Gore Mountain: 03/12/2011

It's too bad that the snow-to-rain event Thursday night and Friday had to bring an end to the outstanding conditions skiers had been enjoying all week, but such is the roller coaster of March. Conditions on Saturday were actually pretty good on the lower mountain, where grooming produced a surface that I'll call heavy packed snow: damp but carvable.

Temperatures within a few degrees of the freezing mark kept the lower mountain from freezing hard overnight, and by afternoon the bottom third of the mountain transitioned into spring conditions. The moguls on Arena, at the very bottom of the mountain, were my pick of the day, providing a taste of the soft spring bump skiing that is (hopefully) just around the corner. Chatterbox Glade, which may have been the only open glade on the mountain, was a close second. Echo was also excellent.

The upper mountain remained cold all day however, with firm and fast conditions. The inch of snow that had fallen Saturday morning helped, but for the most part the trails were quite scratchy. The glades are mostly unskiable right now, with breakable crust conditions. The good news is that there is a ton of snow, so with the right weather conditions we may get the chance for some great spring tree skiing.

Right now we are stuck in the middle between winter and spring. Winter may yet make another push, but spring is inevitable. With a little cooperation from the weatherman, the deep base on the trails and in the woods should provide some great spring skiing in the coming weeks.