Gore 1/17

powderfreak · Jan 18, 2004

Blue skies, mild temps (low 20's!!), respectable conditions, good company, and an early start all came together to make this another great ski day at Gore. The views were amazing thanks to the cloudless sky. The High Peaks region of the 'dacks stood out the most but you could also see the entire Green Mountain spine. I don't know if I've never paid attention to it, or the sky really was that clear, but we could easily see southern VT mountains, the higher summits around Killington/Pico, the Sugarbush area, Camels Hump, Mansfield, as well as all the way up to Jay. One view of the entire Green Mountain spine. Awesome. The snow conditions were average January product with lots of man-made stuff that got skied off late in the afternoon. The lower mountain cruisers were fun although my poach of the day was Twister so I didn't make as many runs on the open, groomed lower stuff. Twister should be closed because of one 100 yard section which is pretty much snow free thanks to the wind. The rest of the trail, however, was a mix of dense, wind-packed pow, crust, sheltered light and dry, and ice. I skied it a few times making sure to leave to close all my figure 8's. Up top, Rumor opened for the first time this season from the cheater trail down. The top quarter truely looked like something you'd find in Alaska. Very, very steep with two spines on each side and one huge windblown, manmade spine down the middle. No wonder that headwall released last year...all day today it was on my mind everytime I was out on the trail. If the top broke off while that trail was open, at any given time it could probably take out and seriously injure 15 or so people. The open portion of the trail had house-sized snowmaking piles on it with very steep drops on each side. Every couple of turns is like skiing off the top of a billiard ball. I skied one run in the Upper Chatimac or Beyond Chatimac woods and broke trail to the first slot. They must've recieved some very high winds because there was a lot of fresh deadfall in there with pine needles all over the place. I made it down and removed a few downed limbs. They need a little more snow, but its getting there. Crowds weren't that bad, but I've gotten used to skiing midweek on yttihs snow with excellent skiers...whereas today you were skiing on excellent snow with yttihs skiers. Human slalom was necessary quite often. I don't blame people for going out and skiing today though. It has been so cold recently (I was a whose and took Wed, Thurs, and Fri off from skiing this week due to the cold), that even though it is a full 40 degrees warmer up there than it was a couple days ago, the temperature is still well below freezing. It is all relative. The difference between -20 and +20 is the same as +20 and 60. Interestingly enough, to my body it felt like it was 60 degrees out today. It is amazing how much the temperature can change here in the northeast. All in all it was another day that makes you stop and think about what is true and real in life; what is truely valuable. Again, another day when I find myself thinking that there is nowhere else I'd rather be. This past month has been a lot of fun for me. For the first time in my life I have had a full month off from school in the middle of the winter...so I skied. I skied 15 days in the past 30, so I've averaged every other day which isn't quite what I would've liked; considering the snow conditions and weather, however, I'll take it

That was probably my last day at Gore this season, and probably my last ski day in the Adirondacks this season unless somehow I get over to Whiteface from Burlington later on. Now, I move back to Burlington for a few months to enjoy the second half of the season up in northern VT. It seems like the two foot powder days of early December happened ages ago...it is time to bring back the pow. Man, do I love this sport and the mountains. -Scott

Gore 1/17

powderfreak

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