GORE - 4/3/11

You couldn't have asked for a better Spring day at Gore.  Temperatures probably got up to near 50, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.  Coverage was excellent with nearly everything open.

I started off the day on Burnt Ridge to avoid the relatively long line at the gondola, and to get some runs on Sagamore before it softened up too much.  The rest of the day I stayed up top, sampling a variety of runs-- on and off piste.  Everything skied extremely well, with the exception of a few areas off of the High Peaks chair that were scratchy in spots due to the northern exposure.  I couldn't get enough of Rumor and Lies.  It was a blast to be able to plunge directly down their headwalls, loose corn snow tumbling down the mountain.

Sounds like we had the same strategy yesterday:  warm up on BR, then move to the summit.  We skied off the HP chair a bit, mainly in the woods over there, but mostly skied the Straightbrook chair.  Maybe you're in one of my photos from yesterday, here's one from Lies:

We drove up on Thursday night to avoid the incoming "storm" that was supposed to hit on Thursday night.  The weekend was all about getting the wife some turns since she has been out all year with her "condition".  I was also looking forward to getting some runs in with our 2 1/2 year old daughter, Ashley, but beyond that I had no big expectations since I got my fun in earlier in the year.  After a rough night of baby waking up every two hours, We woke up on Friday "morning" to a wintry mix of flurries and light rain in North Creek.  So much for the big event:(.  The wife doesn't ride in the rain so we decided to do a leisurely brunch at Common Roots and head for the hill.  We arrived at the mountain sometime just after noon and decided to take the plunge and buy our season passes for next year.  We also stopped in the ski school to get a lesson lined up for Ashley on Saturday.  Got the family settled in the lodge and decided to take Ashley up for a "quick" run before we let the wife get a few runs in. A little over an hour later we made down Ruby and Sunway to the bottom.  It took some coaxing along the way along with promises of gummy worms, snowball fights, breaks, etc. but we both made it in one piece.  It was still a wet mist outside at the bottom so the wife decided we should head for the bar and grab a drink and call it a day.  I was surprised at how many people were hanging out in the Tannery on a Friday afternoon in April.  It was pretty busy.  We finished off with a great dinner at Basil and Wicks.  They have an awesome Friday night Fish Fry for $15 (scallops, shrimp, fish, and chips) which I got and the Hawkeye salad for $10 which the wife got with blue cheese, edamame, bacon, egg, and a really good dressing.  We tried a side of their blue cheese dressing too which I have to say rivals the old blue cheese that Trappers used to serve before the Copperfield shut down.  Oh yeah - they have Ubu on tap which I always like.

On Saturday we got a fairly early start for Ashley's lesson at 9:30.  We set up base camp in the lodge and the wife set out for a few runs.  When Ashley was done and the wife came back in I set out for a few runs myself.  The wife decided to get a lesson at 1:30 so I only had about an hour to burn.  The last time we were up was early January so I didn't get to hit BR at all.  I took the Gondi up and hit Twister to the worm hole.  Twister was in great shape with mid winter like groomed at least halfway down where it turned into light mashed.  Over to Cedars which had hardly any tracks on it.  I don't think many people even knew BR was open.  I had to pole it a little to get over there, but it wasnt' too slow.  At the top I contemplated Barkeater, but since it was really only my second or third day on skis this year I decided against it.  I took one run down Sagamore which got a little thick along the last third and then bombed Echo back over to the base so the wife could get to her lesson.  That did it for me on Saturday.

Sunday was much the same with a little later arrival.  I got first run in with Ashley and we decided to come down Twister since it was in such good shape the day before.  We had a blast blowing back and forth down the trail.  She is still mostly along for the ride, but she gets the concept of "pizza" and likes turning back and forth.  We hit some pretty heavy mashed and the bottom and she did a few face plants - one with a cry of joy and another with a cry of agony.  By the time we got to the Arena it was just too cut up to keep her on her feet so I picked her up and rode the rest of the way.  I got a run in solo on Uncas (pics below) and then came down Fairview (sheet of ice even on April 3) to Showcase which was in great shape as well.  The wife finished up the day with a few more runs on the front side.  All in all a great weekend.  We'll be back for more this weekend.