Laura D.
Yelp
Beautiful mountain to ski in New York, without crazy crowds. I've been coming here the first weekend in January for the past 5 years, and almost every time it's been great (the one exception was 2008 when temps were in the 50s and there were only puddles to ski through).
Trails - Gore has a great variety of trails and lots of fun sections of the mountain to explore. The High Peaks, Straight Brook and Topridge areas at the top of the mountain are great for experts and intermediates, with steep mogul-y runs, steep groomed runs, and some fun cruising blues. The views are great, but it can get really windy up there. There are also a lot of steep glade sections, but they never seem to be open (at least in early Jan. when I'm there).
The North side and Northwoods (main) area have a lot of great cruising blues and windy off-shoots, as well as some greens. Burnt Ridge Mountain is a newer section with a few great long runs, and Little Gore is the newest opening this year (though I've never skied there since it was all closed.)
Lifts - The gondola is great, though on weekends the line can get kind of long. Luckily it moves pretty quickly. The Adirondack lift along side of the gondola gets you almost as high though (minus a couple short trails that aren't that great) with less wait. In general, lifts at Gore are quick and efficient, and lines at other areas of mountain have never been an issue. Lifts can get windy especially top of Topridge Triple and High Peaks, so be prepared!
Parks - Gore isn't really known for its terrain parks, but there are a couple with some decent features.
Staff/Crowd - Everyone I've encountered on the mountain has been friendly, and you can have some fun convos with people in the gondola. Also seems that there aren't a lot of show-offs, obnoxious teenagers, or tons of first-timers not knowing what they're doing. I was here on a Monday for the first time this year, and it was WAY less crowded (no waits and trails were clear) and the crowd seemed pretty local.
Snowmaking/Conditions - Being used to skiing in the poconos with some of the best snowmaking in the country, Gore's snowmaking didn't quite match up. Of course, it's in the Adirondack's so they get much more natural snow. Usually in early Jan about 50-75% of the trails are open. This year it was only a little over 50%, but they were vigorously making snow and grooming the snow that fell on Friday to open more. Trails can get icy, but hey - it's the East.
All I have to say is, MORE GORE!