This past season was the unofficial “year of the snowmaker.” Snowmaking systems were pushed to the limit. At Gore, there was a somewhat fortuitous coincidence in this regard: a major snowmaking upgrade took place in the summer of 2011. The mountain added 160 high efficiency guns designed for precisely what the season dictated — constant resurfacing at marginal temperatures.
We recently had a few minutes to sit with Mike Pratt, the general manager at Gore. I asked him a few questions about the season past, plans for the summer and the future beyond.
NYSkiBlog: Mike the 2011-12 season was obviously challenging in the east and across the US. How did it compare for Gore?
Mike Pratt: For starters, the season was a short. We were open for 111 days this season, compared to last year when we spun the lifts 137 days total. We had a late start and our earliest finish since I’ve been at Gore.
This summer Gore is planning to expand use the mountain’s facilities and terrain to attract more visitors to North Creek. From Memorial Day to Labor Day the Northwoods Gondola will operate from noon to 3pm on weekends. In addition, the gondola will run seven days a week from July 7 through September 3, 2012.
The lift will serve 1700 feet of downhill mountain biking. Gondola hours are structured to allow convenient access for passengers along the Saratoga North Creek railroad. The newly renovated Gear Source on Ordway Lane in North Creek will serve as a primary source of rental mountain bikes in town.
In addition there are plans to offer interpretive hikes, guided hikes from the summit of Bear Mountain, and a climbing wall on the lawn in front of the base lodge. Other base area attractions will include food and entertainment on Friday afternoon/evenings in July and August. A weekly cooking class is being considered, in addition to instruction or camps on mountain biking and photography.
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