside and enjoy the long views over the backside of the resort and down to a large lake below.