Belleayre Beginner Skiing

The resort’s beginner area offers 13 trails in a dedicated novice area. The vertical drop in the beginner areas is roughly 500′ and is serviced by a pair of double chairs. Three surface lifts service terrain for first time skiers at the very bottom near the Discovery Lodge.

Unlike many resorts whose beginner terrain consists of one main bunny slope and few scattered green trails, Belleayre’s novice area offers a real skiing experience. From the top of the twin double chairs, beginners can experience the sense of adventure that draws so many to the sport. Lots of ways down varying trails means that beginners have an opportunity to explore and wander. In many ways, the experience is similar only to Copper Mountain and it’s “naturally separated terrain.” By compartmentalizing the beginner skiing experience on the lower mountain, Belleayre offers beginners the best of both worlds – a safe, separate ski hill to learn on and a big upper mountain full of more challenging runs to advance to.

Another great feature of Belleayre’s beginner terrain is its lack of crowds. Due to the fact that Belleayre does not have a base-to-summit lift, expert skiers rarely venture into the lower mountain beginner area; no skiers whizzing by terrified novices here! Be advised, however, that there are no green trails from the summit. Beginners will be confined to the lower mountain. While that makes for a great learning experience, it can pose problems for groups of mixed ability levels trying to ski together as more advanced skiers will almost certainly want to stay on the upper mountain.

Many beginner skiers choose to park at the Discovery Lodge at the base of the resort as opposed to continuing up to the main base at mid-mountain. First timers should definitely park here as the learning terrain is at the bottom of the hill and not accessible from the mid-mountain except by more difficult green trails.

Belleayre Learn to Ski

Belleayre is amongst the best ski resorts in the East for learning how to ski. Belleayre’s ski school caters to busloads of first time skiers coming up from New York City and is well-versed in teaching children. The first class beginner area (described above) provides an incubator for novices to grow in their technique without encountering many of the elements of the sport that scare or intimidate. There are no steep runs to accidentally turn down, no out of control intermediates flying by and are, to borrow a turn of phrase Goldilocks, “Not too short, not too long – just right.”