I counted 150″ of snow at Gore Mountain this year. That was with almost nothing after Feb 20. While that was an average total, what was below average was the late season – almost no snow. What was better than average was the lack of multiple debilitating rain/meltdown situations. I’d bet that the number of days the trees were skiable this season was above average.
I’ve been accused of being too positive and not giving solid beta on conditions. The problem is that when I’m skiing I am usually totally pysched, an I almost always end up having a good time. The average expert alpine skier might be bored out of his/her mind doing what I do. Driving up the interstate, lighting a fire, waking up before dawn, making coffee, driving over, and skiing as hard as I can all day long. Coming home for beer and blog. Just typing that out is fun. I’m a teleskier – 800 feet of vertical is fine for me. Slow lifts are great. Gore’s Dark Side has even less real vertical and it’s probably my favorite part of the mountain. I understand that my lack of any need for variety puts me in the minority.
I understand why expert alpiners would choose other mountains. I have a hell of a time keeping up with expert alpine skiers. But the act of skiing for me is magic. I still can’t believe that I can even do it. It may have something to do with starting at age 40. Every time I get my skis around that next tree, I smile inside. I’m probably not going to change my style. My reports are probably going to continue to be on the positive side. I’m just a cross country skier who learned to make parallel turns and took it over to Gore, to get some early season sliding. Now I’m hooked.