Pillars: More than ready to hit the slopes

And if I haven’t skied until mid-December, I’m usually more excited to go up the mountain as I start typing it up after doing some raking and walking the dog in lush green fields like summer Am.

Maybe it’s the stress of dealing with the sidewalk project in late November, or the final exams at Castleton University, or the recently completed book project, or this pandemic that’s blowing up again.

It certainly couldn’t have been a full day of rain last Saturday, could it?

But this weekend I’ll be ready.

Friends are headed to Gore Mountain and I plan to tag along.

Those who have visited said the skiing has been great, especially considering what the mountain has had to deal with freezing temperatures and a lack of natural snow. And my students who killed Killington are saying good things too.

Gore’s marketing manager Stephanie Bax said the mountain was offering skiing Tuesday on 19 trails serviced by five lifts. He said the number of trails could increase by the weekend.

“We were lucky to get some natural snow and some great snow weather ahead of this unseasonably hot weather and it’s still really cool,” she said Tuesday afternoon. “The grooms are doing a great job and we’re trying to make snow whenever we can.”

Bax said Gore added more snowmaking to several trails in the off-season and graded the lower section of the early Sunway Trail to make the experience “easier for beginners.”

Work was also done on the “Arena” trail in front of the base lodge, preparing it for the World University Games, which Gore is hosting in 2023, including slopestyle, big wind, boardercross and skicross events.

But Back also wanted to talk about COVID-19 protocols, saying that masks are required at the lodge and for all visitors to the gondola.

He said unvaccinated visitors should wear masks in lift lines, while vaccinated skiers and riders do not.

Bax also spoke of Gore’s Nordic center, noting that local schools are training and running there thanks to ice-making efforts. She said that they are currently offering skiing on about 1.5 kilometres.

I’ll tell you next week how my first turn in gore went.

West Mountain Ski Center in Queensbury won’t hit its targeted Saturday opening day, and now plans to open at 10 a.m. on Christmas Eve, co-owner Spencer Montgomery said Wednesday.

Like Gore, West Mountain was able to form a considerable amount of snow prior to recent warm weather, but Montgomery said he had not dispersed it yet, knowing the heat would melt it.

“We have stockpiled ice whales and we are in pretty good shape,” he said. “The bad news is we won’t open on the 18th, but thank God we’re getting this five-day cool stretch ahead of the holiday week.”

He said the cold snap starting on Sunday is expected to bring snow for 24 hours for several days.

There are plans to offer skiing on both sides of the Holly Mackerel, The Cure, Gnarwall and The Face trails, along with the extended Learning Hill.

Montgomery said that in the offseason, workers expanded the learning area by about 60%, removing trees and brush to the left of the Magic Carpet lift to allow skiing on both sides of it.

“Now we will be able to use one side for lessons and one side for public,” he said.

Not only will it increase the space for skiers to learn, Montgomery said it looks a lot more enjoyable and that parents can now see the area and their kids from the lodge, too.