Belleayre Ski Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Belleayre Mountain Ski Center |
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| Location | New York |
| Nearest city | Kingston, New York |
| Coordinates | 42°8′31.97″N 74°30′38.8″E / 42.1422139°N 74.510778°E |
| Vertical | 427.9 m (1,403.9 ft) |
| Top elevation | 1,045.2 m (3,429.1 ft) |
| Base elevation | 617 m (2,024.3 ft) |
| Skiable area | 0.7 km2 (173.0 acres) |
| Runs | 52 |
| Longest run | 3.66 km (2.3 mi) |
| Lift system | 5 chairlifts; 3 carpet lifts |
| Lift capacity | 10,980 skiers/hr |
| Terrain parks | 3 |
| Snowfall | 358.14 cm (141.0 in) |
| Snowmaking | 96% of terrain |
| Night skiing | no |
| Website | http://www.belleayre.com |
Belleayre Mountain Ski Center is a popular place for skiers and snowboarders in the beautiful Catskill Park in New York. It's owned and operated by the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which is often called ORDA. Many people visit Belleayre each year. For example, over 175,000 people visited in 2007!
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History of Belleayre Mountain
Protecting the Catskill Mountains
A long time ago, in the 1800s, too many trees were cut down in the Catskill and Adirondack areas. This caused a lot of dirt and mud to flow into the Hudson River and New York City harbor. It made it hard for ships to travel.
To fix this, New York State decided to protect these lands. In 1885, Belleayre Mountain was declared "Forever Wild." This means the land is kept in its natural state. It also helped make sure New York City had a clean water supply.
Building a Ski Center
Even though the land was "Forever Wild," people really wanted a ski center there. In 1947, New Yorkers voted to allow a special ski area to be built. This was a big step for winter sports in the region.
Construction started in 1949. Belleayre Mountain opened for its first winter season with five trails. It had New York's very first chairlift! There was also a rope tow, a lodge at the top, and a simple base lodge.
Growing and Upgrading
Belleayre quickly became a favorite spot for winter fun. It helped the towns around it grow. Because it was so popular, Belleayre added more trails and lifts in the 1950s. A new base lodge was also built.
Over the next few decades, Belleayre kept getting better. In the 1970s, they added snowmaking technology. This meant they could make their own snow, even if nature didn't provide enough!
New and improved lifts were added over the years. In 1977, an old chairlift was replaced. In the 1980s, more chairlifts were installed to help skiers get up the mountain. In 1999, two new quad chairlifts, the Superchief and Tomahawk, were added. These lifts could carry more people. The Superchief was even upgraded in 2006 to a faster, detachable quad lift.
Belleayre Today
By 2012, Belleayre had 55 trails and 8 lifts. It also offers special "Cat-access skiing," which means you can get to certain areas by a snowcat vehicle. In November 2012, Belleayre became part of ORDA. ORDA also runs other famous ski resorts like Gore and Whiteface Mountain.
A very exciting addition came in the 2017-2018 ski season: an eight-passenger gondola called Catskill Thunder. It's the only gondola in the Catskills! In 2019-2020, a new quad lift called Lightning was installed. It has comfy seats and a loading carpet to make getting on easier.
Trails and Glades
Belleayre Mountain has many trails for all skill levels. Trails are rated with symbols:
- Green Circle: Easiest
- Blue Square: More difficult
- Black Diamond: Very difficult
- Double Black Diamond: Extremely difficult
| Name of trail | Rating |
|---|---|
| Chinook |  |
| Dakota | |
| Discovery Way | |
| Easy In | |
| Easy Out | |
| Huron | |
| Iroquois | |
| Lower Deer Run | |
| Mohican | |
| Oneida | |
| Running Bear | |
| The Canyon Top | |
| The Transfer Line | |
| Name of trail | Rating |
|---|---|
| Algonquin |  |
| Ashokan | |
| Belleayre Run | |
| Cayuga | |
| Cathedral Brook | |
| Deer Run | |
| Dot Nebel | |
| Eagle Falls | |
| Esopus | |
| Expressway | |
| Howe's Highway | |
| Horseshoe Pass | |
| Mohawk | |
| Oneida | |
| Onondaga | |
| Peekamoose | |
| Pepacton | |
| Ridge Trail | |
| Roaring Brook | |
| Route 9 | |
| Seneca | |
| The Canyon | |
| Tomahawk Crossing | |
| Tongora | |
| Utsayantha | |
| Wanatuska | |
| Winnisook Bottom | |
| Yahoo | |
| Name of trail | Rating |
|---|---|
| Algonquin Top |  |
| Belleayre Run Top | |
| Dot Nebel | |
| Goat Path | |
| Mohawk Top | |
| Onteora | |
| Peekamoose Top | |
| Tuscarora | |
| Wanatuska Top | |
| Winnisook Top | |
| Name of trail | Rating |
|---|---|
| Cathedral Brook |  |
| Onteora Top | |
| Seneca Top | |
| Tongora Top | |
| Utsayantha | |
| Yahoo Top | |
| Chippewa Glade | |
| Glen Glade | |
| Belleayre Glades | |
| Lift Line Glade | |
| Winnisook Glade | |
| Area 51 Park | |
| Rail Park | |
Cross Country Trails
Belleayre Mountain also has trails for cross-country skiing. These trails are separate from the downhill slopes. It's free to use these trails! You can even take lessons on weekends and holidays.
There are 5 cross-country trails at Belleayre Mountain. They add up to about 9.2 kilometers (5.7 miles). The trails have different ratings, from easy to difficult, so all skill levels can enjoy them.
| Name of trail | Rating | Length/Miles | Length/KM |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | |
1.5 | 2.4 |
| AA | |
0.7 | 1.0 |
| H | |
1.1 | 1.8 |
| HH | |
1.5 | 2.3 |
| J | |
1.5 | 2.5 |
Lifts at Belleayre
Lifts are super important for getting up the mountain! Here are the main lifts at Belleayre:
| Lift Name | Manufacturer | Type | Install Year | Length | Vertical | Cap./Hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catskill Thunder | Doppelmayr | 8 Passenger Gondola | 2017 | 6,391 | 1,339 | 2,000 |
| Lightning | Doppelmayr | Quad Chairlift | 2019 | 3,512 | 447 | 1,997 |
| Belleayre Express | Doppelmayr-CTEC | Detachable Quad | 2006 | 5,196 | 1,138 | 2,400 |
| Lift 7 | Riblet | Triple Chairlift | 1986 | 2,720 | 806 | 1,800 |
| Tomahawk | Garaventa-CTEC | Quad ChairLift | 1999 | 3,635 | 945 | 2,400 |
