Gore Mountain Conditions

[Milo Maltbie]

I don't think parking attendants is a big ask…

Be careful of what you wish for. There’s lots of parking in the main lot and D lot in driving lanes and between rows. Attendant’s probably wouldn’t allow that. All the attendants for the World University Games didn’t help much. Gore is understaffed everywhere. The parking lots are the least of the problem.

mm

 

[Milo Maltbie]

The morning red snake seems to be a more common occurrence now. I think the cause of this is people hesitating at the upper/Lot E decision point. It's impossible to tell if the upper lot is full or not. If you go up there and it is full, then you'll circle around and still end up in Lot E. Being early helps, but if everyone is early, then no one is early.

The lack of any organization of the lift lines is a huge problem that I've experienced on previous trips. No matter how long the lines are, you still see repeated 2s and 3s going up the quad chairs. They used to have alternating or front row style queues with singles lines at all major lifts. Now only the gondola does and the cabins still go up half full. It's been getting worse for years. When they added RFID and especially after covid, they just stopped caring about how long the lines are and whether they are loading efficiently.

They loaded the gondola with 8 for the first ride yesterday but once the line shrank it was fewer.
We were at the end of that crazy line at Burnt Ridge also but by the time we were on the chair it was considerably shorter. We did a lap through Barkeater and it was mostly gone, probably over to the North quad.

When there’s snow in your backyard in NJ there’s gonna be crowds at Gore. The bigger weekend issue is that the groomed trails are crowded and get scraped early. More lift capacity will only make that worse. The trees and bumped up trails are fine. The solution for that is to cut down more glades and to groom more, but who wants that?

mm

 

[tirolski]

I drove through the storm on Saturday from Saratoga and still got my spot right next to the lift. Everybody needs help not just a NYS ski area that doesn't have the luxury of hiring foreign workers and only has a small pool of potential employees to pick from, like destination resorts. It's Gore, the mountain that people continue to complain about but keep coming to...complain. I was on the first chair on the Hudson Chair with a lifer who complained all morning despite getting first tracks on many trails and we managed to stay away from any crowds. He left at lunch time and said it was probably the best ski day he has had in a while(and he skis nearly every day...at Gore). If you don't like the quirkieness of Gore, go to Stratton, Stowe, Okemo or the Beast. I love my home mountain and Saturday was the best day of the year for me. Bell to Bell, wanted to, but my back and knees would not have lasted long yesterday. I'll be back in the next day or two...

I don’t complain about Gore.Always had a good time skiing there, Some of ORDA’s decisions, yup.
Gore can wear ya out, in a good way.

 

[SudsNBumps]

Gore isn't a tiny mom and pop bump, it's a large sprawling operation that makes millions in revenue (and receives more from our tax dollars), and advertises heavily in the tri state area.

Congrats that you live in Saratoga and can get there early on a pow Day. I drive 8 hours to ski gore and pay for lodging and food. I don't think parking attendants is a big ask - all considered.

There are not enough employees! I grew up downstate and always found a way to get to the mountains early. Huntah was my Kmart. Platte and Highmount were my go tos. If you are staying in a lodge close by a mountain, then you have no excuse for not getting to the mountain early. If you want to sleep in and arrive late to a mountain on the weekend, Gore and Whiteface are not for you. Belle might be because they have a shit ton of parking. At Gore if you show up late, park and take the shuttle...we do have those. 7:45 is the old 8:15 as a seemingly wise old skier told me. We currently have the best conditions of 2023, get there early or expect to park in the lower lots.

 

[not2brite]

Is it just me or does the RFID gate at Burnt Ridge Quad remind anyone else about the Toll Gate scene from Blazing Saddles??

 

[snoloco]

When they first went RFID, Burnt Ridge had a 4 lane gate like it's supposed to. But when they replaced the Sunway double with a quad, it got the 4 lane gate from Burnt Ridge, and Burnt Ridge got the 2 lane gate from the double. It's a huge bottleneck and one of many ways that Gore has designed their lift queues to be as inefficient as possible.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

When they first went RFID, Burnt Ridge had a 4 lane gate like it's supposed to. But when they replaced the Sunway double with a quad, it got the 4 lane gate from Burnt Ridge, and Burnt Ridge got the 2 lane gate from the double. It's a huge bottleneck and one of many ways that Gore has designed their lift queues to be as inefficient as possible.

Also, people like to stand in front of the two gates to wait for friends, instead of just going through the gate and waiting on the inside where there's plenty of room.

 

[Adirondack Johnny]

I heard the issue Saturday was the lots weren't plowed in time. All bs aside, I'm always coming back. It's about the mountain.
Also saw many food service workers busting their ass. Props to them.

 

[Alfredeneumann]

I heard the issue Saturday was the lots weren't plowed in time. All bs aside, I'm always coming back. It's about the mountain.
Also saw many food service workers busting their ass. Props to them.

When a major storm dumps more than a foot of snow from Friday evening through Saturday, there’s no way that all those lots are cleared by 7 am Saturday unless you pay some guys with big loaders to just plow all night. The problem is that those guys have contracts with a whole bunch of other places to do the same thing at the same time. It’s just bad timing. You want to tell the Snow Gods not to do that?

 

[Alfredeneumann]

They loaded the gondola with 8 for the first ride yesterday but once the line shrank it was fewer.
We were at the end of that crazy line at Burnt Ridge also but by the time we were on the chair it was considerably shorter. We did a lap through Barkeater and it was mostly gone, probably over to the North quad.

When there’s snow in your backyard in NJ there’s gonna be crowds at Gore. The bigger weekend issue is that the groomed trails are crowded and get scraped early. More lift capacity will only make that worse. The trees and bumped up trails are fine. The solution for that is to cut down more glades and to groom more, but who wants that?

mm

Don’t even think that, let alone put it in writing.