GORE MOUNTAIN: The 2006 AlpineZone Ski Area Challenge Continues....

[thetrailboss]

Ted Blazer, the CEO and President of the ORDA, which operates Gore Mountain has agreed to take the 2006 Alpine Zone Challenge!!! This is your opportunity to ask questions, offer suggestions, or say some praise to the men and women who are in charge of the Northeast’s Ski Areas. Please post some suggested questions in this thread and we'll select ten to present for official responses.

Also please don't be offended if we edit/change your question for grammar, tone, or some other minor thing. In order to get in all of the questions we MAY merge some questions but we'll do our best to keep the substance of your question. If we don't get your question in, feel free to post a follow up after we get the results...we are encouraging the representatives follow the threads. :wink:

As always, please be respectful of Ted and keep it civil. Also, please refrain from asking specifics about skier visit numbers, financials, demographic information, etc. Gore needs to be discrete about certain information.

We are honored to have Ted take a SECOND round in this challenge! :beer: This is Gore’s first!! Please take advantage of this special opportunity!

Ask away!

Gore’s Profile

 

[mattchuck2]

Does the new beginner trail from Bear come into the flat part of Cloud? Is it going to be a bit of a walk at the bottom for, say, a snowboarder?

What is the latest on the Ski bowl base area to Gore base area Gondola? Is that still the plan for expansion? How many new trails and lifts will there be and where will they be located? What kind of timetable is there for completion? . . I heard you got $5.5 mil in the state budget this year.

When the Ski Bowl expansion is completed, will there be a new halfpipe and park down there? I know there is lots of concern about liability, but Whiteface's Park/Pipe is far superior to Gore, and I feel as though there will be ever increasing demand for this kind of thing at Gore.

After that fiasco at the big air contest last year, will the big air contest be returning to Gore this winter? Is there any chance you can leave that jump up all year instead of grooming it flat immediately after the contest? Whiteface has jumps that are 3 times the size of that thing.

I also want to express my thanks for opening up a lot of terrain that other mountains would never open. Dark Side Glades, High Pines, The Cave, and "Darby Woods" are great trails that really add an individual flavor to Gore - separating it from the Strattons of the world. Hopefully, Gore can retain that distinctive character even as a base village/golf course/condo complex is added at the bottom. Thanks again!

 

[mattchuck2]

Oh, one more thing:

Are trails off of Burnt Ridge in the expansion plan? If so, will they affect Twister glades in any way? I love the length of twister glades and the "backcountry" of Burnt ridge, and I would hate to see either destroyed. But, I guess I could be persuaded if you have a halfpipe with 18 foot walls at the Ski Bowl.

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

I was at Gore one day when they offered a tour down to the Ski Bowl and picked us up in a bus. The (trail/work road?) we went down had many flat spots. Is that trail going to be in the expansion and what will the new trails down to the Ski Bowl be like?

Rumors, Lies and Innuendo, what happened to Innuendo. I've heard different rummors (no pun) about why the trail was never cut and thought this would be a good oppertunity to hear the real reason.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Ted -

Thanks so much for your time in responding to these questions. With that out of the way, time for the grilling...

I noted with disappointment the preliminary design plans for the Ski Bowl/Gore interconnect. Re-establishing downhill skiing in a meaningful way at the Ski Bowl is an obvious positive for many obvious reasons. However, it is the plan to use a Gondola to connect the bases of the two areas which has me concerned and confused. With the re-opening of the Ski Bowl, you have a tremendous opportunity to utilize that base as a new portal for Gore and to spread out the load of incoming skiers and riders. Yet you have chosen what is probably the most expensive means of transport to take skiers only to the existing base area. From what I can tell, this will only serve to increase crowds in the lodge and on the base area lifts and trails. There will be no meaningful expansion of skiable terrain accessible from Gore with this lift. I know the terrain between Gore and Ski Bowl is, to say the least, unique, but wouldn't it have made more sense to interconnect the two areas by bringing people to a mid-mountain off-load on Gore directly from the Ski Bowl base? At the end of the day, the option that you've chosen seems to be the most expensive and while having the least impact on the skiing experience.

 

[kcyanks1]

Rumors, Lies and Innuendo, what happened to Innuendo. I've heard different rummors (no pun) about why the trail was never cut and thought this would be a good oppertunity to hear the real reason.

I've always wondered that too. We've speculated on this board and SkiADK before, but it would be nice to hear first hand. Other questions people have asked are very interesting too, and about covers anything I would've thought of. Good job

 

[mattchuck2]

Just thought of some more. Is there going to be some sort of reorganization off the buildings at the base area? I heard that the NYSEF folks might move into the old Gondola house (after an overhaul) or something? When the whole project (Ski Bowl connect) is completed, will the base lodge and bar still be located at its current location, or will there be a new base lodge/bar at the Ski Bowl base area? Or both?

Will the beginner hill in the back of the lodge be affected by the Ski Bowl interconnect? I always though that trails could be cut off of the back of that hill down to the ski bowl. Is that a possibility? I also heard that you are regrading that beginner hill this year? What will that look like?

Thanks again!

 

[thetrailboss]

Some good questions here....keep them rolling!

 

[thebigo]

Many of us in greater boston and southern nh read read/hear great things about gore and whiteface. Personally I would love to ski there but I can never justify driving past many of the great hills in vt. What are those of us who never skiied in ny missing, why should we drive the extra few hours?

Do you offer a ski/lodging package that would allow someone to check out gore and whiteface in one weekend?

 

[kornfein]

More questions

As has been stated by other folks I think the most important question to ask is about the proposed gondola. Many of us think that connecting the bowl is a great idea, but putting in a base to base gondola is a questionable way to expand. A lift up Burnt Ridge makes a lot more sense.and be a better use of limited funds.

A couple of other questions:
There was talk of moving the Kids Center to the old gondola building a couple of years ago. As a parent of a young child i thought this was a great idea. Drop offs and pick-ups of children behind the base lodge are a hassle and cut into the small amount of free ski time you get as a parent.

Once the new North Creek ski bowl lift gets installed (prior to the interconnect) will a shuttle run between the areas? Will the trail from the bottom of the North chair be open to get to the bowl. I can think of several area including Killington, and Breckenridge that have trail that go to condo areas but you need to return by shuttle bus.

 

[freeheelwilly]

Many of us in greater boston and southern nh read read/hear great things about gore and whiteface. Personally I would love to ski there but I can never justify driving past many of the great hills in vt.

Most of those "great hills" couldn't hold a candle to Whiteface/Lake Placid. There's a few up north that are worthy but that crap down south is....well....crap.

 

[thetrailboss]

Any more questions?

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Any more questions?

Thought of one more minor one Boss. I think it was 3 seasons ago Gore was open Thanksgiving day. My whole family went until 2:00 before we hit my sister's for diner, best Thanksgiving ever. If conditions allow will you be open on Thanksgiving day again this season?

 

[Newyorkskier17]

I personally would like to see more money spent on Gore Mountain. It has tremendous potential. With a village at its base ready to thrive, and skiable aceage that would Double perhaps even triple to Whiteface. Lets sate the obvious, Whiteface has already done its job, and can wait a few years before another expansion takes off. Gore mountain on the other hand can rebuild the economy of the Southern Adirondacks by itself. The state always seems to prioritize Whiteface before Gore. The lifts at gore need replacement. The Summit quad should be replaced, because It breaks down almost a dozen times a season. The highspeed triple is nice, consider moving the lift down hill to help out the interconnect, and replace it with a high speed quad. I would like to see the interconnect though. It would increase the annual visits two fold, and bring in "extended" customers, rather than the day tripper. Day trippers are nice, they give the mountain some income, and Gas stations income. They do nothing for the local economy. North creek has so much potential, and its a shame to see it wasted and/or refined into the definition imposed by politicians. Let the skiers handle the way things are made, and the boarders build there own park. The last thing gore needs is for a bunch of fat men down in Albany saying where things should go. Whiteface will be in the spotlight for years. The apres ski is second to none, and the local economy is stronger than ever. The state needs to focus on Gore for a few years to get the mountain back where it was in the early 90's(In other words good shape!). Whenever the plotics involved subside, I hope the best for the interconnect project. Which by the way, do you have a timeframe on that one? Sorry for being a fireball, but im over here in South Korea watching the state ignore the needs of gore for yet another season. The interconnect has been talked about for years, and to have all this funding and still sombody has to say WAIT!. It makes me upset....

 

[thetrailboss]

Welcome to the boards, NewYorkSkier. Thanks for your post....let's close this challenge up soon.

 

[thetrailboss]

OK, we're done here. Thanks!