An avalanche in New York caused by a Christmas Day storm has damaged a ski resort in the Catskill Mountains.
The storm brought high winds and more than 6 inches (15 cm) of rain to the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center.
The ski resort is cleaning up on Christmas after an avalanche in New York smashed into a lodge. The avalanche caused some serious damage.
Officials at the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in Ulster County say the snow slide happened Friday morning. It was caused by heavy rainfall, high amounts of snow on the ground, and warm temperatures.
The resort posted an update on its website saying “This morning, supersaturated snow from the Yahoo trail let loose and slid into the Overlook Lodge.”
Belleayre’s general manager Bruce Transue received an alert of a break-in at the Overlook Lodge around 5:30 a.m. only to learn that snow, water, and debris were the culprits.
The windows have been blown out on the uphill side, the doorways and a lot of water damage. We probably had four foot of snow inside the base lodge in the upstairs.
Bruce Transue
Transue says he doesn’t believe something like this has ever happened at the resort before. An avalanche in New York is a rather uncommon event.
Resort to Remain Closed December 26
In a bit of a Christmas miracle, no one was injured. The resort was scheduled to be closed on Friday due to the storm. However, they will remain closed through Saturday, Dec. 26th to continue clean up efforts.
In an update, the resort said “For those of you that had tickets for the 26th, please complete the Customer Service form and we will get back to you with regards to your purchases as soon as possible.”
Transue says Belleayre Mountain plans to be back open Sunday, Dec. 27th.
