Quick update from Gore on Saturday. Rain earlier in the week put an end to the nice 2+ week stretch of great ski conditions. 4 inches of snow on Thursday followed by 2 more Friday night helped bring conditions back, although the icy crust lurked below the surface at all times to remind skiers that this is the east.
We had expected a big crowd due to the "backyard effect" - Thursday's storm had brought a foot to downstate - but attendance seemed at best average for a mid-winter weekend. We frequently had the trails to ourselves.
As usual, we hit the summit terrain early in the day, skiing Hawkeye, Chatiemac, Lies and Open Pit. The grooming crews had done a great job working the surfaces, but there was no avoiding the crunch and scrape that the rain had left behind earlier in the week. Lower angled terrain just skied better, so we headed down to the lower mountain by late morning.
Front-side terrain skied great. Showcase, Sunway and Twister were all in excellent shape thanks to the groomers and the recent snowfall. A handful of lower-angle glades were open, and we poked around some fun lines through the trees. Even though it wasn't exactly a prime day for the glades, it's always fun to get off the groomed trails and feel some natural snow underfoot.
Daniel and I tried a steeper off-piste line or two and it was essentially a dust-on-crust situation. The half foot of snow that followed the rain and freeze-up simply wasn't bonding well to the surface below, making for some challenging sliding conditions. Of course all of that is changed now, with Sunday's storm adding another foot of powder. We're jealous of those who got to ski the storm, but we'll have our shot at some snow as we are headed to Big Sky next week. For Gore, it looks like this coming weekend could be some of the best skiing in 2 years, and we're happy to see great conditions for skiers and a successful holiday weekend for the mountain.
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