So I couldn't resist and skied on Apr 30 at Gore, the latest date they have ever been open (until today, May 1). May 1 is their closing date.
Kudos to Gore and their team for extending the season weeks beyond the usual date. They had moved around a lot of snow to ensure nearly continuous skiing.
There were 19 trails open, but it was really about 5-6 unique routes. You could take the gondola up to the top of Bear, where you would have 3 choices - Foxlair to Sunway to Quicksilver to the base, or Fairview/Ruby Run to Wood In to the High Peaks chair or to Sunway to Quicksilver.
Riding the gondola, view of High Peaks in distance:
Top of Fairview, the only expert trail open:
Once over to the High Peaks Chair, there were a few options - Cloud, Hullabaloo, Santanoni, Little Cloud, and Wood Lot. Thanks to the colder start to the day, Santanoni and Wood Lot were firm/granular.
Upper Cloud
Top of Open Pit (not open) and High Peaks Chair
Santanoni towards Wood Lot
If you skied back towards the base, Sunway had spots that were full width, with other near melted out sections that had been stitched together, like here:
Finally, you could also ski Headwaters to the Top Ridge Chair. This wasn't easy to lap, but did give another option. Here it is with a view of the Straightbrook Quad.
I also noticed these foundations for one of the towers of the former gondola, off Headwaters, that I hadn't noticed before. The liftline here is quite grown in.
A definite treat to ski this late in the year so close to home. I skied to midday, got in 10200' vertical, and then mowed my lawn. Never skied and mowed in the same day before!
