The last few years, Gore has become my early season goto mountain. On occasion we’ll get some crazy lake effect that opens up resorts in CNY, but we know we can rely on Gore to be open, by the end of November. A little elevation and a few degrees of latitude have a big impact on snowmaking and snow retention.
While the rain washed us out last week, Gore held on. Midweek skiing is great work if you can get it; Cam and I decided to drive up together early Friday morning.
It was 6am when I pulled into Stewart’s to meet Cam. The sign was like a lighthouse guiding me through the fog to a hot cup of coffee.
We grabbed essential supplies, loaded his gear into my car and continued our drive into Adirondack Park. Two hours later, we pulled into a parking spot right up front.
Soon after, the gondola started spinning, Cam and I rode to the top of Bear Mountain for our first run. Both of us were looking for some conditioning; getting our legs ready for the season. We started with a long cruise down Ruby Run then on to Sunway.
Ruby Run is the green trail that allows beginners to ride the gondola. We worked to carry speed and rocket out of the hairpin turn through the saddle, one of Gore’s famous flat spots. The first run of the day I barely made it with my overly waxed board (who scrapes wax?) and tight legs. By the third run I was blasting through the flat.
Warmed up and looking for something steeper, we headed down Showcase. About half way down we pulled up, our legs were screaming. Two patrollers stopped and “thanked us” for not stopping in the middle of the trail. We joked around for a bit, and he offered us ski area stickers. Cam accepted, and we became the joke, as we were handed Alta stickers. Patrol cackled as they skied off. I wish I had a pic of Cams face at that moment.
Down at the base, we headed into the Tannery pub and ran into some of my coworkers. It’s a pretty common occurrence for me to see coworkers on the slopes. It certainly adds to the coolness of work, even if most of them need two sticks. After lunch we headed out to ride the other open lifts.
Under the North quad, Tahawus and Sleeping Bear were open. Despite the uphill speed of the North quad, these trails are some of my favorites, as they really embody classic New England riding with their narrow tree lined trails.
The other lift spinning was the Top Ridge triple. By the time we got to the open expert terrain it was pretty scraped. We found good snow down the sides of the trail and powered our way to the bottom.
On the way back to the top of Bear Mountain, Cam and I agreed, we didn’t have much left in the tank. The Adirondack Express is the fastest way up and down, so decided on a few more cruisers down Sunway. Never call last run, so when we made it the base, I tapped out while Cam went for one more.
Back at the car, I got my gear loaded before sitting back in the folding chair. With my legs on fire I sat back and took it all in, satisfied. The bar isn’t too high: nothing hurt and I got a little more early season conditioning.
Interesting article. Like how you give a visual of the experience. I enjoy your writing.
Nice report – nothing like getting in those first turns of the season to loosen up the legs. I agree with the previous comment – this is a very well written piece. Finally, as so many of us wind up at a Stewart’s on our ski trips, maybe they should become a sponsor of the NY Ski Blog.
I love it. You kept the article simple and inspiring. I am on the board of the GE Ski club in Utica, NY. I would love to go skiing together sometime.
I love seeing pictures of Gore that I didn’t take.
Conditions look solid! Nice work Robert.
And yea, Utica rocks!
Nice report! We haven’t been to Gore in years, but we got the Frequent Skier pass, which makes in incredibly cheap for us 70+ folks. It’s not a bad ride from Rochester-about 4 hours, so we plan to get up there a few times this winter.
Gore has become a favorite from our Syracuse base. Improvements have made it one of the best family mt in the northeast.
North Quad is slowwwww! Love Gore