ORDA's Biggest Mistakes

[x10003q]

In my 10+ years of being an ORDA skier their biggest sin was the butchering of the Dark Side. Between all three mountains it was ORDA's best and most interesting terrain that was easily accessible, and often open. It's what sold me on Gore the first time I ever skied it.

Is this hyperbole?
Do you really think 240 vertical feet of slightly steep terrain is "ORDA's best and most interesting terrain"?
Have you been to Whiteface? I mean Hullabaloo is at least worth 4 good GS turns. There was that funky left right gully at the top of Lower Steilhang. I guess that is something. Just make sure you keep your speed up so you can get to Wood Lots.

They defaced it. And for what? To crowd the upper mountain with more beginner skiers who don't belong up there? There are miles and miles and miles of green and blue terrain for them, they didn't need to to this. What a shame.

Yes, we need to keep all those beginners off the monster gnar that is Cloud and Upper Steilhang. Those trails are so difficult and so special. Although, I do not remember the 'No Beginners Allowed' signs at the entrance to the old Red Gondola that used to go to the summit of Gore. Maybe beginners were better skiers back in the day?

All that being said, what operator of more than one mountain runs things any better?

Most of them?

 

[Milo Maltbie]

Do you really think 240 vertical feet of slightly steep terrain is "ORDA's best and most interesting terrain"?
Have you been to Whiteface? I mean Hullabaloo is at least worth 4 good GS turns. There was that funky left right gully at the top of Lower Steilhang. I guess that is something. Just make sure you keep your speed up so you can get to Wood Lots.

The point is they traded 240 vertical feet of some of the best and most easily accessed terrain (including Whiteface) for 800 horizontal feet of a crowded groomer. When you don't have a huge amount of great terrain, what you do have becomes more valuable. But it's a false choice. They could have extended the lift while still minimizing the damage to the Darkside even if they increased the HP capacity, but they didn't even make the contractor remove the construction debris. You can hardly cut a tree on your own property inside the Blue Line but they can do anything they want to Gore. WTF?

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[x10003q]

The point is they traded 240 vertical feet of some of the best and most easily accessed terrain (including Whiteface) for 800 horizontal feet of a crowded groomer.

Including Whiteface? Now you are just being disingenuous. You know there is better stuff at Gore, let alone WF.
They did not trade anything. Cloud was always up there and beginners were always on it. Gore is a better ski area when both lifts get to the Summit. The High Peaks lift was always going to go back to the top once it was replaced. All this other stuff about crowding in complete nonsense.

When you don't have a huge amount of great terrain, what you do have becomes more valuable. But it's a false choice. They could have extended the lift while still minimizing the damage to the Darkside even if they increased the HP capacity, but they didn't even make the contractor remove the construction debris. You can hardly cut a tree on your own property inside the Blue Line but they can do anything they want to Gore. WTF?

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Replacing the old Frankenstein Double with a new double would have still required the same clearances as a quad and the unfortunate destruction of some fun glades. The 50 plus years of growth would have been cut back no matter what. We have had this discussion many times.

Maybe be thankful that we all got to enjoy 25 extra Dark Side years because of ORDA's inane and erratic lift replacement choices. The Summit/High Peaks lift should have been replaced with a quad as soon as they made the new Gondola decision. Straightbrook was replaced in 1995, the North double was replaced in 1997. The Summit/High Peaks double should have been converted to a quad in the same time frame.

 

[SayvilleSteve]

The point is they traded 240 vertical feet of some of the best and most easily accessed terrain (including Whiteface) for 800 horizontal feet of a crowded groomer.

Actually they traded an unreliable lift that broke down frequently for one that works. Are there more people on Cloud now? I have not noticed this.

 

[Milo Maltbie]

Including Whiteface?

Yup. Nothing at Gore compares to the Slides, but the Slides are never open. Darksides was one o fthe best glades and most often skiable between both mountains.

They did not trade anything. Cloud was always up there and beginners were always on it. Gore is a better ski area when both lifts get to the Summit. Gore is a better ski area when both lifts get to the Summit.

But they did trade most of the Darkside, or worse, they gave it up for nothing. But how is Gore better? More and easier access to upper Cloud, upper Steilhang and the Rumor headwall. So an 800 foor groomer, a natural snow trail that can't supprt much traffic and Rumor. Is easier access to Rumor even a good idea?

Replacing the old Frankenstein Double with a new double would have still required the same clearances as a quad and the unfortunate destruction of some fun glades.

Nope. They replaced one double there without wrecking it. A double would not have required the same cleance, but they cut back more than the minimum clearance for a quad. The Castlerock double was replaced without that much destruction. The only way you can tell that the MRG single was replaced is that you can't smell deisel anymore.

Maybe be thankful that we all got to enjoy 25 extra Dark Side years because of ORDA's inane and erratic lift replacement choices. The Summit/High Peaks lift should have been replaced with a quad as soon as they made the new Gondola decision. Straightbrook was replaced in 1995, the North double was replaced in 1997. The Summit/High Peaks double should have been converted to a quad in the same time frame.

No one disagrees with that.

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[snoloco]

No. They did not replace the towers when the lift was shortened and modified. They had not run heavy equipment in there for 54 years since the original lift was built.

 

[TheGreatAbyss]

I maintain that the Dark Side was one of the best natural terrain areas on ORDA that held a decent snowpack when pretty much every other glade was closed.

How were they able to build the original double 54 years ago without blasting everything to bits? It feels like they did this the cheapest and fastest way possible without giving a damn about what they were loosing.

 

[snoloco]

Because the terrain grew in over 54 years.

 

[TheGreatAbyss]

The rocks grew!?

 

[Milo Maltbie]

The rocks grew!?

Yup. The Dacks are continually rising. It's a geological fact.

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