Return to the Mountains: Back to the MAX

Since my fateful and educational collision with a tree at Stratton in early December, I watched my social media feeds with a mixture of jealousy and anticipation as the east got some good early season snow. Surely, I thought, Ullr’s bloodthirst was slaked due to my offering, and he was preparing the mountains for my return.

Then, right on schedule, came the January thaw. All of that glorious fluff gone thanks to two days of rain and near-60-degree weather. I began to dread the ice that would follow as I now fear ice in a way I hadn’t before. But as I kept an eye on the forecast and saw that some areas were due to get up to eight inches of fresh snow, I grew excited and decided to head up north for the first time in six weeks.

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Gore Mountain Deep Freeze Holiday

It’s not news that we spent the holiday in Johnsburg NY.  We do it every year. On other hand, the extreme weather this past week and the great skiing were noteworthy. The intense cold —especially for those of us with kids—was near the limit of what we could handle on a windy and open lift.

sunrise on the yellow trail
First Tracks on the Yellow Trail

For us skiing in the trees was a solution. At Gore and in our woods, the trees were a haven from wind offering exercise, warmth and pow. But I’m jumping ahead. First, the snow.

In the southern Adirondacks, snow fell right before the holiday, with a nice mix of precip types. On December 22 we had 8 inches of new snow, followed by 1/2 inch of cold rain on the next day. Then, starting on Christmas Day, we got another ten inches of new snow.

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Gore’s New GM: Interview with “Bone” Bayse

Bone Bayse Gore Mountain GMThere was a lot of excitement in North Creek this summer when Mike Pratt, the General Manager at Gore, was appointed the permanent head of the Olympic Regional Development Authority and James “Bone” Bayse was appointed to Gore’s GM position. We asked Bone if he’d be willing talk to us and he graciously consented.


NYSkiBlog: When did you first come to Johnsburg? What brought you here? What keeps you here?

Bone: I had spent some time in the area trying to find work marching in Bicentennial parades, it went pretty good for a while, but that dried up mostly after 1976.

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