Belleayre, NY
History
The year is 1839 and Stephen Van Rensselaer III has died. Stephen was the landowner of Rensselaeswyck and collected rents in a very lenient fashion allowing rents to be in arrears when tenets were unable to pay in full. When the Van Rensselaer heirs went to collect the outstanding rents, causing a revolt that lasted until 1845. Belleayre in the Catskills was once such location where the Rent Wars occurred.
Fast-forward to 2018 and I’m here to go snowboarding with some buddies. Belleayre is a smaller resort owned by New York State. Since it doesn’t have a big name it’s not very crowded and, it’s also family and beginner friendly. Belleayre do an awesome package deal for beginners, which includes a lift ticket, 1.5 hour lesson, ski/board rental, in 1-day or 3-day packages priced at $79 and $169 respectively. Given the lift pass is about $60 for an adult that’s a great deal, plus no one is going to check if you did the lesson.
The Mountain
Some of the runs I kept coming back to were; Wanatuska, Belleayre Run, Yahoo and, Area 51. The mountain isn’t very snowboard friendly, as you’ll note all those runs are underneath a chair lift. Route 9 at the top which connects all the runs is too flat to traverse in either direction. The double blacks aren’t any harder than the blacks, they are just moguls, which makes it harder for snowboarders to get from the top to the maintained runs just below them.
While this is a small resort without a big name, it’s known to the locals, so the car parks can fill quickly so be sure to get there early on weekends. There is a shuttle bus that connects between Overlook Lodge and Discovery Lodge. Discovery Lodge is where you want to be for the gear rental and lessons. Lift passes can be bought at either Lodge.
This roadtrip left on Friday night, so for dinner and beers we ate at Keegan Ales in Kingston, NY. This was a pretty chilled locals craft bar with some interesting patrons that gave us a good laugh. Staff are friendly, has a kitchen and a small stage for live performances.
February, 2018
