Gore - Feb 9, 2008

MORE GORE!

MORE GORE!


This picture is of the Dark Side Glades. I thought this was a pretty cool name for glades. These are on the north side of the mountain in the High Peaks area. Once you are there you can ride the old school High Peaks double. I believe this area of the mountain is only open when there is plenty of snow and now I understand why. This side of the mountain has some steep, rocky areas. Also, I don't think there is much snowmaking over here since it's kinda off the beaten path, but that's the way I like it.

The Dark Side glades are actually between Hullabaloo and Lower Steilhang, the former a single black and the latter a double black, so that gives you an idea of what the terrain is like in there. Here are some nice little drops I found and actually hit both of them! Not as bad as I thought it would be. Snow was soft since Gore had gotten 20" the past week, plus I was confident I could do it. It was very tight in there, so I had to hit the brakes as soon as I landed. Best part was I landed square and on balance, then stopped. Here is another pic. This was my favorite part of the day.

Sleighride and Showcase were in good shape. As was Lies, a very steep trail. Last run of the day was in the Chatiemac Glades. I wasn't expecting much, but this was a nice open glade. Next big snowfall I will definitely hit these early. I would think they get skied off quick since it is off a popular trail and easily accessible.

That's it for this time.

Jay Peak Weekend - Jan 26-27

Jay Peak!! Woo Hoo!!! I checked the conditions all week, and the time was right. Jay had received about 2 ft of snow the previous week, so the conditions were incredible.

Drove up Friday night and met and with Chris and some other people staying in the house that weekend. Was on the slopes Saturday morning before 9am. There was about 6-8 inches of fresh powder from the night before! Not sure where to begin.... everything we hit was real good. I had to move my bindings all the way back cause there was so much powder. It really helped. Made a few runs thru Timbuk glades. Again, real good conditions, very easy to find powder. The glades at Jay are fantastic. The trees are thinned out perfectly. Plenty of room to maneuver, but still plenty of trees.

Eventually, Chris, Randy and I broke away from the group we were with and started making Dip runs. These glades were even better than Timbuk. The Dip is 'out of bounds' and ends on route 242, where Randy had left his truck. Tons of fresh snow in The Dip. We took some video in here. Here is one of me and another of Chris. Lots of open spaces with a few cliff drops, some as high as 10 feet.

Sunday we got on the lift about 10. Slept in a little after many beers at the mountain bar on Saturday and then more beers at the JVI with dinner. Started and ended in The Dip and spent most of our time in here. In between, we ventured over to the other side of Jay and hit some other glades. I don't remember their name, but the were tighter and steeper, but just as fun in an even more challenging way. Last few runs in the Dip I started to feel more confident hitting small drops and jumps. Staying aggressive and attacking it is the way to go, otherwise you lay back and become off balance when going airborn.

Thanks to Chris and Randy for driving the Dip runs all day. Overall an incredible two days!