Gore Mountain Conditions

Monday is a "Will I or Won't I" decision for me.... Living an hour away I do take a look at the EXPECTED Report. What lifts and trails are open is important to me. I have made great advances since my return to skiing, BUT still do not ski much beyond green trails. Well tonight (5:30 PM) the report says 9 out of 15 lifts open. Then goes ahead and green checks all 15 lifts. Not very helpful. So should I get my gear together... Then wait for the 8 AM UPDATED Report. If still not accurate then should I just stay home? Try again on Wednesday since the weather should be unchanged? Or I suppose I could decide tonight to skip Monday entirely because of the inaccurate Snow Report? The stresses of retirement...
I would literally give a pinky to be retired and an hour from Gore.
 
So recap of the day after my earlier posts...

Pulled in to the bowl at 8:10. Checked snow report at 8:15. Finished gearing up and was on Hudson at 8:20. Did three laps on a hardpacked 46er before the sign came out that BR was closed. This was at roughly 8:50. Checked report again and it was "updated" with a timestamp of 8AM that BR was on hold. Ski patrol had no idea when or if it would be fixed and said "didn't look promising". Did another a Moxam which was hardpacked before spotting a shuttle in the parking lot from the top of 46er and booked it down. Just made it as it left. To the drivers credit he hauled up the access road and didn't pick any one else up. This was at roughly 9:40.

Got on the gondi and went to Topridge. Good but needed a bit more sun to be primo. Kill Kare glades were next and great coverage but very slick. Hawkeye to start my summit runs was good. Lies was co-ROTD on skiers right side which was loaded with scraped snow and lapped it a bunch. Open Pit to Lower Darby was also good and did that twice.

Went back to Topridge around noon and it was the other co-ROTD with nice soft but not too soft snow. Lapped it until 1:15 when I went back to check out BR which appeared to have opened around 10:30. Did a Barkeater which was ok but getting very slick then headed to my car at the bowl.

Overall another good day. Didn't seem as crowded as yesterday. Shuttle bus driver said attendance yesterday was 6100.

My main beef with Gore today, and I preface this by saying I very much like Gore, is that they didn't timely update the report to reflect the lift issues and when they did backdated it to appear it was on there at 8 AM. It wasn't there at 8:15 and I know it was refreshed when I checked it. I get lift issues are unpredictable but having a timely updated ski report shouldn't be a monolithic task yet it is for Gore. Most other mountains update there's at 6 or 7 AM. For people trying to decide which mountain to go to that live more than a half hour away a late report update is a big deal especially during a snow storm. Likewise even for people close to the mountain especially in the case of the ski bowl because if the lift issues are going to strand you there you would likely suck up the pain of dealing with parking at the main base. These are pretty basic functions of a ski area and one that Gore has consistently failed at.
 
So recap of the day after my earlier posts...

Pulled in to the bowl at 8:10. Checked snow report at 8:15.
they didn't timely update the report to reflect the lift issues and when they did backdated it to appear it was on there at 8 AM. It wasn't there at 8:15 and I know it was refreshed when I checked it. I get lift issues are unpredictable but having a timely updated ski report shouldn't be a monolithic task yet it is for Gore. Most other mountains update there's at 6 or 7 AM. For people trying to decide which mountain to go to that live more than a half hour away a late report update is a big deal especially during a snow storm. Likewise even for people close to the mountain especially in the case of the ski bowl because if the lift issues are going to strand you there you would likely suck up the pain of dealing with parking at the main base. These are pretty basic functions of a ski area and one that Gore has consistently failed at.
 
Ways to eliminate skating from Gore.
Other options I missed?
Be a Polestar.
I don’t mind the poling, it’s good for the upper body and saves legs.
If it’s sticky ya ain’t gonna be cold.
My style of “skating" is like the man in black.
Carry some speed safely.
Westerlies help on Cedars. Northerlies on Ruby.
 
Curious about yer route.
Looks like Gondi to:
Topridge to North to HP to SB to Hudson to BR to Bear.
Was yer route based on sno conditions, lift(whatever), what the sun does or other things?

Most of yer runs were on BR.
Anything special regarding trail conditions as ya proceeded?
What’d ya like the best on one of yer best days and/or was it best cause ya could go to all the trails/pods ya skied? I doubt ya snowboarded but may have.

I plan my day to move through each section and do each traverse only once. Usually, I go in the order of Gondola, Topridge, Straightbrook, High Peaks, North, and that covers the entire Upper Mountain, usually with a lunch break at the saddle between High Peaks and North. Then after I finish North, I go to Burnt Ridge or the Ski Bowl, and work my way through all the trails on both sections. If the bottom of Echo is open, then I'll cut in that way and ski Burnt Ridge first. If not, then I take Pipeline and do the Ski Bowl first. Yesterday, I did the ski bowl first.

Yesterday, Straightbrook was abnormally crowded in the morning, so I did another cycle through the trails on Topridge to see if maybe people would head elsewhere. Since it had only gotten even more crowded, I went to North instead, and decided to wait until after lunch to do Straightbrook and High Peaks. Since I have lunch early, at 11, by the time I was back out, both summit lifts were line-free.

As for the number of runs I took on Burnt Ridge, I just did 2 laps each on all 3 trails.
 
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I plan my day to move through each section and do each traverse only once. Usually, I go in the order of Gondola, Topridge, Straightbrook, High Peaks, North, and that covers the entire Upper Mountain, usually with a lunch break at the saddle between High Peaks and North. Then after I finish North, I go to Burnt Ridge or the Ski Bowl, and work my way through all the trails on both sections. If the bottom of Echo is open, then I'll cut in that way and ski Burnt Ridge first. If not, then I take Pipeline and do the Ski Bowl first. Yesterday, I did the ski bowl first.

Yesterday, Straightbrook was abnormally crowded in the morning, so I did another cycle through the trails on Topridge to see if maybe people would head elsewhere. Since it had only gotten even more crowded, I went to North instead, and decided to wait until after lunch to do Straightbrook and High Peaks. Since I have lunch early, at 11, by the time I was back out, both summit lifts were line-free.

As for the number of runs I took on Burnt Ridge, I just did a 2 laps each on all 3 trails.
Thanks for yer feedback on strategy Sno. (y)
A great thing about Gore when everything's in play, ya can plot yer best pods. It changes with time.
 
Monday is a "Will I or Won't I" decision for me.... Living an hour away I do take a look at the EXPECTED Report. What lifts and trails are open is important to me. I have made great advances since my return to skiing, BUT still do not ski much beyond green trails. Well tonight (5:30 PM) the report says 9 out of 15 lifts open. Then goes ahead and green checks all 15 lifts. Not very helpful. So should I get my gear together... Then wait for the 8 AM UPDATED Report. If still not accurate then should I just stay home? Try again on Wednesday since the weather should be unchanged? Or I suppose I could decide tonight to skip Monday entirely because of the inaccurate Snow Report? The stresses of retirement...
Decided to skip Monday. The updated report was what I kind of expected, would have been fine. But now I will wait and see for a Wednesday trip. Same conditions and I expect the same snow report with 9 of 15 running. Enjoy.
 
Monday is a "Will I or Won't I" decision for me.... Living an hour away I do take a look at the EXPECTED Report. What lifts and trails are open is important to me. I have made great advances since my return to skiing, BUT still do not ski much beyond green trails. Well tonight (5:30 PM) the report says 9 out of 15 lifts open. Then goes ahead and green checks all 15 lifts. Not very helpful. So should I get my gear together... Then wait for the 8 AM UPDATED Report. If still not accurate then should I just stay home? Try again on Wednesday since the weather should be unchanged? Or I suppose I could decide tonight to skip Monday entirely because of the inaccurate Snow Report? The stresses of retirement...
The Sunday afternoon “Monday” report was literally the Sunday report with minimal edits, showing everything that was open on Sunday as still open today. The revised report shows 9 lifts, not 14, a pretty normal Monday . But “ The Hudson Chair will be open, so venture to the classic trails at the North Creek Ski Bowl” is still in the narrative at the top.
Whoever prepares the afternoon next-day report needs some in service training or a pink slip.
 
So recap of the day after my earlier posts...

Pulled in to the bowl at 8:10. Checked snow report at 8:15. Finished gearing up and was on Hudson at 8:20. Did three laps on a hardpacked 46er before the sign came out that BR was closed. This was at roughly 8:50. Checked report again and it was "updated" with a timestamp of 8AM that BR was on hold. Ski patrol had no idea when or if it would be fixed and said "didn't look promising". Did another a Moxam which was hardpacked before spotting a shuttle in the parking lot from the top of 46er and booked it down. Just made it as it left. To the drivers credit he hauled up the access road and didn't pick any one else up. This was at roughly 9:40.

Got on the gondi and went to Topridge. Good but needed a bit more sun to be primo. Kill Kare glades were next and great coverage but very slick. Hawkeye to start my summit runs was good. Lies was co-ROTD on skiers right side which was loaded with scraped snow and lapped it a bunch. Open Pit to Lower Darby was also good and did that twice.

Went back to Topridge around noon and it was the other co-ROTD with nice soft but not too soft snow. Lapped it until 1:15 when I went back to check out BR which appeared to have opened around 10:30. Did a Barkeater which was ok but getting very slick then headed to my car at the bowl.

Overall another good day. Didn't seem as crowded as yesterday. Shuttle bus driver said attendance yesterday was 6100.

My main beef with Gore today, and I preface this by saying I very much like Gore, is that they didn't timely update the report to reflect the lift issues and when they did backdated it to appear it was on there at 8 AM. It wasn't there at 8:15 and I know it was refreshed when I checked it. I get lift issues are unpredictable but having a timely updated ski report shouldn't be a monolithic task yet it is for Gore. Most other mountains update there's at 6 or 7 AM. For people trying to decide which mountain to go to that live more than a half hour away a late report update is a big deal especially during a snow storm. Likewise even for people close to the mountain especially in the case of the ski bowl because if the lift issues are going to strand you there you would likely suck up the pain of dealing with parking at the main base. These are pretty basic functions of a ski area and one that Gore has consistently failed at.
That sounds ruff. We chose not to try BR yesterday because the lines on Saturday were a little long. The BR secret is no longer a secret I guess. Had a spectacular morning skiing Top Ridge, Hawkeye, Lies, Showcase and Twister. Gore really is most enjoyable from 8:15-11. Cars were still parked all the way down the access road about halfway to H it seemed. I guess first sunny days in a month will do that.
 
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