Lets hear the stories. Ski stories first, lady stories tomorrow

Mine: Again not at gore but hell its powder.

Greek peak: 2nd in the lot, 4th in line, the first lift was bum so at 9:35 (mtns suppose to open at 9:30) they said alright every go to lift 1. rat race to the lift, arguing fighting, pushing- a pretty good scene. "no friends on a pow day"

Anyway i got bumped back to about 10th chair. Which didn't sit well with me, but i figured there would be enough snow to go around. Pretty much fresh lines for 4 hrs. After that my back quad down by my knee started cramping. tried to take one more run and it was a bad idea, had to be careful so it wouldn't cramp up again, horrible feeling.

Only thing to complain about was the lack of steep grade at that mtn, tough to get a full run of solid turns without running out of momentum.

Had some sweet falls: While skiing the power lines i was cruzing, went off the beaten path and hit unexpected waist deep, rag dolled had a tough time getting out of my hole. You just gotta laugh at all the snow.

After the liftline arguing was over, there was fun to be had by all. I was like a dream hearing out hooting and hollering riding the lifts up without ONE sound of ice/hardpack.

If you weren't able to get out there today you'll be fine tomorrow. This will keep the conditions great for a while, but id would suggest the WOODS.

Hope everyone up at Gore gets home safe this afternoon. Looking forward to your stories.




Not the best pic, its from a cell phone, but you get the point

I'd love to rant, and rave about how wonderful it was, but, for me anyway, it wasn't. Too thick, too quick, too much. I was hoping for a nice four to eight inch start to the day with fill in windblown after that, but I walked out the door to twelve to sixteen, and it took me an hour just to get out of the driveway.

Had to drop the pack at Saddle on first gondi, and, tuck or no, had a five minute trek across the flat with wind creating lake chop, six inch waves up the flat off upper showcase from winds coming up the mountain.

Once you got going it was fine if you had 120mm under foot, but my 78 kept diving, and then the leg crank to keep it together from an over the tips plant. One of the rare times I wished I had a snowboard.

Anyway, I could go on, but for those of you who didn't make it, don't fret.

It'll be way sweet, and a much needed addition to the base, but as a ski experience I could have done without. Especially the four, and a half hour ride back to Capital land.

NPN wrote:

I'd love to rant, and rave about how wonderful it was, but, for me anyway, it wasn't. Too thick, too quick, too much. I was hoping for a nice four to eight inch start to the day with fill in windblown after that, but I walked out the door to twelve to sixteen, and it took me an hour just to get out of the driveway. Had to drop the pack at Saddle on first gondi, and, tuck or no, had a five minute trek across the flat with wind creating lake chop, six inch waves up the flat off upper showcase from winds coming up the mountain. Once you got going it was fine if you had 120mm under foot, but my 78 kept diving, and then the leg crank to keep it together from an over the tips plant. One of the rare times I wished I had a snowboard. Anyway, I could go on, but for those of you who didn't make it, don't fret. It'll be way sweet, and a much needed addition to the base, but as a ski experience I could have done without. Especially the four, and a half hour ride back to Capital land.

How can you complain about too much powder??? That's not right.

Jack the Ripper wrote:

NPN wrote: I'd love to rant, and rave about how wonderful it was, but, for me anyway, it wasn't. Too thick, too quick, too much. I was hoping for a nice four to eight inch start to the day with fill in windblown after that, but I walked out the door to twelve to sixteen, and it took me an hour just to get out of the driveway. Had to drop the pack at Saddle on first gondi, and, tuck or no, had a five minute trek across the flat with wind creating lake chop, six inch waves up the flat off upper showcase from winds coming up the mountain. Once you got going it was fine if you had 120mm under foot, but my 78 kept diving, and then the leg crank to keep it together from an over the tips plant. One of the rare times I wished I had a snowboard. Anyway, I could go on, but for those of you who didn't make it, don't fret. It'll be way sweet, and a much needed addition to the base, but as a ski experience I could have done without. Especially the four, and a half hour ride back to Capital land. How can you complain about too much powder??? That's not right.

Listen, no one more than me would like to have reported this differently, but that's how it was. And I was not alone; everyone I saw, and spoke to on the mountain was panting, sore, and bummin'. I'm not talkin' abouit the beaters, these were local hardcore experts ( but, remember, we're talking Gore now ).

Had I only brought the Beast 92's it might have been a whole different story, but I didn't want to jinx the storm as I headed up to the ski house last night.

NP,

From what you're saying it wasn't powder. Everything that falls from the sky isn't powder. With ALB reporting some mixed precip, it was probably pretty dense. Appreciate the honest report, thanks man.

Harv

Well at Whiteface I can guarantee you it was pure cold smoke. Felt like it was heavier on the lift, but oh so light under my board today.

NPN, where trails did you ski? The ski change probably would have made a big difference. I need a bigger, wider board im old and fat now, it got hard to stay on top at times (19yrsold)

There were times when it caught you but most of the time it was sugar. It got harder and harder to see as the day went on. I did not get into the woods but it was way deep off the edge of the trail. Definately dense stuff, though.

Lbtchnlgs wrote:

NPN, where trails did you ski? The ski change probably would have made a big difference. I need a bigger, wider board im old and fat now, it got hard to stay on top at times (19yrsold)

Now, now, don't call yourself old, and fat; let someone else do that for you before you face the music for real.

I started out with a Ruby into U. S.case to Sunway, followed by an Uncas, followed by a Hawkeye, followed by a Rumor, followed by a Topridge, followed by a repeat of my start to the day, followed by a White Hawk IPA, followed by another White Hawk IPA, followed by..... well, let's just say after four, and a half hours from Pleasant Valley Road to Capital land a few more trails were covered.

how was the crowd?

It was good. . . . It was real good.

I had 78 underfoot (should have brought my 95 underfoot Karhu Jaks). The lower mountain was unskiable. Like NPN said, too much snow. There wasn't enough pitch on the lower mountain to keep you going. The lower mountain was tiring to ski.

The upper mountain, on the other hand, was sublime. Rumor and Lies were windblown on their respective headwalls, but the powder filled in below. I was getting face shots on my Tele Skis. I made the mistake of skiing Upper Chatiemas Glades early wth first tracks - bad idea. The snow was too deep. and it was tough to manuever in the tight confines. The best skiing was the steeps (Hawkeye, Rumor, Lies) and the glades that had been lightly skied. The Cave was Epic. Lower Chatie Glades and Straightbrook Glades were decent, but a little bony underneath about 2 feet of light, fluffy fresh.

I estimate that there were about 25 inches when I left around 3:15, and it was still puking. The forecast calls for 10-15" more. They kicked everyone off the mountain, though, as a state of emergency was declared in Warren County because of the snow. It only took me 3 hours to get back to Clifton Park, but it was definitely worth it . . . especially because I went up last night and was on the slopes by 8:30.

I took pictures and some video, but couldn't take too much because it was COLD. I'll post the pics when I get the chance. Good pics of glades and powder. I'll be back tomorrow, which should be another epic day . . . maybe even more so, as they will have groomed the lower mountain. Also, they should open the Dark Side, which remained closed all day (which should make for sweet freshies tomorrow.

Also, to answer an questions about snow quality, it was all snow - light, fresh, and perfect. No mix, no rain, no ice. The only thing that made it heavy was the sheer quanitity of it. 2 feet of snow on a trail like Sunway will make anyone tired.

No crowd, never a line at any lift all day . . . parking lot never got more than around 60 cars.

mattchuck2 wrote:

It was good. . . . It was real good. I had 78 underfoot (should have brought my 95 underfoot Karhu Jaks). The lower mountain was unskiable. Like NPN said, too much snow. There wasn't enough pitch on the lower mountain to keep you going. The lower mountain was tiring to ski. The upper mountain, on the other hand, was sublime. Rumor and Lies were windblown on their respective headwalls, but the powder filled in below. I was getting face shots on my Tele Skis. I made the mistake of skiing Upper Chatiemas Glades early wth first tracks - bad idea. The snow was too deep. and it was tough to manuever in the tight confines. The best skiing was the steeps (Hawkeye, Rumor, Lies) and the glades that had been lightly skied. The Cave was Epic. Lower Chatie Glades and Straightbrook Glades were decent, but a little bony underneath about 2 feet of light, fluffy fresh. I estimate that there were about 25 inches when I left around 3:15, and it was still puking. The forecast calls for 10-15" more. They kicked everyone off the mountain, though, as a state of emergency was declared in Warren County because of the snow. It only took me 3 hours to get back to Clifton Park, but it was definitely worth it . . . especially because I went up last night and was on the slopes by 8:30. I took pictures and some video, but couldn't take too much because it was COLD. I'll post the pics when I get the chance. Good pics of glades and powder. I'll be back tomorrow, which should be another epic day . . . maybe even more so, as they will have groomed the lower mountain. Also, they should open the Dark Side, which remained closed all day (which should make for sweet freshies tomorrow. Also, to answer an questions about snow quality, it was all snow - light, fresh, and perfect. No mix, no rain, no ice. The only thing that made it heavy was the sheer quanitity of it. 2 feet of snow on a trail like Sunway will make anyone tired.

were you hiking out on upper chadi with a person with alpines while coming across a group of about 8 younger kids, 14-17 by any chance?

Yes indeed I was . . . wearing blue, my girlfriend was in white.

That first run up there was rough, huh?

bluebird for most of the day














Still easy to find knee deep, some very fun drifts


Here is some accidental ice sculpting: