Skiing fun is closer than Aspen

By Bond Brungard
For the Poughkeepsie Journal

''I like it when there's bumps,'' he said. ''They're fun.''

Hayden was enjoying a sunny Monday skiing the steep slopes with his father, Ferd, a ski instructor, who was following his son on a snowboard. Hayden has been skiing half his life, starting as a 2-year-old, but Ferd said his son is not an expert yet.

"He's learning to make good turns and controlling his speed,'' said Ferd as the pair stopped during a pass down one of Belleayre's more difficult trails.

Belleayre, owned and operated by the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation, is about 35 miles west of Kingston on Route 28. It has been touted by Skiing Magazine as one of of the best places to learn how to ski and as a top value by Ski magazine.

Despite the mild winter, Belleayre is on target to draw about 165,000 visitors this year, up from from 143,000 last year, said Tony Lanza, the ski center's superintendent. Belleayre offers 37 trails, the longest stretching more than two miles. It also has four lodges, a ski school and ski rentals.

During the 1980s, under the administration of then-Gov. Mario Cuomo, the facility saw no major investment and even faced closure about a decade ago. But since the mid-1990s, the facility, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1999, has seen more money and upgrades under the administration of Gov. George Pataki.

State of the art

''This is a state-of-the-art resort,'' said Lanza, who added that Belleayre's mission has always been to preserve and protect the environment, to provide recreation and to spur economic development to the area.

Part of its mission is also to turn an operating profit, which Lanza said the center currently does.

Lanza said Belleayre can serve as a centerpiece for a two- or three-day getaway to the Catskills. Visitors can spend time in neighboring towns and villages while making skiing the focus of their vacation.

''People are looking closer to home,'' said Lanza, adding that New York City is the center's primary market. ''The Catskills are being rediscovered.''

There is plenty of lodging within 10 miles of Belleayre in towns and villages such as Big Indian, Oliverea, Fleischmanns, Highmount, Pine Hill, Phoenicia, Mount Tremper and Margaretville.

Don and Jeanne Gannon, who live on Long Island, used Belleayre to tune up their downhill skills before heading for a skiing vacation in Italy.

''It's more than we expected,'' said Don during a noon break.

''The trails are beautifully groomed,'' said Jeanne. ''You can ski comfortably.''

Paula Tar of Big Indian has been skiing for 35 years and has worked as a ski instructor at Belleayre for 25 years. She said teaching kids to ski at an early age can help make them skiers for life.

They are fearless when they're young, she said, and don't mind falling. This fearlessness allows them to attain basic skills they can use later in life.

''They get that muscle memory,'' she said.

Adults learning to ski, she said, have a more difficult time because they are more stressed when first making their way down a hill.

''I grew up not knowing the fear of falling or speed,'' she said.

Making a perfect run down a challenging trail can be one of life's great pleasures, Tar said.

''There's nothing like skiing down a slope and knowing you've skied it well,'' she said.