Skiing: Resurgence in the Catskills

by Iseult Devlin, Special to NorthJersey.com

February 14, 2019

This winter, Hunter, Windham Mountain and Belleayre tout major improvements boosting the ski experience in the Catskills. Altogether, the biggest areas in the region invested $25 million in new lifts, convenient ticketing systems and improved snowmaking.

“People are rediscovering the Catskills,” said Chip Seaman, president of Windham Mountain, who added that it’s good to have all the resorts making investments creating more opportunities for recreation in the winter and year-round.

Windham Mountain spent $8 million in upgrades including the Westside Six, a new high-speed six-pack lift at the base, replacing the old F lift, a slow fixed-grip triple that transports 3,000 people per hour. Next winter, the high-speed quad that was used previously at the base will move to Windham’s west side to replace the C lift that services terrain parks, race trails and other slopes on that side. “We’ll get more people out of the base areas more quickly,” said Chip Seaman, president of Windham Resort. This planned move is aimed at clearing up heavy skier congestion at the base area on busy days.

“RFID” gates are another upgrade for the area allowing for quicker lift lines. This radio-frequency identification system also allows a more dynamic pricing system for online purchases. The tiered pricing—similar to sporting event ticket purchases—offers amazing deals up to 40 percent off the window price if you plan ahead.

There were also major upgrades to snowmaking with 100 new HKD guns, pump and compression upgrades and a new snowcat, increasing Windham’s fleet to five. In the last six years, Windham spent $15 million total including this year’s upgrades along with the new learning terrain and recently added trails.

At nearby Hunter Mountain, Hunter North officially opened on Dec. 24, 2018 after beginning construction in April 2018, and it claims to be the largest ski resort expansion in the East in more than 15 years.

“The team that was onsite worked diligently to have Hunter North open in time for the holidays,” said Katie O’Connor, Hunter’s director of marketing. “It adds more variety of terrain for Hunter Mountain,” she added, calling it a “game-changer.”

The Hunter North project features five new trails (four intermediate and one beginner) and four new gladed skiing areas serviced by a new high-speed, six-person chairlift. The additional 80 acres increased Hunter’s acreage by a third, making it the third largest ski area in New York by number of trails, according to O’Connor. There’s also a new entrance to the resort at Hunter North off of Route 23a with a 250-space parking area and small base area with a food truck, ticketing booth and restroom facilities.

While Hunter West caters to experts and Hunter East is for beginners, Hunter North joins the main face of Hunter in providing a variety of terrain for intermediates and advanced skiers. Altogether, Hunter Mountain spent $9 million on the project, including added snowmaking for Hunter North along with a new winch cat groomer bringing the fleet of groomers to seven.

South of Hunter, Belleayre Mountain got an $8 million boost thanks to the Olympic Regional Development Authority and New York State. This includes a major expansion to terrain parks (Area 51, 15) with new jumps, ramps, rails, boxes and pipes. The move increases terrain park capacity at Belleayre and creates a better flow. There is also a new Magic Carpet at the KidsCamp learning area, renovations to the Overlook Deck and a new state-of-the-art patrol building. The locker rooms were also expanded to offer more storage and seasonal lockers. In addition, Belleayre added more low-energy, high-efficiency snow guns.

Last winter, Belleayre opened the Catskill Thunder, a 60-cabin high-speed gondola that can seat eight guests per cabin and travel up to 1,000 feet per minute, whisking 2,000 people per hour to the top of the mountain. The only gondola in the region, it’s considered to be an year-round investment to help the Catskills’ growing tourism economy.

High-tech additions along with smaller improvements in the Catskills have upgraded the ski experience at Hunter, Windham and Belleayre, all an easy day trip located less than two hours away from Bergen County.

Posted from SnoCountry.com