Gore Mountain: 12/29/2012

One thing is for certain: this is not last winter. Snow all day today (six inches?) after well over a foot on Thursday and more snow before that has put Gore into the best conditions we've seen in probably two years. We weren't the only ones excited about all the snow: apparently Gore logged back-to-back record or near-record days both yesterday and today.

A dozen ski deals & discounts for 2013

If you have flexibility in your schedule, there’s no need to pay full rate for lift tickets. Listed below are the top deals and discounts I’ve found for 2013. All information is accurate at the time of publication, but be sure to check each ski area’s website for additional details. One more tip: “like” each ski area’s Facebook page to stay up to date on additional promotions that may be announced during the season.

Gore Mountain: 12/23 & 12/24/2012

UPDATED FOR 12/24/2012 BELOW

Somehow Gore Mountain lucked out last week and landed on the right side of the snow / rain dividing line. Nine inches of snow fell on Friday, and while some rain mixed in, it was nonetheless a snow event, leaving behind a dense white base that now covers the trails, glades and trees.

Finally a wintery looking summit

Adirondack ski areas by the numbers: Snowmaking

Snowmaking can be a skier’s best friend, extending the season and providing good conditions when natural snow is in short supply. Early season may be the most crucial time of all, when skiing may not even be possible without snowmaking. That’s certainly been the case this year, with practically no natural snowfall to speak of yet. Here’s a quick overview of snowmaking systems at Adirondack ski areas.

Snowmaking Comparison

	Air cfm	Water gpm	acre/ft per day	acres	# of days
Whiteface	32000	6000	30	275	9.2
Gore Mountain	27000	6000	30	400	13.3
Killington, VT	n/a	12000	80	600	7.5
Hunter	90000	10320	60	240	4.0
West Mountain	n/a	2800	n/a	85	n/a
Willard Mountain	n/a	1200	n/a	60	n/a
Oak Mountain	n/a	500	n/a	20	n/a
Hickory Ski Center	No snowmaking
Big Tupper	No snowmaking

Gore Mountain: 12/15/2012

Just a quick report from skiing Gore today. Even though it was a bright, clear day, I didn't take many pictures. Since it was just Daniel and me skiing today (Beth and Sylvie had Sylvie's 5th birthday party), I didn't have much time for photograpy. Every time I felt like I must be far enough ahead of D to stop, take out my camera and snap a picture of him skiing, he'd be right along side me. In fact, the majority of my photos were taken at the top of the gondola, where I can easily catch D on the flats. Of course that meant we got in a good deal of skiing.

Whiteface Mountain Media Day: 12/12/2012

Beth and I were lucky enough to be invited up for Whiteface's New York Media Ski Day again this year. Having attended last year's event, I knew it would be a fun day of skiing, a great lunch, and an interesting opportunity to speak with a bunch of Whiteface / ORDA personnel about what's going on at the ski mountain. The only problem was Monday's rain and 40+ degree temperatures, just 2 days earlier.

Snowmaking blizzard outside the base lodge

Gore Mountain: 12/09/2012

On Sunday half of our family chose other activities (I’ll never understand that!), leaving the skiing to just Sylvie and me. Last winter was Sylvie’s first year on skis, so today was a great opportunity for her to log a bunch of early season runs with 100% attention from Dad.

Gore Mountain: 12/01/2012, and how I buy my skis

Not such a great day at the mountain for pictures, but an excellent day for skiing. A week-long stretch of good snowmaking conditions enabled Gore to open quite a bit more terrain since last weekend, and the guns continued blowing snow all day today.

I'll get this out of the way right up front: I love my new skis. Today was my first day on my K2 Sideshows, purchased at the end of last season. With a wood core and 90mm waist they are very similar to my now retired but much loved K2 Work Stinx. The narrow (by today's standard) waist excels on firm snow, the wood core construction adds liveliness, and mild tip rocker plus 40mm of sidecut means they want to turn. For me, that's a winning combination. While it may sound like I researched this purchase, the reality is I bought these skis on the basis of feedback from a few of the guys I ski with, guys I've been skiing with for 20 year who know and share my ski preferences.