SAM Magazine—North Creek, N.Y., Jan. 27, 2022—Plans were unveiled this week for a new base lodge, a unique aerial attraction, a new chairlift, and additional ski terrain for the North Creek Ski Bowl area of New York’s Gore Mountain, which is owned and operated by the state-run Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA). Officials are seeking environmental permits for the projects, and said the lodge and aerial attraction could be open by fall 2023.

The proposed $30 million, 18,300-square-foot base lodge will house a restaurant and tavern, retail, ski patrol headquarters, and two levels of mountain-facing patios. Plans call for the upper level to include a wall of retractable glass panels that can open up for open-air dining and unobstructed views of the mountain. Gore general manager Jim “Bone” Bayse said the building would be used year-round, and it won’t replace the existing Ski Bowl Lodge.

Installation of an all-season “rail zip line” is also planned for North Creek. “You won't see this type of attraction anywhere else in the country,” said Bayse. The exact product has yet to be specified, but Bayse described it as a hybrid of a zip line and a chairlift. According to a report from The Sun the attraction will be a self-propelled, electric-powered ride “in a zig-zag suspended course up the mountain.” 

The project scope also includes the replacement and re-alignment of the Hudson Chair, a triple chairlift out of the North Creek base area that terminates atop Little Gore Mountain, from which skiers and riders can connect to the main areas of Gore Mountain Resort. New ski trails with snowmaking are also in the plans. 

North Creek Ski Bowl opened in 1934 as a standalone ski area. It was connected to Gore with the addition of the Hudson Chair in the mid-2000s. In addition to alpine terrain, it’s home to a network of cross-country trails in winter and mountain-biking terrain in the warmer months. 

Further details of the proposed new infrastructure and attractions are forthcoming, pending permit approval. 

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