Gore Mtn first timer

[tomcat]

Heading to Gore next week. A few questions. What time do the lifts start during the week? Is there multiple base areas to park, which one is better for blue/black skier? It looks like numerous terrain pods, is it easy to navigate to different areas or is it confusing and require numerous lifts to get to the different areas? Do all the lifts spin non-weekend and any lifts to avoid because they are real slow?

 

[legalskier]

I've skied Gore midweek & it always was terrific. I believe the lifts start spinning at 8:30, but it's best to check the website:
http://www.goremountain.com/mountain/snow-report
The pods are pretty easy to get around; keep a map in your pocket just in case. Due to Gore's topography, two lifts will get you to the top (gondi + Straight Brook Quad). There's a mid-mountain lodge which means you don't have to go all the way back down for lunch/breaks. Lots of excellent glades, especially on Burnt Ridge. There's a connection to Little Gore (formerly North Creek Ski Bowl) but I've never gone over there. Gore is a big, fun mountain. Because of all the pods it skies big.
For parking, the main lot is down by the main lodge. There's an equipment drop-off area, which helps. And if you're lucky, you might even catch Scotty sleeping in his car. ;-)

 

[tomcat]

I will be lodging in motel Subaru. Is there a good place to sleep in a car? Rest Area, Trailhead, etc? I've been awakened and told to leave in ski area parking lots before so I'm a little hesitant to stay at the ski area lots.

 

[lerops]

Let me piggyback on this. Thanks in advance!

It looks like there is no on-mountain lodging, can somebody confirm that? If not, any reasonable alternatives that are close to the mountain? Is the children's ski school in an isolated area or in an high traffic area?

 

[x10003q]

There is no on mountain lodging. The town is about a 5 minute drive from the main base. The North Creek ski bowl pod is a couple hundred yards from the town. Your best bet is to park at the main base. There are places to stay in town and around the mountain including about 120 townhouses within about 3 miles from the access road. There is plenty of lodging in Lake George Village which is about 35 minutes south of Gore/North Creek.

The childrens ski school is in the Northwoods Lodge which was the old gondola building. It is located in the main base/parking area. It is the closest building to the parking lot. It is about 150 ft from the main lodge.

Gore is a great place to ski. It will be virtually empty midweek. They do occasionally close lifts midweek and that does limit access to different areas of the mountain.

Here is some more info from NY Ski Blog. http://directory.nyskiblog.com/Gore-Mountain-td4642438.html

 

[millerm277]

Heading to Gore next week. A few questions. What time do the lifts start during the week? Is there multiple base areas to park, which one is better for blue/black skier? It looks like numerous terrain pods, is it easy to navigate to different areas or is it confusing and require numerous lifts to get to the different areas? Do all the lifts spin non-weekend and any lifts to avoid because they are real slow?

Park at the main base. Technically you can also park at the Ski Bowl base if it's running, but I'd recommend against that. It's an isolated area and you probably won't be over there too much.

It's easy to navigate the different pods, there is plenty of signage indicating what trails will go to which base. Obviously, things will go better if you look at the trail map instead of navigating blindly, but the important turns are well marked. If something is labeled a traverse, they really do mean it's a traverse, expect to be walking/coasting. Gore is a terrible place for a boarder.

Non-express lifts are obviously, non-express. The North Quad and High Peaks Double will feel quite long. They don't have very steep liftlines, which means in addition to being not express, gaining vertical takes more runtime. They do serve nice pods though.

Unless it's freezing, I strongly prefer skiing off the high-speed triple than off the gondola for the lower mountain (the trails off the gondola to the top of the triple are nothing special and short), although I'm not sure if that runs in general midweeks.

Anyway, I like Gore. As far as trails go, trails at Gore actually have some character to them. There are also a lot of woods, and there's a surprising amount of "marked"/sanctioned drops and other roughness if you're looking for it. Gore has a massive leap in difficulty between single + double diamond runs, be very careful about checking out the double diamond runs before you hit them.

I will be lodging in motel Subaru. Is there a good place to sleep in a car? Rest Area, Trailhead, etc? I've been awakened and told to leave in ski area parking lots before so I'm a little hesitant to stay at the ski area lots.

The upper part of the Gore access road has signs indicating it is closed at night, I would presume you would be unwelcome. I would expect similar results in the lower lot or two below that sign. There is a rest area on the Northway/I-87 about a 5 minute detour off your route, and that's about 45min before Gore. (Coordinates: 43.280283,-73.67962)

Otherwise, I'm not sure. I'm sure there's plenty of places you probably won't get disturbed (Lake George is pretty dead in winter), but in terms of places it's actually allowed, I don't know.

 

[tomcat]

Thanks for all the info. Looking forward to the trip.

 

[tommy5402]

Motels in lake george area are super cheap if that's an option.

 

[lerops]

Thanks for all the info. Looking forward to the trip.

Ditto. Thanks for starting the thread.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[St. Jerry]

There is a new hostel in town and you can get a bed for $35/night per person or $50 per couple: http://www.northcreekheadsinbeds.com/

Temperture gets below zero in North Creek many nights and $35/night for a warm bed can't be beat. Just saying...

Also when skiing Gore, be sure to check out the famous "Gore-bits Couloir" under the High Peaks Chair. Most challenging run in the east.

 

[Wavewheeler]

There is a new hostel in town and you can get a bed for $35/night per person or $50 per couple: http://www.northcreekheadsinbeds.com/

That's a nice deal. The hostel I stay in at New Paltz is a room shared with 5 other beds. Nice and clean but you have a 10 pm curfew. With that price I'll have to put Gore on my list. I got a room at the Snowed Inn at Hunter for $45 midweek. Great deal and nice folks who run it.

When I stayed at Gore a few years back stayed at motel for $50/night that looked like it just come out of 1975. Not so nice but it had heat and WiFi and was close to the mountain. I don't even know if it still exists.

 

[millerm277]

When I stayed at Gore a few years back stayed at motel for $50/night that looked like it just come out of 1975. Not so nice but it had heat and WiFi and was close to the mountain. I don't even know if it still exists.

Valhaus Motel.

And it just got converted to some sort of luxury season rental place, so not in the sense that it's somewhere you could stay on the cheap or walk in and stay at.

 

[tomcat]

Subaru Motel is good to about -20 although chipping the ice from the interior windows is a bitch come morning. I'm well equipped. Definitely not for everyone. After a 6-7 hour day on the snow I usually sleep like a baby.

 

[legalskier]

When I stayed at Gore a few years back stayed at motel for $50/night that looked like it just come out of 1975. Not so nice but it had heat and WiFi and was close to the mountain. I don't even know if it still exists.

Might be the Black Mountain Ski Lodge/Motel.
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-342252-black_mountain_ski_lodge_motel-i

 

[Wavewheeler]

I remember the Valhaus and I ate dinner at the Black Mountain, which looked like a luxury hotel in comparison. I looked at my appt book from 2012 and found the info. The place I stayed at was called the Northwind Lodge. It was down the road from the Black Mountain. It was a real relic, in disrepair and needing TLC. But it was cheaper than everywhere else @ $55 and I stayed there 3 nights from Wed night to Saturday morning the last week of Feb 2012. It was close to the mountain, had heat and wifi so it worked for me.

Wasn't looking to go back anytime soon though. It was too depressing even for me. I guess a lot of people felt the same way because it seems to have gone out of business.. Out of curiosity I tried the phone # and it's disconnected so I assume it's gone. It definitely looked like it was on it's way out. The owner, this old guy, offered breakfast with the room but I declined. Wasn't looking to do much there but sleep and shower and get up to go ski.

 

[Wavewheeler]

Might be the Black Mountain Ski Lodge/Motel.
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-342252-black_mountain_ski_lodge_motel-i

Well, this is interesting that link also listed the hotel I stayed in.

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-343464-northwind_lodge-i;_ylt=AjdNjfszSqNUoDD8xS62GPLiphQB

Described it as a "Rustic Mountain Lodge" :lol: Caveat de' emptor It was a run down motel. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Valhaus was listed too, so I guess they don't upgrade their info much at Yahoo. The most recent review was in '09. I was there in 2012.

I found this on Trip Advisor.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...The_Northwind_Lodge-North_Creek_New_York.html

I think this is where I found it initially. Amazing how reviews of the same place are so different. Makes me wonder if the friends and family wrote them.:lol: