Gore Conditions (2012-2013)

"Harv- There must be a reason the mountain LOVES to blow so much snow on Uncas. Any insight?"

Gotta keep access to the upper mountain available as long as possible. If there was still skiing up top but folks couldn't get to it, well, that would just be wrong.

I like Uncas more than Topridge or Pine Knot.  Great views, nice pitch and it gives the option to ride Topridge or Straightbrook.

Harvey44 wrote

I like Uncas more than Topridge or Pine Knot.  Great views, nice pitch and it gives the option to ride Topridge or Straightbrook.

Uncas is a great trail - the left side from top to bottom down to Tannery gets little use because everyone is making the B-line to Straightbrook.

I just got home from Gore the AM. Gondola had a mechanical issue and was late opening. Very cold and windy. What was groomed had the top blown off. There was some granular on the edges. The best snow was off the sunway chair although I did not go up top. I did a few laps and then decided to go home and do some work around the house.

Update - my daughter said she skied Rumor all afternoon and that the best snow was up top. Oh well - I guess I blew it.

Due to work and what looked like unpleasantly cold ski weather, I canceled my planned Gore trip for the holiday weekend. After reading your report from today and hearing how bare the ski bowl coverage was, it makes me feel better that I stayed in NJ- actually, never mind. I still don't feel good about that decision.

Skied from about 10-2:30 on Monday.  I ran into a woman on BR chair who had parked at the ski bowl to avoid the crowds.  Apparently because of the skier/boarder cross the place was a zoo:)  Main lodge was less crowded than a regular winter weekend.  Lots of folks said the wind/cold on Sunday was brutal and kept people away.  Lots of windswept hard pack from the saddle down to the gondi and in spots on twister/showcase/quicksilver.  It wasn't ice but it wasn't quite carvable either.  They were putting up the fences on Echo for the states this weekend.  That was pretty cool to see.  They were blowing echo, foxy, and uncas.  I was a little bummed about the conditions on the lower mountain but decided to head up top anyway and that was surprisingly where the best conditions were.  Lapped chatty, hawkeye and lies.  Uncas was also in really nice shape.  They shut rumor from uptop but you could still get on from hawkeye.

Harv I can't believe I missed you Nemo weekend.  Let me know the next time you are up and maybe we can hook up for some runs.

Today the conditions were marvelous in the AM. The grooming on Hullabaloo was excellent, Hawkeye and Rumor were great, the only thing that I didn't care to ski twice was Lower Darby - hard packed bumps, edgeable and you could get a nice rhythm in a few places but the groomers were nicer.

The were setting up snow making on Lies and I think Rumor headwall, getting ready for the final blast of the summit. The mountain is really skiing well now. Depending on how much snow we get tonight, tomorrow could be a really nice day.  

Sarah and I skied late morning to 3 or so.  Chattiemac had the best snow.  I'm not sure if they blow on there, but it seems like you could get an edge and dig in on there, as opposed to some of the snow blown trails like Uncas and we lapped that more than a few times.  No bumps, but Sarah doesn't really enjoy the bumps anyway, which we avoided on Darby, though I was willing to give a try at! ;)  I was surprised at how quiet the mountain was.  I sure am glad we didn't try the weekend or even Monday, because apparently the crowds were pretty big.  Met someone from downstate on the gondola who pointed out that one of the reasons the mountain might be less crowded was due to Hurricane Sandy and the fact that some downstate school districts cancelled the February break to make up for time lost to the storm.  Lower Steilhang was skiable for a change! Hullabaloo was nice, no bumps, and hardly anyone on the dark side.  Chattiemac by far the best of the day.  Foxlair wasn't bad, except for the fact that I think someone was getting a sled ride down for a broken leg for our last ride of the day.  They were getting some snow as we left and we'll see you again tomorrow!

several new inches this morn.one track ahead of me down moxham,farmed it the entire way went back farmed it a second time .found very nice conditions all about the mountain.woods do have a funky layer kinda grabby .very windy nobody around.mountains in very nice shape .blowin lies and rumor,major leek somewhere huge wet spot hawkeye headwaters junction

Heard that Rumor and Lies were fantastic today after basically 2 days of guns. Nice to see them still making snow this late into Presidents Week. Will be up there Saturday & Sunday for a pow day. Should be fun.

yes rumor was sweeeet!

Darkside Shaman wrote

yes rumor was sweeeet!

They blew so much snow on the headwall of Rumor it took on a whole new character. This was dry man made and it filled in the headwall so much that it skied like a mild expert run, You could literally bomb the trail top to bottom - I did several times. Lies was the same way. There is so much snow on these two we could probably ski them till June. The start blowing Chati tonight and with the wind it will provide a nice coating for the glades. Today was brutally cold and windy. The lower mountain was getting very wind blown by the end of the day. The glades are still thin, lots of stuff starting to poke out. I hope we get both of the storms that are in the models.

The mountain is skiing great. Woods are a touch thin in some spots but fun. Rumor is in incredible condition right now. Get there.

I agree mountain is skiing well.  Trees are thin but doable. Traffic volume more important than elevation IMO.

Heard Rumor was tough, but found it very skiable. ML showed us his expert skillz.

Snowed maybe 2 inches today?

Great seeing everyone today.

Cameo by Suds at the top of Rumor.

I tried something differently today...I got in late last night so I slept in and drove to the ski bowl.  10:45 got a spot right near the lift...warmed up on Sagamore and then alternated between Lies and Rumor...I liked them both but I think Lies was better...Then at 2 I changed into my surgically repaired allstars and skied the ski bowl glades until I got kicked out...I have to say 3pm is too early!

fixedheeln and i slid around with the usual suspects                        

noted local

newman.
new snow didnt amount to too much on the traveled places ,a bit more on the less traveled

fixedheeln  on the less traveled

Great day on the hill yesterday.  Cream cheese on top of a base that just softened enough to be very forgiving.  It was soft but not quite a spring day soft.  I did a run down twister and got to the echo cutoff just as they were dropping the rope.  I planned on heading up top early but Sagamore has a spell on me.  I decided to head over and lapped it maybe 5 times.  So nice top to bottom.  No bumps and it never quite warmed up to the point where the snow turned to mashed potatoes.  I headed down bark eater (thin in spots - a little bit of mine field avoidance) to the bowl.  The trails down there were in really great shape too.  Ski bowl glades are a little thin up top but nice after that first pitch.  Saw a sign for "townhouse trails".  Is that new?  I headed down through there for the hell of it.  I can see the allure of ski in ski out if they can ever get that project rolling.  I think it would be great for the ski bowl too.  Some more terrain development down there would be good IMO.  The trail from the townhouses back to the hudson chair is uphill though - not recommended for fixed heelers.  It started to feel real warm down there so headed back to BR around 11.  Down through Tahawus glades which were great.  Lots of cover in there with some fresh.

With racing on Echo I wondered how they were going to get people back out from BR without making them go through Tahawus glades.  Someone with some creative thinking came up with the idea of towing people out Hedges and up Twister to the Saddle.  I didn't take the ride but it looked like everyone was enjoying it - especially the snowmobile drivers.  I saw a train of maybe 8-10 people being pulled out.  Wish I had gotten a picture.  Love that the mountain came up with an innovative solution.  The only downside would have been if someone wiped out.  Would love to see more racing on Echo and less on Twister in the future.  A 50/50 mix would be good.  After lunch I skied up top and on the darkside.  Everything was great.  Woods a little worn but doable.  It seemed to get colder throughout the day so the base was a little firmer but the new snow stayed nice and never got funky.  

Two odd things from the day - what was with the greasy slop coming off the sheaves on many of the lifts?  Deicer?  Also I must have seen 20 people poach powder pass.  Some real balls to do that right under the lift.  I heard ski patrol behind me on the lift yelling at the poachers.  It did look nice, but I couldn't believe how many people were just disregarding the rope.

Danzilla wrote

With racing on Echo I wondered how they were going to get people back out from BR without making them go through Tahawus glades.  Someone with some creative thinking came up with the idea of towing people out Hedges and up Twister to the Saddle.  I didn't take the ride but it looked like everyone was enjoying it - especially the snowmobile drivers.  I saw a train of maybe 8-10 people being pulled out.  Wish I had gotten a picture.  Love that the mountain came up with an innovative solution.

Snowmobile tow ride was the highlight of the Saturday for kids.

That Hedges workroad being steep on top and quite narrow, I wonder if it could be re-graded at a low cost (I dont mean to Saddle, just to Twister)

Danzilla wrote

 I must have seen 20 people poach powder pass.  Some real balls to do that right under the lift.  I heard ski patrol behind me on the lift yelling at the poachers.  It did look nice, but I couldn't believe how many people were just disregarding the rope.

The nerve of some people!

YUKON CORNELIUS wrote

The nerve of some people!

I know I know.  Most of them were snowboarders too - just sayin

It looked so nice in the morning with only a few tracks which I figured were patrol.  I hit Tahawus Glades around 3 and when I was riding back up there were so many tracks I figured they had dropped the rope but it was just poachers.  I've just never seen that many people poach right under a lift.