Gore Mountain: Right Place, Right Time

I thought I had done pretty good getting to Gore by 8:40 AM but no; the upper lots were already full. I dumped Junior and our gear near the lodge and parked in Lot E. Once our tickets were squared away, we headed up the hill in a full gondola cabin. A few of our fellow snow enthusiasts chatted with us about plans to ski out west while sipping their morning coffee.

It smelled really good — a hint of chocolate maybe? One of them confirmed that they had mixed in a shot of hot chocolate. You have to make sure it’s just a shot or it’ll be too watery, he explained. I was only half in the conversation. My eyes were focused outside, checking out the snow.

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Bolton Valley: Vermont’s ATV Indy

Thanks to some strategic scheduling, I found myself in northern Vermont with some free time on Friday. After talking with Harvey and checking the Indy Pass resort list, I loaded up my car early and made the short trip to Bolton Valley.

As I approached, I started getting excited. It’s the kind of mountain road that feels like it will lead you to a promised land. Bolton reveals itself slowly; a few miles up the access road, you’ll pass the quaint Timberline Lodge. I continued on to the base lodge a few minutes further up.

Rolling in to the main base area, I saw other early-bird AT skiers. Bolton has a friendly uphill policy, and quite a few locals take advantage of it for early morning workouts.

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NYSkiBlog’s 8th Annual Meeting

This 8th Annual Meeting recap was not supposed to be authored by me. I’ve already got two front page posts in a row, how much more can you take? I’m posting this one because it’s personal.

shovel snow on the ramp

It was no coincidence that I went all out last week, with three day trips in seven days. Two of those trips were the farthest I’d ever gone for a single day. On Sunday Scottski and I round tripped Gore, and on Wednesday we did it again to McCauley.

As I turned the page on another year, the multi-faceted “birthday effect” was again in play. My motivation to chase snow is even higher on my birthday. At the same time, those who count on me at home are more understanding about my disappearance into the mountains.

view from Upper Face
The Face

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