By Mitch Kaplan

Photos courtesy of Belleayre

Kendall was wandering the food displays with a perplexed but hopeful look. "What do you need?" the cafeteria cashier asked her.

"Chocolate pound cake," Kendall said. "I’m looking for your chocolate pound cake."

"I thought some came in yesterday," the cashier said. She rose from her chair, looked about without luck, and then called across the room to the grill cook. "Can you check the back and see if there’s any chocolate pound cakes? I think they came in yesterday." Promptly the young man disappeared to search.

I don’t know what Kendall finds so special about these commercial, single-serving cakes, but I do know special effort when I see it. The bad news is that no cakes were found. The good news is that this friendly, go-out-of-your-way attitude is the norm among employees at Belleayre Mountain. Friendly might not aptly describe it. It’s downright congenial. You might call it old-fashioned.

And that would be apt. Because there’s something old-fashioned about Belleayre - old-fashioned in a warm and welcoming way; comfortable, like a treasured pair of slippers or a favorite pair of jeans.

State-owned, the area is about snowsliding. The slopes aren’t littered with condo developments or anchored by a faux Alpine village. The base lodges are basic and relatively small. It’s easy to imagine crowding issues on weekends. But they’re comfortable. Finding the bathrooms can feel like getting through a maze, but along the way you encounter people who smile and say hello, you get the feeling the place attracts a lot of regulars.

Outside, the racks display as many straight skis as new shaped ones. But, plenty of snowboards stand among them. It’s a mix of old and new. Yet, a day spent here feels like skiing before skiing became a corporate enterprise.

Belleayre’s trails resemble spilled paint running down wide, parallel troughs. They drop side by side from a long ridge. My friend Chris cheerfully refers to the layout as "supermarket skiing." "Let’s try aisle nine, frozen goods," he’ll say as we drift across the top deciding on a downhill route. While that may make the trails seem similar, they benefit from some genuine steep in the upper sections.
The layout also is double-tiered. The upper mountain’s advanced runs converge to a mid-mountain lodge and lifts, while the novice runs are contained on the lower mountain. This set-up mercifully keeps beginners out of harms way from speeding hot shots.

The set-up also serves novices with a delightful set of routes that feel expansive. The area’s beginner programs, and their old-school pricing, are one of its strengths. Beginner clinics are free. A ski/snowboard lesson runs $21. "I’m Special" clinics, for first-timers ages 5-7, cost $5. A three-day, all-inclusive "Learn to Ski & Ride" program costs just $109.95.

Something called the Learning Circle has been created for little ones. It’s an open field-like novice area with a very gentle pitch. Novices move among instructor-manned learning stations, getting instruction as they progress from one to the other until they’re ready to hop on the adjacent handle tow. Best - there’s no time limit for how long a kid can play in the Learning Circle.

The KidsCamp program is offered for ages four to twelve on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and during holiday periods. KidsCamp has its own equipment rental facility, it’s own beginner area, and off-snow time in its gathering place is filled with provisions for creative ecology-oriented activities like art, crafts, puzzles and books.

And, of course, there’s licensed day care on-site.

It snowed the day before I visited a few weeks back. A foot-plus of new covered the trails and, it being Wednesday, few people were there to track it up or scrape it off. In another throwback, some trails were left ungroomed. We could tackle nascent moguls and chopped powder. Very old-school. Blue-rated Belleayre Run was half-groomed and, I’m told, it stays that way so people can practice bumps but escape when they need/want to. Very progressive.

High-speed lifts are conspicuously absent (although one is due next season). But, if you make enough turns, you don’t necessarily need express uphill transport. It’s, again, an old-time pace. Recently, two glade runs were thinned. Admittedly, they’re but a blip on the trail map, but they add some needed variation.

For new-schoolers, these guys create and maintain a top-notch terrain park with plenty of hits and rails to entertain freestylers.

The area holds a reasonable selection of dining and lodging. As I said, nothing is slopeside, but you’ll find character-rich B&Bs, inns, cabins and motels. There’s very little in the way of chain lodging, and even chain dining for that matter. But, that just lends more local character to your sojourn.

Skiing during a sunny day in midweek on new snow, as I did on that visit, can render anywhere paradise-like. But, Belleayre - supermarket trail layout or not - exudes character. I felt, as I did 20 years ago, like I was exploring a mountain, not riding the freeway.

Now, if that chocolate pound cake delivery would only come in...