Gore versus Whiteface

[SKIdds]

Well, my brother and I did take a day to ski last Thursday. After much deliberation, we decided to save a little drive time and explore a new mountain, and we went to Gore. We hadn't been since we were teenagers some 20 years ago. Now it seems silly to me that we haven't been there in that long, as Gore is a great mountain. Oh, and conditions were AMAZING. 100% open, tons of powder to be found in the woods, lots of steep and ungroomed terrain. Here are some pics from our adventures in some of the glades.

http://forums.skiadk.com/modules.php...view_album.php

Now we are big LP/Whiteface fans and I get up there four or five times a season, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to compare Whiteface and Gore. Let me start by saying that both resorts get an A in my book.....but that is where the similarities end.

I'll start with Whiteface. Whiteface is quite simply a great big mountain experience. It's got great sustained vertical, a wonderful and efficient lift system, some nice steep terrain, some decent glades, and an incredible backcountry experience when The Slides are open. There are some nooks and crannies to explore that aren't on the map (not that I condone such a thing ), along with nice long intermediate terrain and good beginner trails. One would be remiss in grading Whiteface if you didn't consider the Olympic history of the mountain, the world class World Cup events the mountain draws, and the town of Lake Placid which contributes to Whiteface being one of the top ranked mountains in the country year after year. What's not to like? Well, there are a few things I suppose. Too much grooming for my taste, not enough moguls allowed to develop, and some tempting terrain that can't be skied because Whiteface is limited in the miles of trails it is allowed to maintain under the terms of their use of the land, and possibly a little bit of a conservative attitude on terrain (notwithstanding The Slides of course). But the very good far outweighs the little drawbacks, and the combination of Whiteface and Lake Placid serves to make the area our destination of choice, with the town being a large part of the equation.

So what about Gore? Well, let me start by throwing out the things it will never have compared to it's sibling farther up in the Adirondacks. Gore doesn't have the pure sustained vertical, top to bottom kind of experience you get at Whiteface. While Gore's gondola is nice, it is somewhat less useful than Whiteface's. Much, heck most, of the great advanced terrain can't be accessed from the gondola, such that my brother and I hardly used it. Getting the negatives out of the way, there are a lot of flats and runouts around the mountain as well. Of course it will never have the town and off hill activities that Lake Placid offers. But that's it. Now for the accolades. The terrain is simply incredible. The place is a vertiable playground for the advanced skier, and it's got some great, uncrowded beginner and intermediate terrain that is ripe for carving and learning, even more than Whiteface. From this expert skier's perspective, one who has skied Whiteface a lot and loves it, Gore's terrain is simply more challenging and more fun. In the Staightbrook Area it's got more steeps than the big mountain up the Northway offers. The Rumor is the real deal. Then there are the glades. Tons of them all over the mountain. Steep and technical, as well as some with widely spaced trees, whatever suits your taste. There are just so many places to explore on the mountain, and while not official, you can explore unlimited nooks, crannies and tree shots between trails within boundaries. My brother and I explored the whole day and still didn't get to at least a quarter of the mountain. But it's not just the steeps and the glades that make the mountain fun, it's the very nature of the topography and geology itself. The place is a rocky, craggy piece of stone and dirt that provides endless dropoffs, waterfalls, boulders and little cliffs to launch from and play on. And not just in the glades. Many of the liftlines are open trails, providing interesting terrain, lots of obstacles, and an audience to boot. A lot of Gore's terrain reminded me of Mad River Glen, Castlerock at Sugarbush, Stowe and it's plentiful woods........simply some of the best advanced terrain in the east. And much of it goes ungroomed, with plenty of bumps to be found throughout the mountain. And then there is the now unofficial backcountry terrain which we can't talk about.......

So to sumit all up, Whiteface is a quintessential big mountain experience with a great town to boot, while Gore is a quintessential New England skiing experience with super terrain. So I've added a new mountain which will become part of my regular repertoire in Gore. Overnight trips with the family will continue to be Whiteface/Lake Placid due to the incredible town and the wonderful terrain. If I were to take an overnight trip just for me, which means ski hard, crash early, wake up sore the next day and repeat, I'd do so at Gore. Day trips in the late spring when The Slides open will be to Whiteface due to that wonderful backcountry experience. But other day trips and apres snowfall skiing sicknesses will be to Gore by nature of it's extremely fun, interesting and challenging terrain.

Oh, and thanks to some of the Gore regulars who have showed me around and provided me with some great info. I've skied with a number of Whiteface regulars on these boards, now I look forward to doing the same with some of the Gore contingent.

[midweeker]

First, that was a great TR. The pics say it all. I split my time between Gore & WF. As a rule, I end up spending more time at Gore. Next year with the opening of the new terrain on both Gore & WF, it should be hog heaven.

The pics of the glades are nice. I really haven't poked into them much as I have been skiing with my wife.

She is now growing from a blue to a black skier and I think next season, she will want to try some open glades.

Any suggestions?

[Adk Keith]

Nice balanced TR

As far as beginner glades, Otter Slide Glades and Tahawas Glades, especially after they've been skied out a little. That's how I've started a few skiers off in the woods.