LAKE PLACID, New York — The calendar still says September and the Lake Placid area has another three to four weeks to enjoy fall foliage. But Whiteface and Gore mountains and the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, all managed by the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), already have winter on their minds.

Gore Mountain in North Creek will install a high speed quad chairlift on Wednesday, Oct. 1, to service the Burnt Ridge section, set to open in December.

The following day, Thursday, Oct. 2, Whiteface Mountain, 10 miles from Lake Placid in Wilmington, will follow suit when 16 towers will be inserted to hoist a fixed grip triple chair servicing Lookout Mountain. This new area will also open to the public in December, and can be accessed from the Face Lift High Speed Quad Chair and the Easy Street trail.

Visitors and residents in those areas will see helicopters circling Gore and Whiteface throughout the day. Installations will begin in the morning, weather permitting.

Later in the winter, Whiteface will host World Cup freestyle skiing with ski cross qualifications on Jan. 18 and the finals on Jan. 19. The North American Alpine Championships return to the Olympic Mountain March 10-15.

Whiteface was rated fourth recently in the eastern United States by the readers of SKI Magazine, while Gore came in seventh according to the readers of SKIING Magazine.

The combination bobsled, luge and skeleton track at the Olympic Sports Complex, just five miles from the two-time Winter Olympic village, is now preparing for the start of national team training. The concrete is being chilled and water will turn to ice in time for the scheduled Oct. 6 opening date. That??в„ўs when USA Luge as well as the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation will hit the ice to begin preparations for their World Cup campaigns.

The season highlights at the mile-long, 20-turn chute on Mt. Van Hoevenberg will occur in February when the World Championships in all three disciplines are scheduled. Luge action will take place Feb. 6-8, while the skeleton and bobsleds crown World Champions Feb. 16-March 1.

During the final two weekends of October, guests can also take bobsled rides down the final 11 turns of this thrilling course, guided by ORDA-certified drivers and brakemen.

For a complete listing of ORDA activities, venue-by-venue, and web cams from five locations, please log on to www.orda.org.