Report from Sunday, January 17, 2025
It’s 6 a.m. on a Friday and I woke up in Hoboken, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan. I load up the car and off we go, following the Hudson 4 hours dead north to the Adirondacks. While I pass several ski resorts on my drive, including Hunter and Windham Mountain in the Catskills, and then West Mountain outside of Saratoga Springs, my ambitions for the day are bigger. My eyes are set on the biggest ski resort in New York. Gore Mountain.
Gore Mountain may very well be one of the most overlooked ski areas on the East Coast. If you talk with even well-versed East Coast skiers and riders and ask them about Gore Mountain, most of them don’t have too much to say about this New York staple. And while most people glance over this mountain and think nothing more of it, I find that quite odd, especially when you look at this resort on paper:
Quick Facts & History
- Date Opened: 1964
- Multi-Destination Pass: n/a
- Number of Trails: 115
- Skiable Acres: 453 (biggest in New York)
- Vertical Drop: 2,537′
- Base Elevation: 1,063′
- Summit Elevation: 3,600′
- Average Annual Snowfall: 125″
- Terrain Breakdown:
- Beginner: 11%
- Intermediate: 53%
- Advanced: 36%
- Number of Lifts: 14
- Night Skiing: Twilight Hours (North Creek Ski Bowl Only)
- Other Activities:
In the state of New York, which is home to the most ski areas out of any state in the U.S. with over 50, Gore Mountain is the largest in terms of skiable terrain. Looking at it from an East Coast perspective, this mountain ranks in the top ten for both skiable terrain and vertical drop and is home to a variety of true expert-only terrain, most notably The Rumor. Being owned and operated by the State of New York, the resort also has had solid access to capital, being able to continuously update and improve its infrastructure to keep up with the industry standard, most recently upgrading its Hudson Chair to a high-speed quad.
So with all of that considered, my biggest question about going to Gore Mountain for the first time was why? Why is this place so often overlooked by so many East Coast skiers?
Answers to this question ran through my mind on the drive up, and by 10:30 that morning I pulled up to the resort and was about to find out. While it was a Friday, we were required to park back in Lot F and ride a short shuttle ride up to the resort. As a result, my initial eagerness about experiencing a day without lift lines or crowds was muddled, although once we arrived at the main base area I was relieved to see that although there were a lot of cars, lift lines were non-existent.
The first half of my day consisted of spending time on the greens of Gore Mountain, teaching my girlfriend how to ski. Spending a lengthy amount of time with a beginner skier, which I have not done since my days of ski instructing, has refreshed my perspective of appreciating what ski resorts do to accommodate all levels of skiers. While prior research about Gore stated that this mountain does not offer the best beginner-friendly terrain, I have to say after visiting I disagree. From starting off at the two-stage magic carpet (or J Bar) to advancing to the Bear Cub Chair and then the Sunway Chair, I thought Gore Mountain does a great job not only offering a solid beginner progression area but also designing this area off on its own in comparison to the rest of the mountain so that it does not get crowded with other skiers.
When it comes to intermediate and advanced trails, this is where Gore Mountain truly shines. Although it is mid-January, conditions throughout the mountain were very patchy, due to a slow start to the season for Gore Mountain in terms of snowfall. While the upper mountain appeared to have a much better base than the lower mountain, there still was not enough to adequately cover most trails.
Regardless of the amount of natural snowfall, Gore Mountain has done a great job utilizing its snowmaking to still have over half of the mountain open. While the current openings mainly cater to intermediates and beginners, a couple of groomed black diamonds are available to ski, while some ungroomed runs on the upper mountain with signs marking ‘thin cover’ helped to diversify the opened terrain. I really appreciate when mountains open trails even when they are a little patchy, as long as they let skiers and riders know at the top.
Conditions
Weather Outlook
Photos
Looking back on my first day skiing in New York, Gore Mountain left a fond impression of the state. This mountain skis big and is very unique for the East Coast with its many mountains, faces, and aspects. Whenever this mountain is fully open, there is no doubt that it is a contender for the best ski resorts in the East, with amazing terrain for all skill levels, especially advanced skiers.
But it is the caveat of not having enough snow that leads me to believe why this place is so underappreciated. With only 125″ of average annual snowfall, in combination with being situated at a relatively low elevation further south than most Northeast ski areas, it appears as though during many parts of the season, most people cannot fully experience what Gore has to offer. While this year might be off to a particularly slow start, my fingers are crossed for more snow in the forecast, so I can get back to this mountain as soon as possible when it is fully open.
With flurries in the air by the time I pulled away, it is only a matter of time before the mountain starts to drop more ropes.
For more information, check out Gore Mountain’s website.
