Gore Mtn, NY: 12/31/08 - 1/03/09

Harvey

Administrator
Staff member
Ski Day 12

Today was a tale of technical difficulty, battle with the elements ...and ...I know I've been accused of being an incurable optimist but...great skiing. Joe..I was all ready to post a negative report just to prove I could do it. Maybe I just like skiing.

* * * *

It started snowing about 5:30 this morning and snowed until about 1pm. I'd say in total we got 2 inches on top of four from yesterday. We weren't expecting much snow as the clipper was swinging south of us. Of course, I'll take what I can get. It was 10 degrees when we left the cabin.

* * * *

We got to the mountain later than we have in recent memory...it was 8:30 and the Gondi was already running. Our plan was to drop Neve off at Day Care...ski for a while and then see if we could get Neve onto these:

Neve's Gear.jpg


...a semi-impulsive present I bought her yesterday on the drive up. I finally found a guy who didn't think I was TOTALLY INSANE for wanting to put a 30 month old child on alpine skis, so I went for it. $300 bucks for boots ($5, used) skis and bindings ($169) helmet and goggles ($60) a leash and an edgie wedgie for the rest.

* * * *

Technical difficulties....CB left her season pass at the cabin. Argh. She went into the marketing office and instead they gave her a day pass... that said "forgotten pass" on it. Pretty cool.

* * * *

After watching the radar show some pretty warm rain over the weekend...conditions were pretty darn ok. Better than some other Christmas weeks we've skied.

Highlights of the day for me were Chatiemac and Lies. Both had been pounded with snowmaking for 2 consecutive days and were covered in sweet bumps. Cold temps and 6 inches of natural snow didn't hurt.

It was brutally cold where you were exposed to the wind. The only temp check I had at the mountain was at the base from the nice guy at the Adirondack Express (the triple). He told me it was 13 degrees. So it had to be like FIVE degrees at the summit and in the usual spots...the wind was howling.

I was doing laps on Lies and Chatiemac and CB was riding Headwaters. Around 11...she said..I have got to get inside my toes are going. We went down to Tannery and up the Topridge chair...headed for the Saddle Lodge. I knew she was struggling. When the chair stopped in the coldest, windiest spot...she started to cry. It's a awful feeling being trapped like that. I didn't know if we were talking digit loss, or just discomfort. I didn't ask, because it didn't really matter ...there was nothing I could do.

We made it to the Saddle which was packed as it always is at midday when the wind is ripping. We took off her boots and her toes looked pink and fine. She had these new knee socks that were so tight around her calves, I was sure that was the problem. I gave her a spare pair of woolies that I carry and it seemed to do the trick. She skied for 2 more hours without a problem. Truthfully I was surprised she went back out.

* * * *

We hit the new Quad from Twister. Actually you can easily cut from Twister to Echo to cut down on the skating to get over there. I think I skated 10 strokes in all to make the traverse. We skied Echo, which was a first for both of us. It's a beautiful trail and the coverage was pretty good except for the "headwall."

CB on Echo 2.JPG


CB called it a day a 1pm and I headed for the top to hit Chatiemac a couple more times. LOVE those big soft carvy bumps. I was laughing out loud (LOL) as I jumped over them.

There was no way we were going to take Neve out in that weather...so her alpine debut is going to have to wait for another day.

* * * *

Talk of the day was the fatality at Whiteface. A tragic story. The deceased leaving a wife and five children behind:

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/News/2 ... ting-Tree/

* * * *

Good job by mountain management putting it back together after the ugly weather from the weekend.

All things considered ...a good day. Tomorrow should be better.
 
I put off buying Hottronics for several years because I thought they were for girly men, but Admin gave me the ok 8) so I went ahead with it. I wasn't prepared to spend $150+, but I found them at an end-of-the-season sale for half price... and I've never been happier. Not having to listen to Juliet bitch about cold feet is priceless.

Looks like a decent day.
 
Ski Day 13

Today was a beautiful day.

Upper Steilhang Morning.jpg

If you don't care about surface conditions. The NWS was calling for early morning windchills of 30 below. From experience those numbers don't account for the windiest spots on chairlifts. We slept in.

I skied solo.

Surfaces were boilerplate. Trails and lifts were closed.

For some reason I wanted to try out my new skis. For me...when trying out new gear...on my first runs...I'm always convinced it will never be as good as my old gear.

I hit the firm bumps on Lies on my first run. Not easy.

Guns on Twister.JPG

Eventually I made it down to the bottom. They were blowing big time on Twister and it was excellent. I decided I do love my new skis. I lapped run after run on Twister from the Gondi and called it a day at 1:30.

Oh...by the way Atomic RT-86s are the largest skis (in the tail) that will fit into the old ski carriers in the Gondi. That is all.
 
You missed your big chance, Jason. :lol:

Thursday, January 1st at 2:09 p.m.
If you relish telling your friends and family that you went skiing/riding when it was '-x' degrees with '-y' wind-chill factor, then you loved today! Some, refusing to give in to the cold, were rewarded with free rides on our Lincoln Limo snowcat to Allyn's Lodge, where they, and only 12 others at a time (plus a few who hiked there, with our blessing) had their wide-open choice of trails to descend...very cool!
 
Harvey44":2ffy9srg said:
Oh...by the way Atomic RT-86s are the largest skis (in the tail) that will fit into the old ski carriers in the Gondi. That is all.

i'll keep that in mind harv. great skis, excellent choice. i've put a bunch of days on mine this year and they killed it in everything from hard snow to spring conditions to a 14 incher at sunday river and a 20 incher at cannon. very dynamic skis and way fun in the bumps. put fritchis on mine with new scarpa typhoon sporting the din soles. bring yers up to mt washington this year and ours can meet :mrgreen:
rog
 
Ski Day 14

Another tough day at the office.

Temps were warmer and wind speeds were almost nil. So comfort was most improved. And considering the bulletproof conditions from yesterday, Gore did a reasonable job with what they had. Common areas (Base, Saddle, Summit of Bear) were covered.

But Gore will never be Okemo or Killington. There just isn't the will or maybe the horsepower to recover from major NCP events the way the Vermont titans can.

Hey..if Gore was a Vermont resort...it would be in Vermont.

For some reason snowmaking continued on Twister...which was pic of the day. They were blowing on Pine Knot, which I do understand. Blowing on Uncas? It's not open and probably won't be until after the holiday is over. How about Showcase, or something on the Dark Side?

Best trail conditions were on Twister (by far), Lower Chatiemac, Pine Knot, Echo.

View from Echo.jpg

Highlight of the day was meeting a really cool couple from NYC in the Tannery Lounge. In all my years at Gore...I have never had a beer in there.

Today was also my 2.5 year old daughters first "run" on skis. She liked it and asked all day when she could go again. To me that is big stuff.

I actually had fun today. The beers and the company didn't hurt.
 
Harvey44":1si68pnw said:
Today was also my 2.5 year old daughters first "run" on skis. She liked it and asked all day when she could go again. To me that is big stuff.

That's huge!

Harvey44":1si68pnw said:
The beers...didn't hurt.

Only when you have too many of them, and start crushing cans with your forehead.
 
Looks like maybe 5" overnight. Hard to tell with the wind. May be wind issues today.
 
Look at Harvey racking up the ski days... he's almost in icelantic/admin territory. With all that mileage under your skis, you should be on the pro circuit soon.

Any pix of the big Neve moment?
 
Ski Day 15

What a difference a day makes.

Chatiemac.JPG

And 5" of snow. Gore called it 3, measured at the base. I find my measurements at 2000 feet are usually higher but I'd expect the difference to be less than 2 inches on five. Whatever...it made a big difference.

Winds were high (still are at 6pm) but with temps in the 20s, wind chills were manageable, for me.

* * * *

Things looked sweet when we got to the mountain around 8:20. I push the women folk WAY harder in the am, when there is fresh snow to be had.

We took the Gondi primarily for the warmth factor. Guns were still going on Pine Knot and Uncas from yesterday. Uncas was still closed.

I'll do anything for soft snow. If Pine Knot had the only carvable snow on the mountain...and it was a killing field with zero visibility ...I'd do laps. When we got to the Straightbrook Chair things looked great. Folks who got first tracks on Chatiemac were hootin as we rode up. Lies had been groomed, which happens only a few times a season. All the way up...Chatiemac or Lies...Chatiemac or Lies?

I hit Lies and did big GS turns all the way down. Then Chatiemac and Open Pit.

Open Pit.jpg

They were "race training" on lower Hawkeye below the headwall. On the fourth ride up, they were already taking down the gates. A crowd had gathered at the rope. Everyone knew that when they dropped it essentially there were be some form of first tracks. The racers all ski the same curvy line and leave the sides untouched. I had decided to bag Hawk because I knew the upper half was boilerplate. Basically anything that hadn't had snowmaking since 12/26 was tough sledding.

I took Chatiemac one last time before CB and I were going to check out the lower mountain. On a whim I cut over to lower Hawkeye from Chatiemac to see what was going on. Now there were at least 50 people waiting for the rope to drop. Patrol was in a line guarding the thing like it was the crown jewels.

The head of Patrol is an incredibly cool likeable guy...I think his name is Mark. (Sharon do you know him?) He's standing there having fun with the crowd. Then he says...."ok SEASON'S PASSHOLDERS ONLY" and holds up the rope. Almost NOBODY snags it...I was third down and it was funner than a bear.

* * * *

Down to Tannery and up the Topridge Chair. It looked like they were going to drop the rope on Uncas which they had been pounding with snowguns for two days. CB headed down and I snagged it too. It was comical. Like a rollercoaster. Great carvable manmade. A couple laps there and then a break in the Saddle to warm up.

Guns on Uncas.jpg

We did a run on Twister and then another off the Triple where cut over to Echo at what we call the Echo Spot. Apparently it's already known by Patrol as the Worm Hole...an entrance to another dimension. It's only been there for 3 days and it's got a name.

* * * *

Burnt Ridge is really cool. It IS a whole 'nother dimension that makes the mountain feel so much bigger. WIDER. Sagamore...the black currently as it has no snowmaking yet. Somebody poached it and MAN it looked like a dream.

Crane Mtn.jpg

CB took a break to warm up...and I did everything at the top again including a great run on Lies. Ultimately I ended up lapping Uncas where the manmade conditions were nice...some sweet bumps forming. Tons of folks over there but fun none the less.

A great day to be alive.

* * * *

Tomorrow we'll probably go sledding and hit the road. Looks like my dream of skiing on my 50th Bday (Thursday Jan 8th) isn't happening and work is going to get real busy in the first half of January. Even next weekend is a long shot.

Still it's been a great year so far... especially the weekend of 12/20.

Still we need a BIG ONE. I'm waiting.
 
jamesdeluxe":1y3ao38h said:
Look at Harvey racking up the ski days... he's almost in icelantic/admin territory. With all that mileage under your skis, you should be on the pro circuit soon.

Not sure about the pro circuit. (Pro what?)

I looked back to last year. I actually had one more day (16 days total) by Jan 5 2008.

That was on the strength of 9 days in a row over that fantastic Xmas/NY run last year.

So I'm not really ahead. Last year actually ended at 28 days....less than the year before which was 31.

And with a business business travel schedule coming up....Jan doesn't look to be a great month for me to rack up days.

Until I do some kind of major life revision, a la Admin or Ice...I think I'm going to be stuck in 30/days per year land.

I'll do my best and y'all will be the first to know. :D
 
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