Harvey's Gore Thread

The ocean is keeping the temps cool for you guys on the coast ,inland it is just roasting . They are already talking of the threat of grass fires with all the fall debris on the ground . Hot and dusty in the Whiteface parking lot yesterday . Heading back to the car after skiing yesterday felt more like returning after a long hike on a hot dry summer day . Temps should cool down starting tomorrow with some rain in the forecast.
 
Not totally a Gore thing, but mostly....

I put together a summary of my season. Gore, some Catskills, really all NY State if you discount one day in NJ:

http://harvey44.blogspot.com/2010/04/ha ... -0910.html

New areas for me were Plattekill and Belleayre - two mountains I really like.

I appreciate James and Jason pushing me to expand my horizons and explore the Catskills.

When I looked back at it, it was actually a pretty good season.

Maybe not when compared to other ski seasons.

But when I compared to everything else I spend money on, skiing is the best.
 
I connected with Gore GM Mike Pratt for another Q/A.

Of course I asked him about how the NY State budget (mess) is going to affect Gore and Whiteface. No surprise that he gave me nada on that issue. Realistically, he probably doesn't know any more about it than the average Joe.

He did give up a few interesting chunks of info on a snowmaking, which is a big issue for the Gore faithful. Specifically, the way the Gore snowmaking system is laid out, the new (old!) terrain at the Ski Bowl, doesn't really add to the load on the system. Sorta.

Check it out:

http://harvey44.blogspot.com/2010/05/mi ... pdate.html
 
What ever happened to that Killington vs Gore thing you were fooling with? I presume you guys all opted to stay put at Gore.
 
Geoff":10lr54gn said:
What ever happened to that Killington vs Gore thing you were fooling with? I presume you guys all opted to stay put at Gore.

Geoff ... it got some good play. Would love to get your input on Harvey Road:

Gore Mountain Passholder Decisions

I'm staying put at Gore because I've got the old ball-and-chain - the real estate.

Lots of people are on the fence and will have to decide soon. The early pass deadline is June 17.
 
the old ball-and-chain - the real estate
Which is a good reason not to do that, especially in the East. I know why Harvey44 did it; he got in dirt cheap. But for 99% of easterners who care about the quality of their skiing, tying yourself to one mountain is a very bad idea. Multiple areas, none of them that big, with varying weather patterns. Having so many areas to choose is one of the advantages the easterners have, and they shouldn't give that up IMHO.
 
Tony Crocker":3t72ji0c said:
the old ball-and-chain - the real estate
Which is a good reason not to do that, especially in the East. I know why Harvey44 did it; he got in dirt cheap. But for 99% of easterners who care about the quality of their skiing, tying yourself to one mountain is a very bad idea. Multiple areas, none of them that big, with varying weather patterns. Having so many areas to choose is one of the advantages the easterners have, and they shouldn't give that up IMHO.

With what the State of Vermont has done to screw the vacation home owners, there is no way I would consider buying real estate today. The Act 68 state school tax has caused sky-high property tax rates. It's 1 1/4% deed tax to buy in. On the way out, they tax any paper gain you have on your sale as regular income rather than as long term capital gains. The year you sell, Vermont makes you file a state income tax return and taxes the gain at the highest bracket. Vermont is ~25% of federal so if you make enough to afford a vacation home, you're probably giving 7% to 9% to Vermont. If you don't file a return, they hound you endlessly.
 
Geoff":1wj1mmam said:
If you don't file a return, they hound you endlessly.

YA, like the random call i got from some tax collector dudes from p.a. that were doing collections for vermont. all of a sudden i owed the state of vermont 50 grand in back taxes on the house i sold that i owned in east burke vermont. i didn't file cuz i was owed just a few bucks and it wasn't worth the paperwork. well, that turned into a HUGE frickin month long nightmare.........and i don't even like vermont! even less so now! at least i got off scott free :shock:

rog
 
Had a chance to tour the new terrain with Mike Pratt, the GM at Gore this weekend. Gave me a ride in his all wheel drive golf cart....

Pratts_ATV.jpg


It's amazing how much they are doing with a reduced budget.

Much of the money was allocated in 2005, so that's one thing that is working in Gore's favor in this situation.

One of the big highlights, to me, as a tree skier is Barkeater. Endless line options and 1000+ feet of verticle through some sweet hardwoods...

Barkeater1.jpg


Check out Harvey Road's full "TR" in our tour of new Gore Mountain Interconnect Terrain.
 
I mentioned a few months ago that Highpeaksdrifter had joined Harvey Road.

He's a Whiteface guy through and through, with hundreds of days on that hill.

He's posted the first part of his piece on skiing the Slides.

It's got some great information and a worthwhile read.
 
Wow!! the pictures are really cool and of course cold. Sounds though crazy to me to ski on there. Hope you enjoy it.
 
James is always asking me why Gore skiers are so fixated on snowmaking. I think the biggest reason is we really need more of it. Kmart for example has 75% more terrain and 5x the snowmaking firepower. With all the terrain expansion we've had, you need real cooperation from mother nature to get the entire mountain open by mid-January.

A plan that Gore mgmt has been working on for over two years will be announced by the mountain today. With some complex financing Gore will be taking it's game up a notch. If you ski Gore early season, or you just like crunchy snowmaking numbers check it out:

Gore Mountain's 2011 Snowmaking Upgrade
 
Back
Top