Gore Mountain: Good Friday

When Gore is one of NY’s last men standing — and you have a season pass, and a beautiful day off, and you’re a wannabe ski writer — you’re going to ski it and write about it. That’s how it goes. More Gore.

Foxlair

This spring there have been rumors at Gore about pushing the season to the first weekend in May. I haven’t seen this done at Gore, since 2008, when I started keeping track. Then evidence of a conspiracy circulated on the internet. There it was, a digital reality, closing day, Sunday May 1.

Gore has blown a lot of snow this winter and it has extended the season.  Most obvious is “Mount Gondi” — the snowmaking remains of the trial run for next year’s University Games.

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Royal Mountain Powder Day

Sitting on my porch in shorts today, it’s hard to believe a week ago I was riding in a big storm. Last week was the best of the season for me, snowboarding six days in a row.

Wednesday and Thursday was the finale of night skiing at Woods Valley. I made my last turns under the lights before heading to Gore on Friday with coworkers.

Then I set my sights on Royal Mountain for the incoming powder on Saturday.

To finish the week I headed south to the Catskills for Belleayre on Sunday and a private rental at Plattekill on Monday.

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Whiteface Storm Ski

Last week I was going through my weather routine, studying the medium-term forecast, looking for answers to the same four questions. Is it going to snow? What is the best day to ski? Can I get the day off? And finally… where should I ski?

driving to Lake Placid

For several days, the GFS was highlighting a storm that would slide across New York on Saturday. The timing and intensity of the snowfall favored a Friday evening overnight stay near the mountains. So yea, where to ski?

The forecast had Plattekill close to the boundary with warm air, with the greatest potential for snow, and some chance of rain. Both Gore and Whiteface, farther to the north, were safer from the rain, with less potential for snow.

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