Gore Mtn, NY: 12/19 - 12/22/08

[Harvey]

Ski Day 8

FIRST...before you fall asleep reading the TR below...Sharon...I heard from some that Burnt Ridge was a disappointment today...would love to hear your impressions.

* * *

Almost but not quite as smart as James I left NJ around 9:30.

I looked at the radar this morning and decided at 9am departure would be significantly easier than my usual 2pm vanishing act. Most of our staff was either coming in late or working from home anyway, due to the weather. I had a meeting that I postponed and another one that I moved up to 9 ...and was out of there by 9:30.

It was sleeting LOUD in NJ, calm and dry in the Lower Hudson Valley and snowing north of Albany. As I got to Glens Falls it was REALLY coming down. When I got to the Hudson in North River it was still snowing pretty hard.

When I got to the cabin this was on the porch since last Sunday...some from Tuesday, some from today:

The view out the front:

I caught up on email, and headed out for a ski down Harvey Road:

I jumped on to GHLs trails...Old Faithful:

I ran into Grace and Armondo. They were probably in their late 70s and snowshoeing on the trail. They live in MIAMI...with a second home on the hill...and they FLEW from Miami when they heard snow was coming. I can't BELIEVE I didn't take their picture. They were awesome.

I skied for about an hour and a half. Along Old Faithful to the Tailings to the view spot. Needless to say there was no view to be had. I skied home in the dark and snapped this pic on the snowboard. It is all from today taken around two hours ago. By now I think we've got about 8 inches. It's light (5 degrees) ... it doesn't build up on the steep main roof..it just keeps slidin off. Conditions should be good tomorrow.

* * * *

These are the skis I used today. They are the same skis and boots I used the first time I skied at Gore. The boots are Asolo Snowfield and the Skis are Karhu XCD GTs:

 

[Harvey]

My version of JSpin's snowboard.

I'm going with 14" overnight.

 

[Harvey]

Ski Day 9

Today was a top 10 day. Fantastic. Real powder tree skiing doesn't happen every week at Gore.

No surprise to me... I couldn't sleep last night. When it's dumping, I just keep waking up. I crashed about midnight and finally got out of bed around 4:30.

Conservatively we got 14" overnight and another inch today. The snow that fell after midnight last night...maybe the last 5 inches was ... total blower.

It snowed lightly all day, even later in the day when the sun was out.

It was 10 degrees when I started the car and headed to the mountain. My new plow guy was nowhere to be found, last night or today before I left for the mountain. No problem really I put the car at the top of the hill, and blasted my way down.

The plan was to meet Adk Keith from adkski.com at the Gondi's opening. Plans were left loose for a possible FTO connection with Sharon and her friend Amy. Almost hour early, pulled up into the parking lot and parked right up front. Hmm... I see a Subie with a woman in a yellow coat herding some doggies. I introduced myself to Sharon.

We got on the second or third Gondi and went to the top. With the summit roped off we hit Showcase:

Next time up...a crowd gathered at the summit rope...and down it went. As 50 skiers pounded Pine Knot...we hit Uncas...which was being ignored, for some unknown reason. After controlling my glee...and with a little encouragement, I did conserve some untracked for those who followed. Down to the Straightbrook Chair, Up to Chatiemac into the Glades. It was deluxe. For a skier like me...to be in the trees, driving forward...straight down the fall line, without a care in the world...it was a total blast.

We got first tracks on both the Chatiemac Glade and Mineshaft. We did (Red Dog?) and that was great. Everything was basically open.

We met Amy at the saddle for a break. When we headed back out we hit Tahawas trees...and we rode the North Chair with Amy. Keith introduced himself in the lodge...and then blazed by in the Tahawas Glade...I think this is him:

We never got to the Dark Side.

We did make our way over to Burnt Ridge. From the Saddle...Twister, Twister Glades, Echo to Gully and down (over?) to the lift. It is flat. I walked it in the summer and thought it has some pitch but I guess I really misjudged it. When conditions are normal Eastern fast....it will be fine but today it was a trudge.

Sagamore...the black trail over there...is epic...long...tons of pitch...in big steps. It's like Showcase on steroids...these huge steps down maybe four or them. It was big fluffy cut up bumps. We got to the top again and ran into Sharon's bud Jeff. (Or is it Geoff?) He's the guy who gave me a permit to hit Tahawas last weekend. He tell us that the coverage in the Cirque glade is thin...and there are rivers to cross...but we gotta go.

In we went. It is beautiful. I took a few pics, but you really need a wide angle to get it. We did get our skis wet in the crossing and had to take a break to scrape the ice off everything. Down to the bottom to walk the doggies and we called it a day around 1:30. Sharon and Amy had skied yesterday bell to bell. I had teley'd with Sharon. And for all there is more powder to slay tomorrow and Monday.

Sharon...it was a pleasure to ski with you.

One of my best days in a long time.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Looks like everyone got what they wanted today.

 

[Harvey]

Ski Day 10

It never really totally stopped snowing last night. Ultralight flurries fell overnight adding up to maybe an inch. I was up about 5am. At 6:30 the wind picked up and it started to snow for real. It snowed all day...at least a foot..for a total of nearly 30 inches since Friday eve.

It was another great powder day. I skied open to close 8:10 to 3:45...and I'm whipped. Just don't have the gas to reformat my blog entry for FTO. And it wasn't the best day for pictures as it dumped the whole day. Here's a few...

If you want the story and a few more pics, check it out here:

http://harvey44.blogspot.com/

 

[Tony Crocker]

I read your blog...

Do you or the mountain have prior year snowfall stats for Gore?

Comparing to the Whiteface report Gore sounds better, much less icy subsurface under the pow. Is this typical, given Whiteface's notorious reputation for wind scouring? Do you think snowfall is similar between the 2 areas?

 

[jamesdeluxe]

The King of Gore Mountain will have more details, but speaking anecdotally, Whiteface gets more snowfall, but far more wind scouring. I think this past snowstorm is pretty representative of that pattern. I bet Harvey didn't get the deeper shots like mine on Saturday, but he definitely had far softer conditions overall and particularly in the woods.

I'm surprised Tony didn't bust Harvey for including snowfall in his blog that fell well before the lift-served season began. [-X

 

[Tony Crocker]

I prefer snowfall stats with a fixed start date of November 1, unless an area can open before then.

 

[Harvey]

The King of Gore Mountain will have more details, but speaking anecdotally, Whiteface gets more snowfall, but far more wind scouring. I think this past snowstorm is pretty representative of that pattern. I bet Harvey didn't get the deeper shots like mine on Saturday, but he definitely had far softer conditions overall and particularly in the woods.

I'm surprised Tony didn't bust Harvey for including snowfall in his blog that fell well before the lift-served season began. [-X

Hmm...not sure I deserve the title. :-k

James is right. Usually WF gets more snow. I'd guess maybe 15-20% more.

Not sure about the depth of shots. Sharon and I skied some stuff that had Fridays 14" and the 8" from Weds untouched.

One thing I like about having my own blog...I can do any darn thing I want.

 

[Sharon]

Regardless of snowfall amounts, Gore Mtn is a lot more interesting to ski than Whiteface. There is more variety and there are many more places to find fresh snow. I prefer tree skiing, and at Gore, there are way more tree shots than at Whiteface. Whiteface is about big long wide thigh-burning cruisers. The runs are shorter at Gore, but they provide much greater variety of challenge.

When we found WF on windhold this morning, we were wishing we had just gone to Gore.

 

[Harvey]

Ski Day 11

I knew when I woke up this morning, there was a pretty good chance things would be on wind hold. It was howling at our place. And with only half a day to ski...I considered draining the pipes and heading home. But the pull of the mountain got me...

It didn't look good for the Gondi. It wasn't moving at all at 8:15. One piece of true comedy...they announced that the only lift cleared for operation was Lift 3...the Sunway Chair. Everyone from the Gondi line zooped over to the Sunway Chair. The lifty over there got kinda nervous I think. He can usually sleep over there...and was really anxious for the ok to start loading. For some reason everyone went up, one skier per chair. With all those hotshots riding solo...it was like a scene from Mad River.

* * * *

It was really cold and windy. The overnight wind had filled the trough of the bumps across the mountain and most of the glades I hit were pretty good. I rode the Sunway Chair to the top, and hit the Otter Slide Glades:

My second run...as I got onto the chair the lifty told me the BRQ had opened. As I rode up to the midstation, I lengthened my poles for the skate over. I got off at the midstation and pointed em straight down. Just as I was about to make the cut towards the dreaded Cedars... I noticed the Gondi loading and changed my plan.

* * * *

They ran the Gondi slow and limited it to four or five people to minimize the risk of wind damage. The ride took a long time. Pine Brook, Twister, Straightbrook and Double Barrel Junior were all excellent... especially first (maybe fourth really) tracks below the SB chair...nice windblown in all the troughs.

I was going to take Tannery to Topridge and finish my morning with another run in Twister Glades. When I got to the Topridge Chair it was closed...so for my first time ever... I finished my day taking the cross country trail down to the base. It seemed like fitting ending to the weekend.