Gore Conditions (2015 - 2016)

Harvey wrote

MC- you get freeskiing time on Sat at Platty?

My life is "freeskiing"...

See you early Monday morning (if I'm not too hungover)

Smokes. That looks like an EPIC run. Dude. I need to hit that totally- was it open or you ducked lines.  

Sno, just because you like ultra-pasteurized homogenized doesn't mean others shouldn't like organic raw right from the teet.

looks good to me.

It was open but they had it roped off to skiers right with a little gate there to go through with the black flag next to it and the ski patrol was apparently there, warning people of the danger before they shoved off (according to others).  Black flag was enough for me!  

Whole new ballgame on Lies today, no lectures.

After yesterdays pics I decided I had to give it a go. I was there in the AM, cashed in one of my chits. I skied it early a few times, one run I saw this tele guy in black with a fanny back and NYSKIBLOG skis - I figured he was just a poser

Crowds became an issue, lots of gapers so I left the mountain early and it was becoming ruts and rocks anyway.

We need some Ma-natch.

Who's going to be around tomorrow? Thinking about heading up but I'd be flying solo.  

Can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with the kid.  Blow the snow on Sagamore, echo, etc.  Why waste the time, money and effort for the bragging rights of the skiing 1%.  Bring the snow to the people! Spread the white wealth! Free the snow!!!!

There's a difference between making the tactical decision not to blow (maybe Rumor) now and to permanently alter the trail. If the only goal is quick coverage eliminate any steep trail.

Wait what? Oh yea some people like steep trails. Well some people like big boulders too.

"Come to Stratton! All our boulders have been removed."

Back to conditions... got a little nuclear burst as the wind has picked up.

Awesome.  That looks like a trail w character!  

Looks like 2+ inches or so overnight at 1900. Snow looks to be over for now? Seeing stars.

Whiteface reporting 7 at the summit, so hopefully Gore got more up high.

I got lucky on my warmup run catching the rope drop on Wild Air yesterday and ripped the 2-3" of fairy dust all the way back to the base.  If I had realized how bulletproof the base was underneath I think I may have skied a little more conservatively, but ignorance is bliss, right?  

Took the gondi up and gave Topridge a go.  The same fresh snow was less consistent and my same approach was less productive.  Almost ate it a few times when arcing a turn through nice wind-buffed snow only to move onto the hardpack..

Went up to the summit to see if life was better up there and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the increasing winds elsewhere were absent up high.  Trails were a bit better, but it was still finesse skiing for sure.  Bumped into MattChuck and linked up with him for the rest of the morning.  We did some exploring and moved on to Lies when patrol finally opened it up.  Lies was definitely the pick of the day.  Lots of great snow from the still-blasting guns and so much character compared to nearly everything else I've been skiing so far this year.  



We also caught the rope drop on Chati with crystal clear instructions from Patrol ("Don't duck the rope onto Hawkeye until they've dropped it...") .  Natural cover only for the lower half which was a blast on run one, but proved to be a little sketchy when I returned later in the afternoon.  

Overall.. fun.  But more snow definitely needed in a lot of spots.  Guns were hammering Rumor, Lies, upper Chati and Twister.  A few peeks into the Dark Side while taking Cloud down looked pretty good but I have no idea how close to ready it is.  

So they're blowing snow on Rumor (which few people ever ski) that requires a crapload of snow to open, yet nothing on the North Side, Burnt Ridge, or the Ski Bowl.  If they can't get it open by President's Weekend, they're not opening it at all.  I'd be leaving Rumor to natural cover this year and blowing the crap out of the North Side with Burnt Ridge next on the list.

I'm guessing no North Side by this weekend, but definitely the Dark Side.  It'll be January 24th by the end of the weekend, and still 3 full unopened sections.  In 11-12 they opened Burnt Ridge by about 1/20 and then didn't expand terrain anymore.  

I hope those idiots at Gore read this conditions thread so they can learn the errors of their ways!

snoloco wrote

So they're blowing snow on Rumor (which few people ever ski)...

Ugh. Here's a tip for life, snoloco: Let people have their fun. Just because you don't like Rumor doesn't mean that other people don't. And trust me, these decisions will look a lot better in April when we're all ripping on soft spring bumps and Burnt Ridge and Ski Bowl would probably have been closed anyway.

Anyway, Monday was sweet: a little fresh snow, good skiing, no crowds, good friends, good times. Probably Gore's best day of the season so far. Lies was phenomenal.











Also, radam, Do you have any pics from after that turn?

mattchuck2 wrote

Also, radam, Do you have any pics from after that turn?

Sigh. Fine...

NICE! Looks SO much better than Sunday (overall).

Excellent photos Matt