The Ski Life Blog

Without an official announcement about Opening Day, Gore’s status was a mystery last week. On Tuesday, there was a story published that had all three New York state ski areas opening on the 23rd. It seemed to catch many by surprise.

With most of the 20 inches recorded season to date still on the ground, and other mountains to the south, east and west slated to open, it seem likely that Gore could and would open too. Finally, on Thursday the governor said “make it so.”

Friday I headed north and stopped at my traditional spot, the Sbarro in Sloatsburg on the New York Thruway. I saw an excited first post from new member of the forum: “Gore is opening the summit!!”

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Warren Miller. The name says it all. He’s a beloved figure that pulls together the modern era of skiing. The man spent his whole life making ski movies that brought skiers together into a big, goofy, welcoming community. The original ski bum was the sport’s greatest evangelist.

We lost Warren this year. He hasn’t controlled the company that bears his name for years but his spirit and legacy live on in Warren Miller Entertainment’s recent films and in the wider community of ski-filmmakers and snow sports enthusiasts. I’ve been a big fan of Warren Miller movies for a long time so I’m always viewing WME’s products with a critical eye, trying to decide if they’re living up to the standard set by Warren.

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I remember the Valentines Day storm in 2007 — or more accurately — I remember skiing the snow when I got there, after it ended. The storm dumped 40 inches of snow in the southern Adirondacks and the skiing was excellent for quite a while afterward.

The event was magnified by the fact that the 2006-2007 season — up until that point — had been a mostly a bust in New York. Probably just as important was that the big storm was followed by a trio of good cold storms over the next several weeks, extending the good skiing into April. What started as a washout was remembered as a pretty good season. At least I remember it so.

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