From Belleayre in the Catskills to Gore and Whiteface in the Adirondacks, the extraordinary evolution of skiing and riding continues.
Some things just keep getting better. Take skiing, for example.
It began more than 100 years ago with the arrival of the sport’s earliest pioneers. Through the decades, it’s evolved in tremendous ways to bring fun, adventure, and a profound sense of personal freedom to millions across our great State of New York and around the world.
Three standout ski resorts – Belleayre, Gore, and Whiteface Mountains – played major roles in the development of winter alpine sports in America. Their always thoughtful stewardship is driven by a deep respect for the natural environment and a passionate pursuit of the best ski and riding experiences anywhere.
So while summer is often called the “offseason,” the crews at the Olympic Regional Development Authority ski resorts see the season differently. They use it for maintenance, upgrades, and improvements, and doing so year after year is how they’ve transformed their guest’s experiences.
Belleayre Mountain
This summer, in the year of its 75th anniversary, Belleayre is working on three important upgrades. The first is a major expansion of their Discovery Lodge to boost services and create more open space for guests. The ground floor will feature a new rental center with tuning and repair services. The upper floor will provide greatly expanded food services and new seating spaces with glass and wood finishes that add to the lodge’s Catskill aesthetic.
Belleayre’s second major project is the continued expansion and improvement of its snowmaking systems. A series of 20 new PoleCat fan snowguns are being added to the Dot Nebel trail, one of the most popular on the mountain. These in addition to all the snowmaking enhancements in past summers are enabling crews to produce more snow in less time with greater efficiency. The result of all this new technology is excellent conditions throughout the winter season, even despite warmer temperatures. Crews are also installing 30,000 feet of new piping to efficiently feed the system for better snowmaking. In recent years, they’ve replaced more than 130,000 feet of pipe ensuring the entire system is both reliable and robust.
Finally, Belleayre is also taking a big step in elevating the learning experience. Literally. Rather than providing only the standard spaces at the bottom of the mountain for learning and lessons, they’re creating a wide open space on the summit, near the top of the Catskill Thunder Gondola where they’ll install a carpet lift serving an easy graded trail. The move gives those new to the sport more opportunities throughout the season where snowmaking begins earliest and snow stays on the mountain longer. Additionally, it gives them the added inspiration of having incredible views they’d not otherwise see while also surrounding them with skiers and riders at all levels for a greater sense of belonging. When they’re ready, these newbies can simply jump on the gondola for a ride back to the base lodge.
Gore Mountain
New York’s more expansive mountain is hard at work realizing a multi-faceted vision that includes both elevating the skiing and riding experience for everyone and creating activities for all seasons.
The North Creek Ski Bowl, established in 1934, is adjacent the main alpine venue and is a year-round facility offering a variety of outdoor recreation. Just after the 90th anniversary of the first ski train, Gore broke ground on a new 18,300 square foot lodge, complete with a restaurant and two levels of outdoor patios. An innovative new summer attraction is also being added to boost year-round visitor interest in the Ski Bowl. Slated for completion in 2025, the lodge and the new attraction will create within the Gore region a popular travel destination for all season activities.
Additionally, crews are hard at work replacing the old Hudson chair lift at the North Creek Ski Bowl with a new detachable quad. To be completed in advance of this coming 2024/25 season, the new lift will service all levels of ski trails, including the green circle Peaceful Valley trail as well as blue squares Moxham and Oak Ridge trails ad even the black diamond 46er trail, plus the Half & Half, JJ’s, and the Ski Bowl Glades.
Finally, Gore crews are now replacing all Northwoods Gondola cabins. The new 8-passenger cabins offer ski racks that better accommodate modern, wider-diameter skis and snowboards.
Together, these upgrades are integral parts of Gore’s multifaceted vision to realize an all-season travel destination that will boost the region’s economy for decades to come.
Whiteface Mountain
Guests of Whiteface understand it’s a special place. One that’s not only launched the dreams of many athletes, including Olympians, but also served the multitudes as an exciting destination for recreational skiing and riding at every level. The mountain’s diverse terrain and programs nurture their enthusiasm, skills, and sense of adventure. And to carry on that remarkable legacy, the crew is working diligently this summer on a number of important projects from ongoing maintenance to facility upgrades.
Among the key upgrades is building a beautiful new patio outside the Bear Den Learning Center. Complete with environmentally friendly in-ground heating, the patio will provide guests at this increasingly popular lodge expansive spaces for coming together, dining, watching family members learn to ski and ride, and simply enjoying the mountain.
Over the years, snowmaking has been a big part of Whiteface upgrades, as it has been for all three mountains. Innovations and new equipment continually boosts the power of the system to keep the mountain’s vast trail network in great shape throughout its lengthy season. This year is no different.
New pipe and high efficiency tower guns are being installed on the ever popular Mackenzie and Wilderness trails and on Upper Parkway. Plus, a new Snowmax injection system is being installed to further boost snowmaking capabilities across the mountain in warmer temperatures. Basic but important maintenance and improvements are also being made to Whiteface’s Pumphouse 1 to facilitate improved snowmaking operations throughout the ski season.
Additionally, the Cloudsplitter Gondola received a new haul rope, installed early this summer. That’s the incredibly long and weighty steel cable that lifts the gondola cabins reliably up the mountain hour after hour, day after day through all seasons. And finally, the addition of a new winch-ready PistonBully 600 Snow Cat will help the grooming crew ensure even the steepest trails are ready each morning for fun and adventure.
It is these and many other similar upgrades and improvements each summer that ensure Whiteface remains a treasured winter destination for multitudes of recreational skiers and riders at all levels.
Together, Whiteface, Gore, and Belleayre constitute a major force in the ongoing advancement of snow sports. One committed to advancing sport and recreation while simultaneously prioritizing environmental sustainability. As a result, each of these mountains has been cherished through the years by athletes, family, and outdoor recreationists the world over. They are vital places that offer endless opportunities for learning, athlete development, immersion in nature, outdoor recreation, and all the simple joys of alpine winter sport.