ORDA’s Ski3 Opens Early

Opening weekend in New York is always a special time. After months of summer heat we anticipate autumn’s first frost. Skiers often get a first glimpse of the winter season once the resorts fire up their snow guns.

Whiteface view from the base

In a typical year, Whiteface works to open on Black Friday. While this fall hasn’t been exactly cold, the temperatures and humidity aligned this past week to allow each of the Ski3 mountains to start making snow on limited terrain.

Whiteface, the tallest of the three, opened up 1.3 miles of trail with 1,840’ of vertical that ran from the top of the Summit Quad from Riva Ridge down through Paron’s Run, over to Lower Northway and finally exiting off of Summit Express.

Continue reading

Gore Mountain: Closing Out NY

I’m not sure if it’s ever happened, or when the last time it happened was, but in 2024, Gore was the last ski area open in New York, for the weekend of April 20th and 21st.

I skied at Gore the previous weekend and coverage was starting to get thin. Still, after every other ski area in New York State had called it quits, Gore held on to the hope of reopening.

Gore gondola

Watching the webcams during the week, I saw Cloud getting very thin, so I wasn’t sure how they’d do it, but sure enough, on Thursday, it was announced that they would be reopening for one final weekend.

Continue reading

Gore Mountain: Snacking on a Donut

The rain has been relentless. On my last two drives to the mountains I found myself doing my best Brook Benton baritone. It helps me adjust to a March that looks like April. Still, I haven’t given up on winter. Last week, with a chance of snow in NY, and a bit of now or neverism in my mind, I started making plans.

driving in the rain
Did you ever feel like it was a rainin’ all over the world?

I skipped skiing Saturday, convincing Scott to roll with me to our camp in the Adirondacks that night. More accurately I convinced Scott to roll the dice with me, and ski Gore on Sunday. When I left NJ in early afternoon, I was driving up in a dreary winter downpour at 41 degrees.

Continue reading