Belleayre has become our mountain over the last few years. Last year we skied it 20 times, and will hit at least that this year. Last year we used Potter's Brothers discount tickets, but this year I did the math and committed to season tickets for the family. Last year we used Skiwee for my younger daughter all those ski days, and my son was in Alpine Development. This year they are both in Alpine Development.

One of the reasons we became a Belleayre family was because good friends of ours always have skied here. One, since his childhood. They have children almost equal in age as my wife and I do. Their younger one is a year younger than mine, though, so she still goes to what is now called "Kidscamp".

I am writing this to compliment the Alpine Development program this year. It is significantly better than it was last year. The instructors have been great. They know the kids and teach them well. Alpine Development is possibly the best instructional value anywhere! And it is like totally the opposite of the $70/day at Kidscamp....

So here is the complaint: Kidscamp check-in is a mess. It would be so easy to make it so much better! The problem starts at signing the kids in. An individual has to wait in 3 lines to sign a child in. There is no reason why that can not get done in one line. There is also no reason to even have the child have to come inside and sit around. In most western resorts, all you have to do is sign the child up the night before and meet the group on the snow. The problem with the current set-up is it sucks a good hour of skiing away from the parents dropping the child off. It is frustrating for both parents and children to wait in those lines and watch so few people actually working. There are so many employees who seem to be standing around doing nothing and just a few trying to get the job done.

And finally I have another compliment: The rental ski shop at Overlook Lodge is wonderful. Last year my son popped a binding off the ski, and they fixed it for free. This weekend I snapped a pole at a midstation (ok, stop laughing). The shop guys found me an almost matching pole, cut it, moved my handle and basket, and asked for no payment. The mechanics there are helpful, creative, polite, and fast!