Mountain Stats anyone?

[fujative.]

I'm looking for a few mountain stats for a research paper I'm doing on Gore. Can anyone help me out with a few things?

-Vertical rise and Time it took for the old red gondola to go up
-Acreage added from the Topridge Area expansion
-Acreage added from the Burnt Ridge Expansion
-Any other random fun facts about Gore

Thanks!

[Snowballs]

OH OH...May I ask a ? too?

Did the old Red Gondola have a proper name?

Was it possible to disembark at Midstation of the old Red Gondola?

Has anyone on here ever skied down from the Midstation building? What's it like?

It looks like one could ski down from Foxlair and slide right out that little ridge to the Midstation building and then down the frontside to Sunway......Actually looks pretty cool when viewed from the Topridge Triple.

Anybody ever done this? It looks like there is a bit of a trail........

[I:)skiing]

Sounds like Fuji wants someone to type his term paper for him.

Just kidding.....


Surely all this info has been discussed on this or other forums....a call to Gore could easily answer the acerage questions and the old name. Am I thinkingof the Lake Placid gondi if I was to speculate seeing something about flying in the name?

[fujative.]

Sounds like Fuji wants someone to type his term paper for him.

Just kidding.....


Surely all this info has been discussed on this or other forums....a call to Gore could easily answer the acerage questions and the old name. Am I thinkingof the Lake Placid gondi if I was to speculate seeing something about flying in the name?

That'd be nice! I'm already half way done though. It's due... well technically today I guess... so a call home wouldn't quite work out.
Whiteface's Gondi = The Cloudsplitter. Jay has a highspeed triple called the Flyer, maybe that's what you're thinking of?


OH OH...May I ask a ? too?

Did the old Red Gondola have a proper name?

Was it possible to disembark at Midstation of the old Red Gondola?

Has anyone on here ever skied down from the Midstation building? What's it like?

It looks like one could ski down from Foxlair and slide right out that little ridge to the Midstation building and then down the frontside to Sunway......Actually looks pretty cool when viewed from the Topridge Triple.

Anybody ever done this? It looks like there is a bit of a trail........
On Gore's timeline it simply called it "The Old Red Gondola"
No you couldn't get off at the midstation, It was just a turning point I believe
I've heard of people doing it, but people just lie. The wind tells me it's steep, narrow, overgrown, and dangerous. Also that there's a live 240V wire running up the middle of it.
Yeah it looks like you could... but you cant.
There it no trail. I've heard of people finding magical portals to teleport there though.

[Frostillicus]

Snowballs- some things are best not discussed on internet message boards. :wink:

[Snowballs]

Oui Monsieurs. Check it.... I've heard a couple people say they used to disemabarked at midstation on the ORG. Hehe.

There, I christened it ORG. Now it has a name. A nom de plume.

ORG must of had one of them there Portals Fuj mentioned @ Midstation, eh ? :lol:

[Harvey44]

I think the ride was 19 minutes. There's a guy who posts on Harvey Road who knows a lot of this stuff. I'll reach out to him.

I'm glad I got to ride the ORG but MAN I'm glad I was never up over the canyon when it broke down!

And uh ... I agree with Frosti. ;)

[Adk Keith]

I think the ride was 19 minutes.

I think that is about right. It was about the same as the East Chair at the time.

There were no official disembarking at the mid station. There were no attendants there to let you out, just a couple of lift operators. I know of at least one former ski patrol that more recently worked as a groomer that skied the line below Midstation. (I also saw this individual ski the last drop under the HP chair Circa 1979) I also know of others, more recently that have skied it (with half a binding no less!) Midstation was where both (upper and lower lines) of the Gondolas were operated from. Since this is were the lift changes direction you had to detach from the lower line and reattach to the upper line there. (ski lifs have a really hard time going around corners.)

At the time there was a mysterious maladay that caused the lift to have an emergency stop any time the mountain manager was in the gondola over the abyss. This would cause a stomach lightening yo-yo ride up and down while the counter balance bobbed with a full line of full gondolas.

Ahh the memories :wink:

[Snowballs]

Yea they say the ORG cars used to be rather aromatic on a regular basis.....like at a Grateful Dead concert. Damn kids. :wink:

[x10003q]

I think the lift operators in the midstation pushed the gondola from the lower line to the upper line.


Yea they say the ORG cars used to be rather aromatic on a regular basis.....like at a Grateful Dead concert. Damn kids. :wink:

Every gondola in North America was aromatic. Sometimes the right company and circumstances turned aromatic to amorous.

[Snowballs]

^^^ Was?

Funny you should mention that. I keep asking ye ol Lady to join the Gore mile high club...but she insists she's not gon do lado it. hehehe.

Then again, maybe if someone else asked her......... :shock:

And so Harv don't have to repeat his mantra......Pics Please!!!

[Harvey44]

From 70s Gore Kid, a regular at Harvey Road:

"The Old Red Gondola was just "The Gondola" during the 1970s, 80s, and early 90s. Red was never in its name.

The ride from my timing, on dozens of rides over the years, was 20 minutes. I see Harv posted 19, which might be more accurate, but it was universally known among Gore regulars at the time as a "20 minute ride with a 30 minute wait."

You could NEVER disembark at midstation, unless you were personally friends with a lift attendant. The reason -- is that the doors were locked from the outside with a key. The attendant at the base locked you in, one at the top unlocked the door. The midstation had two attendants who manually dragged your car from the track of the first stage to the second stage. They would have needed to unlock your car for a skier to get out.

It was served by a cat track trail that made its way down to Lower Tannery (now a cross country trail since it was too flat for downhill skiing), which brings the question: why on earth would anyone want to disembark at midstation? :wink:

Unless of course, you had just encountered high winds on the valley crossing (I like the term, "The Abyss") and needed out for an emergency bathroom break."

Harv's note: Kid is Harvey Road's expert on all things 70s Gore. I defer to his 20 minute number.

[adkskier]

Harv's last post has the facts. A little more info, the mid-station design was not done with an intent for unloading. The gondola was actually two lifts that were powered independently. I believe (not 100% sure) that at the time the lift was built it may have been the longest US gondola. So it was engineered with two motors. the mid-station was a transfer point much like the upper and lower terminals. it always reminded me of an amusement park fun house. The cabins detached from the cable and were moved from one cable to the next. When the transfer mechanism was working, this happened automatically. As the lift aged, the liftees would sometimes have to get up and go out to give a cabin a push. Occasionally vandals (kids) would get out of control on this lift, kicking out windows or tossing junk out windows. You should have seen their faces when were met by a patroller who walked alongside the cabin as it moved through the upper terminal with the kids locked in for a "free round trip" to meet another patroller or a cop at the bottom! The first patrollers up in the morning would often ride before the top attendants. This required riding with the door open so that they could stop their cabin (Fred Flinstone braking style) when they came into the upper terminal. Failure to properly brake could result in a hard landing as there were some cabins stored in the upper terminal overnight. The first ride was not for the faint of heart as those first riders would determine how windy it really was.

[Harvey44]

.... As the lift aged, the liftees would sometimes have to get up and go out to give a cabin a push. Occasionally vandals (kids) would get out of control on this lift, kicking out windows or tossing junk out windows. You should have seen their faces when were met by a patroller who walked alongside the cabin as it moved through the upper terminal with the kids locked in for a "free round trip" to meet another patroller or a cop at the bottom! The first patrollers up in the morning would often ride before the top attendants. This required riding with the door open so that they could stop their cabin (Fred Flinstone braking style) when they came into the upper terminal. Failure to properly brake could result in a hard landing as there were some cabins stored in the upper terminal overnight. The first ride was not for the faint of heart as those first riders would determine how windy it really was.

THAT is a GREAT story!

I've gotten a few PMs with regard to this thread. Another oldtime Gore skier told me he'd timed it at 17 minutes almost exactly.

I sent a note to Mike. His response:

"The original gondola was about 2 1/2 miles long. The ride to summit was just over 17 minutes."

If there are any Original Gondola experts out there with pics or info .... Harvey Road would love to publish them.

Email: harvey44@nyskiblog.com

[I:)skiing]

Sould I do the cut and pasting or is this for someone else...into the history thread..or would a link suffice.

[Snowballs]

Sould I do the cut and pasting or is this for someone else...into the history thread..or would a link suffice.

" Excellent idea! " Him Say.

I took the bait. :wink: It's done.

[MidnightCarving]

i was only maybe 12 years old when the old gondola was shut down, so i have vivid memories of being a kid going through the symphony of mechanics in that transfer station, and i had always wanted to go back. I finally made it back last year and scoped out the place. Its honestly got some interesting architecture, the side of the building that you enter from has some killer looking big windows. Inside there is a lift operator booth with a bunch of old magazines and books and stuff in it, and scattered about are some of the old safety stickers that say things like "capacity, 4 persons of 440 kilograms"

i took a couple of the old stickers when i was up there, if you ever see a ford explorer with "capacity 4 persons or 440 kilograms" and "emergency unloading procedure" stickers on it, its me.

[Harvey44]

i was only maybe 12 years old when the old gondola was shut down, so i have vivid memories of being a kid going through the symphony of mechanics in that transfer station, and i had always wanted to go back. I finally made it back last year and scoped out the place. Its honestly got some interesting architecture, the side of the building that you enter from has some killer looking big windows. Inside there is a lift operator booth with a bunch of old magazines and books and stuff in it, and scattered about are some of the old safety stickers that say things like "capacity, 4 persons of 440 kilograms"

i took a couple of the old stickers when i was up there, if you ever see a ford explorer with "capacity 4 persons or 440 kilograms" and "emergency unloading procedure" stickers on it, its me.

Post of the year.

I want to put that quote under the best old gondi pic that anyone has.

Even the scan of a polaroid.

Kid? Anyone? Send it.

harvey44@nyskiblog.com

[Snowballs]

i was only maybe 12 years old when the old gondola was shut down, so i have vivid memories of being a kid going through the symphony of mechanics in that transfer station, and i had always wanted to go back. I finally made it back last year and scoped out the place. Its honestly got some interesting architecture, the side of the building that you enter from has some killer looking big windows. Inside there is a lift operator booth with a bunch of old magazines and books and stuff in it, and scattered about are some of the old safety stickers that say things like "capacity, 4 persons of 440 kilograms"

i took a couple of the old stickers when i was up there, if you ever see a ford explorer with "capacity 4 persons or 440 kilograms" and "emergency unloading procedure" stickers on it, its me.

Great tale! Thanks Midnight!!!...BUT wheredahellyoubeen! :wink: The building you mentioned, are you refering the the actual transfer station? I always thought it'ld be a cool cabin locale, views out over the lower valley and views towards the summit.

Betcha Harv would cough up several Saddle Lodge cookies (maybe lunch!) for some of those stickers and photos of/from the ORG transfer station building...you're up Rossi.

[rossi]

hahaha. i got you. i only have 2 and they dont show much, pointing at the entrance.


http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/037.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/035.jpg

next time im up, which hopefully will be soon, sooner if i can get that ticket on fb, haha, but ill definatly get some better pics of the entire area. its a really cool building. the second picture im just infront of the turntable where the cars made the bend, theres a little control center where a single worker prolly sat and made sure everything went smoothly. a lot of steal and old wood. i might head up next weekend if i can.

haha actually the more i think about it the more i want to go up and just take some photos, id go tomorrow and just hike up buttttttttt, world cup finals. which netherlands will win.

[I:)skiing]

ESPANA...sorry.


Do look forward to the photos though.


Looking at your photos in more detail, can you believe how good the aqua paint has held up?

And, an investor (if Gore would allow) could make a run at changing this building into a sleeping lodge..aka Hostel style. Say $20 a night. Or Gore could revamp it into employee housing.

[rossi]

Dang spanish. Haha. Nothing can really be made
of that building. Realy to far from everything. Even in the winter. A trail getting to it would be flat. Plus after, in order to get down you need to circumnavigate a cliff line some how

[rossi]

Will most likely be heading up Sunday to hike around for the day so I'll get the shots

[Snowballs]

Cool. I believe there's a work road from Sunway up to the transfer station.

[I:)skiing]

The idea is presented hostel style similar to some resorts that are already doing this. Out of the way places--rough facilities. Half the fun is hiking, shoeing or otherwise (sleigh ride/snowmobile) getting to the spot. Pack in, pack out what you need---camping style. Wood for a fire and restrooms are provided. At some---they pick certain nights and charge out the wazzoo to hire a chef and create a special meal. Rich people like to wear their fur and pretend they are roughing it too. Rather than hike to the spot they pay for a snomobile ride or rent one for the night. Lots of snowmobile trails--I can see renting it to a crew of them on a trail trip.


Agree if it were for employees, one would need a working road.


Some examples: Stowe: The lodge at the top.
Kicking horse--nice house, ride the gondi and then a snomobile takes you to the home--you have first tracks if you want them.
Southwest Co...Yurts along the San Juan mountains..Around Telluride, Durango, Silverton. For backcountry skiing and outfitters.

[Snowballs]

Yea I see where you're going with this I:)skiing.The transfer station would be a cool one, all perched atop that ridge, views both ways.

As to the rich aspect, a lil tale. We have a friend who's family gets to go out on Lake George with a rich guy from the city several times a year. They boat around all day just singing. The guy likes to sing. Anyway, he has the Sagamore Hotel cater their lunches. They meet up on some island and the Sagamore Chef and staff cook them lunches complete with linen, silverware, crystal, expensive wines. They can eat what ever fancy dish they want. She prefers the hamburgers as they are made from filet mignon. Then off they go to sing and swim some more. Kinda like Julie Andrews and the Von Trapp family. Rough huh?

Incidently, the Von Trapp family settled in the Stowe area and still operate an Inn there.

[I:)skiing]

Exactly what I am talking about. Real money does not worry about logistics...."just do it". Then for the rest of the folks....there is "just hike it--along with your stuff". One thing that would have to be worked out logistically (no real issue) would be the groomers. Cant have hikers and groomers on the same path for liability reasons I am sure.

Example of what I speak.....Helicopter skiing. Full paying fares can be $2,500 a day with walnut table conference room "training" session (in ski boots on very expensive carpet, coffee serviced in china cups with waiters), nice lunch and full 5 course dinner, drinks included. I know, I skied with these guys...after 2-3 runs they are like....well that was fun, lets quit. WHAT? You have 4 more runs for your $2,500! One guy purchased 5 days for himself and his two sons. Due to wind and snow, it took him 2 weeks to get in his 5 days. He just extended his $10,000/wk condo an extra week to get it in. If you build it, they will come. Not saying Gore would attact "stupid money" but there maybe a business case at some level. Obviously the money is in the area...just look at some Lake George homes.

NOTE: I did not and would never pay that kind of cash. Not disclosing here, but there are ways to heli ski less expensively.



One of my favorite movies is Sound of Music. Great fact. Now that you brought this up, I do recall seeing a sign or something similar with the "Trapp" name during my last visit there, 2 yrs ago. I wondered then....? Could it be?


True life becomes art.


http://www.trappfamily.com/story

[Snowballs]

Ja. Zey zettled zere after zee var. Guten tag!

[rossi]

Sorry everyone. Won't be making it up today, i'm home sick:(. I'll try and make it up either later in the week if I have a day off or definatly next weekend

[fujative.]

My brother just sent this to me... how intriguing!

http://www.goremountain.com/about/pdf/Map_1_-_SEIS_Site_Location_Map.pdf

There is a trail that goes from Foxlair to the midstation down to the Top Ridge Triple, and another little loop that comes off of Topridge.
It's shaded as "approved"
The map is a draft from January 2008

[Harvey44]

I think I know this document. For some reason I can never download it.

We talked about this two summers ago:

http://www.nyskiblog.com/2009/09/gore-plan.html

I'm going to ask some questions.

[Danzilla]

I always wondered how that trail would work exactly. It looks like on the map that it would link up with the original gondi liftline. I haven't hiked over in that area, but it certainly looks like cliffs and narrowness. I can only assume the trail would run along the "front" (main mountain) side of the ridge until at least the mid station.

There is an actual trail map that I have seen with a trail going right off of foxlair towards topridge/sunway. I think it is on the backside of the big trailmap at the base or maybe one of the big ones up on the moutain somewhere. The trail name started with a C. Anyone seen the same thing? They must have been very close to building a trail if it was on a map. It would have been before Ruby so maybe they were thinking of putting in the green off of foxy?

[Harvey44]

I always wondered how that trail would work exactly. It looks like on the map that it would link up with the original gondi liftline. I haven't hiked over in that area, but it certainly looks like cliffs and narrowness. I can only assume the trail would run along the "front" (main mountain) side of the ridge until at least the mid station.

There is an actual trail map that I have seen with a trail going right off of foxlair towards topridge/sunway. I think it is on the backside of the big trailmap at the base or maybe one of the big ones up on the moutain somewhere. The trail name started with a C. Anyone seen the same thing? They must have been very close to building a trail if it was on a map. It would have been before Ruby so maybe they were thinking of putting in the green off of foxy?

Danzilla ... I think the original plan for Foxlair was to run it straight to Sunway. (It may have been named "Sagamore?")

The cost was too much. so they put the lefthand turn in Foxlair. It seems like that is what lead to Ruby Run. An easier way down from the Gondi.

I asked Mike about the purple trail, he was brief:

"It is permitted."

I interpret this to mean he believe construction would happen someday, but it is not currently planned.

[Snowballs]

If Foxlair had gone straight it would have to descend those very sizable cliffs. The map Fuj noted shows the work road that ascends to ORG's midstation from Sunway. My guess is the " purple trail " was to no benefit as it would have left skiers on lower Tannery, before the Topridge triple existed. A MTN bike trail map recently released by Gore shows an existing, open bike trail down that valley to Tannery.

Several years before Ruby run opened, I used to run into a group of men on the hill who were upset about Foxlair as it gets hazardous at day's end.

They were all " We gotta do something about this. Someone's gonna get killed. You call the Senator, I'll call so & so, We'll get this BS fixed." They used terms like " bodybags " and noted the many injuries on Foxlair that weekend. When Gore added a netting wall outside of the right edge of FL and attempted to widen it by building it out with snow, these guys were upset again. " This is BS. They were supposed to build another trail down. Let's go down and call right now " blah blah blah.

Lo and behold, Ruby Run materialized. Don't know for sure how much a part this group of men played. They seemed like the kind of men who were used to getting things accomplished, using their influence to cut through the BS and making people do what needs to be done.

" This is what you're going to do and this is how you're going to do it. Any questions? "

My kinda of guys.

[x10003q]

I think Sagamore was supposed to be a green trail. When they realized the expense it was scrapped and we got the narrower version of today's Foxlair. Foxlair was a disaster. Between the rock wall on the skier's left and the cliff on the right combined with a huge open view most lower int and green skiers were intimidated. Throw in the huge traffic it handled and the thing was a scraped off sheet of ice by noon. How do you put in a gondola without providing a green trail that almost everybody can handle? Most skiers could ride the old gondola and make their way down Cloud to the Saddle Lodge. Now these same blue and green skiers (and boarders) were afraid to ride the Gondola. It took almost 10 years to get the green trail Ruby Run when it should have been the first trail cut.

The other uncut trails on the map might never be cut due to Gore's 40 mile limit in the NYS constitution. Does anybody know how glades are counted? Maybe they are not counted at all towards the total. If this is the case they should officially glade the entire lower mountain.

[Harvey44]

I think Sagamore was supposed to be a green trail. When they realized the expense it was scrapped and we got the narrower version of today's Foxlair. Foxlair was a disaster. Between the rock wall on the skier's left and the cliff on the right combined with a huge open view most lower int and green skiers were intimidated. Throw in the huge traffic it handled and the thing was a scraped off sheet of ice by noon. How do you put in a gondola without providing a green trail that almost everybody can handle? Most skiers could ride the old gondola and make their way down Cloud to the Saddle Lodge. Now these same blue and green skiers (and boarders) were afraid to ride the Gondola. It took almost 10 years to get the green trail Ruby Run when it should have been the first trail cut.

The other uncut trails on the map might never be cut due to Gore's 40 mile limit in the NYS constitution. Does anybody know how glades are counted? Maybe they are not counted at all towards the total. If this is the case they should officially glade the entire lower mountain.

I didn't realize Foxlair was widened. I mean I knew I was less scared, but I attributed it to a big jump in my skillz. :roll:

I'm 99% sure the glades don't go against the limit. The way I understood Mike, the stuff in purple uses up the last of the 40 miles.

[fujative.]

Does anybody know how glades are counted? Maybe they are not counted at all towards the total. If this is the case they should officially glade the entire lower mountain.

As far as I'm aware, it doesn't. Nor do liftlines.

Glading the entire lower mountain would be awesome, but the way it doesn't all funnel into one place and snowmaking pipes make that a big issue. I think insurance has a huge part to do with it as well.

[Spongeworthy]

If Foxlair had gone straight it would have to descend those very sizable cliffs. The map Fuj noted shows the work road that ascends to ORG's midstation from Sunway. My guess is the " purple trail " was to no benefit as it would have left skiers on lower Tannery, before the Topridge triple existed. A MTN bike trail map recently released by Gore shows an existing, open bike trail down that valley to Tannery.

Several years before Ruby run opened, I used to run into a group of men on the hill who were upset about Foxlair as it gets hazardous at day's end.

They were all " We gotta do something about this. Someone's gonna get killed. You call the Senator, I'll call so & so, We'll get this BS fixed." They used terms like " bodybags " and noted the many injuries on Foxlair that weekend. When Gore added a netting wall outside of the right edge of FL and attempted to widen it by building it out with snow, these guys were upset again. " This is BS. They were supposed to build another trail down. Let's go down and call right now " blah blah blah.

Lo and behold, Ruby Run materialized. Don't know for sure how much a part this group of men played. They seemed like the kind of men who were used to getting things accomplished, using their influence to cut through the BS and making people do what needs to be done.

" This is what you're going to do and this is how you're going to do it. Any questions? "

My kinda of guys.They just talked to Bean Dip.

Say what you will about the guy, but he has very sensitive antennae and is always way ahead of the curve when it comes to fixing and anticipating safety concerns.

[I:)skiing]

I enjoy the Top Ridge lift...very relaxing, not couded. Just what the thighs and hams need after 5-6 runs down Rumor. Seeing a finished run off to the right would "finish" this area and make it look official rather than an after thought. THis is a big long lift for just a few runs, down one side. That aways seems odd.


This run was discussed two years back...love to see it happen. Someday.


Looking for a nice hike? Base of top ridge down to Peaceful Valley. I have hiked the from the bottom up 2/3s, had to turn around to get back on kid watch. Absolutely one of the nicer stream hikes--which I love. Big slides, overhanging trees, small falls, holes etc. Two things to look for:

SEIS markers....Saw about 4...testing zones for water quality? They were newly flagged.

About 1/3 up from PV road--a cable runs across the river. Looks to be about 60 yrs old. I wonder who carried all the wood and cable up there. What it was for etc. Seems to be an old cable bridge.....but why? History?

[rossi]

PICTURES...lots of them

to start, ever go up the access road and see a rock that sticks out to the right of the midstation, well i went and found that.


http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/001-1.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/010.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/009.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/008.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/011.jpg


then made my way to the midstation...

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/015.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/016.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/017.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/018.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/019.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/020.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/021.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/022.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/023.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/024-1.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/025-1.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/026-1.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/027-1.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/028-1.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/029-1.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/030.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/031.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/032.jpg

and i passed this on the way home... :lol: she apparently was looking at a map on a dead straight road and freaked, drove into the ditch. car had practically no front end damage so she had to have been going under 10mph.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/bushwacker99/035-1.jpg

[Snowballs]

Way to go Connor! Great job! Great Pics. Looking at them made me wish I was with you. That rock looks like a great spot for Icarus to take flight. And the ORG midstation, Bigger than Texas, I was very surprised to see how big it is and it's in very good shape,,, book my family and I:)skiing's family a weekend there.

It's very cool to get a look inside the ORG midstation. Bet your pics bring back memories for those who rode ORG before. Most of us would never get to see it without your effort. Thanks Connor.

Did you ascend it's work road? The ORG midstation is nestled in a little notch atop that thin ridge and has cool looking little knolls on both sides that look like they'd be fun to explore. I was also surprised how much rise there is above the midstation but I guess it should be so. One looks down a good ways from the TR chair to the midstation.

OK Harv, get baking. :wink:

Now it's joke time.....

What did the ditch say to the Toyota?

Guess that Prius just didn't see us!

[Snowballs]

Ah, that Snowballs...He's funny!

[rossi]

When looking at the midstation from down below, to the right is just a peak really. There is no point where a trail comes "down" to it. Lots of big boulders and cliffs. On cliff for example isn't wide, but has an average 30ft drop, then a big boulder that is on the cliff adds another 30+ft. So tallest part being 60+ft. That cliff is really sketchy to be on cuz it's sloped to the end. To the right of te midstation is also a ridgeline. Basically a really long steep clifflike section running parallel to the tannery work road so nothing really skiable put there. Also someone talked earlier about skiing to the org from tr3. Also wouldn't work. About 200ft behind the midstation is a valley that goes to the next tower which stands atleast 80ft up. I walked up the work road to otterslide glade, walked through those to subway. Back to the work road. Then bushwacked to get to the cliff. Then to work road and midstation.

[Harvey44]

Very cool. The inside to of the building looks like one of those things where the people who left on the last day thought they were coming back.

Except all the gondi cars are gone. I guess they stored the cars at the bottom and/or the top? I assume they are taken off line.

The third pic of the base lodge is an interesting angle. Looks like a telephoto?

Yikes on the Prius. Looks like nobody was hurt.

[rossi]

Telephoto, no idea what that means. Haha. Just zoomed in to get a picture of it. The lady was fine, like I said she couldn't have been going more than 10mph when she went in. The car looked like I didn't have a scratch. Btw that's the parking lot for the fireplace/chimeny store for those who care. Haha

[rossi]

also forgot to mention. on the way down i walked through the wildair glades. i must say they look like they will be quite fun. runs parallel to the trail, maybe 30ft off the trail. nice consistant pitch with nothing really challenging, but thats the point. without snow its hard to say how the lines will shape up but looks like some nice runs will form. plus for the park rats, with a little creativity there are some really nice jibs hidden thoughout. its not complete yet, not really half way down wildair. but for the gore staff readers, if you plan on going to the bottom of wildair, or anywhere on wildair for that matter, please dont put the out anywhere near the landing/drop in of a feature that would be on wildair, please please please. haha. if you do plan on going all the way to the bottom, just an idea, put the out where the last jump was, and move the jump to the otherside of the trail.

[Harvey44]

Rossi .. what Mike told me was that the exit was to be on 3B.

[rossi]

ahh thats good then.

[Snowballs]

I thought Gore's new Pic o' the day looked familiar.

[rossi]

hahaha, i almost forgot i sent that too them.