Bene288
New member
Conditions: Powdah, low - mid 30's, fog/overcast/flurries
Trip Report:
The skiing was awesome today! They reported 14" and I'd say it was pretty close, maybe 12" up top and a little less down below. I got there around 8:00 to find the place absolutely dead. Temps were in the low 30's with some occasional light flurries. Got my ticket and waited for first gondola. They were having mechanical issues so the gondola didn't start spinning until about 9:10. There was a worrisome vibe going around the place due to the ominous fog cloud that stationed itself mid mountain. The fog on the ride up was thick, but once you got to the offload it was clear.
First run I took Fairview from the top down to Lower Sleighride to Showcase. Fairview was not groomed and was quite enjoyable. Most of the trails were groomed with about 4" on top, so there were fresh tracks on almost every run today. After that warm up cruise I went up top and got into the Chatiemac glades. I have to say this was probably the best tree skiing I've ever done. Fresh lines the entire way down. The snow underneath the fresh was still pretty soft so it felt like more than 1'of new snow. I made it a point to drop a small cliff on every run. I lapped this about 3 times then headed over to Twister glades as I needed to get to the lodge. These glades were terrific, however the snow was heavier as I was in the fogged in area (see pics). Burnt Ridge was left natural. I had a blast flying down Echo after the Twister glades and being 1 of 4 sets of tracks.
It was incredible how much lighter the snow was out of the fog. It was almost like wherever the fog was the more sticky the snow was. The fog did move throughout the day and never burned off. Everyone was sticking to the upper part of the mountain to avoid the sticky snow. When I went down a few runs later to use the facilities there was a whopping 3 person line for the gondola..what!? Never seen that before. I spent the remainder of the day up top in the trees. I probably only did 5 other open trails. Lower Steilhang was the best I've ever seen it. As was Lies and Upper Darby. After a few more tree runs I finished off the day by doing the natural trail underneath the Top Ridge Triple. I should have hit this earlier in the day. I thought about it, but at the time I was antsy to just get back in the woods. By this time the fog cloud had moved it's way over to the Top Ridge and Straightbrook area. Between the rising temps and the fog everything was quickly turning to mashed potatoes. I called it a day and left around 2:45.
This was definitely the best day I've had at Gore. Most definitely some of the best woods skiing I've ever done. Grabbing fresh tracks every run is pretty rare out here in the east.
See pics in next post(s)
Trip Report:
The skiing was awesome today! They reported 14" and I'd say it was pretty close, maybe 12" up top and a little less down below. I got there around 8:00 to find the place absolutely dead. Temps were in the low 30's with some occasional light flurries. Got my ticket and waited for first gondola. They were having mechanical issues so the gondola didn't start spinning until about 9:10. There was a worrisome vibe going around the place due to the ominous fog cloud that stationed itself mid mountain. The fog on the ride up was thick, but once you got to the offload it was clear.
First run I took Fairview from the top down to Lower Sleighride to Showcase. Fairview was not groomed and was quite enjoyable. Most of the trails were groomed with about 4" on top, so there were fresh tracks on almost every run today. After that warm up cruise I went up top and got into the Chatiemac glades. I have to say this was probably the best tree skiing I've ever done. Fresh lines the entire way down. The snow underneath the fresh was still pretty soft so it felt like more than 1'of new snow. I made it a point to drop a small cliff on every run. I lapped this about 3 times then headed over to Twister glades as I needed to get to the lodge. These glades were terrific, however the snow was heavier as I was in the fogged in area (see pics). Burnt Ridge was left natural. I had a blast flying down Echo after the Twister glades and being 1 of 4 sets of tracks.
It was incredible how much lighter the snow was out of the fog. It was almost like wherever the fog was the more sticky the snow was. The fog did move throughout the day and never burned off. Everyone was sticking to the upper part of the mountain to avoid the sticky snow. When I went down a few runs later to use the facilities there was a whopping 3 person line for the gondola..what!? Never seen that before. I spent the remainder of the day up top in the trees. I probably only did 5 other open trails. Lower Steilhang was the best I've ever seen it. As was Lies and Upper Darby. After a few more tree runs I finished off the day by doing the natural trail underneath the Top Ridge Triple. I should have hit this earlier in the day. I thought about it, but at the time I was antsy to just get back in the woods. By this time the fog cloud had moved it's way over to the Top Ridge and Straightbrook area. Between the rising temps and the fog everything was quickly turning to mashed potatoes. I called it a day and left around 2:45.
This was definitely the best day I've had at Gore. Most definitely some of the best woods skiing I've ever done. Grabbing fresh tracks every run is pretty rare out here in the east.
See pics in next post(s)
