Gore Mountain Trip Report
Dec 18, 2022
Total mileage skied: 22.7mi
Total vertical: 19900
Runs: 18
Total skiing time: 1:32
Weather: Variable clouds, 20s, minimal wind.
Oh what a day yesterday was!
Gore got hammered by the last snowstorm - 20" of very dense snow, that bonded wonderfully to the previous man made snow, and filled in every nook and cranny, and drifted very little. The storm boosted the trail count from 19 to 63, making half the mountain open. Even glades were open, and there was very little base before this storm.
I got to ski with Brian Cohen and his family. Brian has hosted NELSAP.org for about 20 years. He was previously living out in Idaho but is now living the Capital District, and had never met him before, until last year when I happened to be grabbing lunch midweek at Nine Pin Cider in Albany, and he saw my car (with the NELSAP plate), totally at random.
It's been great this year with my new work schedule, having weekends off. Lots more friends to ski with at Gore that are passholders, or just bumping into at random. Gore has a bit more of a feel of a local/indy ski area than you would expect for a ski area it's size (no hotel or condos directly on ski trails), and falls into that rare category of a state owned ski area with a huge operation.
So back to the skiing...I gave Gore a lot of credit for being generous with rope drops. There were a lot of trails that were open that aren't open even all that often with the lack of natural snow the last few years...like Powder Pass or Twin Fawns. Other trails like expert Chatiemac and Hawkeye were open, though they got skied off quickly. Uncas was in particularly good shape, including Lower Uncas, which now has tower guns and which used to be rarely open either.
While the parking lots were fairly full (I even rode the shuttle for the first time, even though I arrived at 815), lift lines were minimal, and the crowds were spread out.
I do expect that this Friday's non-frozen event with wind and warmth will knock the trails back to only the snowmaking ones by this weekend, but it won't melt all the snow, and it should help for a base when the natural snow returns.
Some photos:
The gondola from Foxlair. I know I've taken this picture a million times, but the combination of the fresh snow, cliffs, distant mountains and the gondola makes for a classic shot.
The summit, from Uncas. Always stunning in fresh snow.
The view down Lower Uncas
The view up Lower Uncas
Little Dipper with 100% natural snow
Morning sun on Twister
North Quad from natural Powder Pass
Woodchuck trail (natural)
Dell (natural)
Cloud and the High Peaks Quad (not yet open for the season)
