Whiteface, NY 12/18-19/99

<I>(Note from the Administrator: This report was originally posted on 12/20/99. Due to our move to new servers, the date and time attributed to this post is incorrect.)</I> <BR> <BR>I couldn't resist taking in two days in a row this weekend. I finally got to ride the new gondola but the trails open didn't coordinate with the ride so I wound up doing full length runs off Little Whiteface down a bobsled run consistency route from Excelsior to Lower Northway to Upper Valley (or Broadway) to midstation but had to go all the way to the bottom to catch any lift at that point. (this was on Saturday) All skiers had to do this route from beginner/intermediates with ski instructions to many teams of junior racers who were training and warming up for a race today. These trails got glazed and polished smooth to the consistency of a skating rink. Any loose snow along the sides of the trails was ground up and mixed with gravel from grooming. I picked the right skis by going with my old Rossis as I needed all the stiffness and grip of the straight edges to combat the ice. I really tore up the bottoms pretty bad(for me) but didn't damage the edges permanently. I spent two hours last night p-texing and touching up the edges for whenever I would need them again. I was told that the snowmaking activity would probably do enough to open up Wilderness on the face of Little Whiteface today and I knew that there would not be any frozen base under that yet. So, after AM required family business, I headed back and got there at 12:00 noon. I went with the Rossis again as I thought the new cover would be rather thin and I would probably be hitting stuff under the snow. Wrong choice, they buried that trail and still ran the guns all day long with people skiing on it. It would have been perfect for the Elan super shaped Dark sides or the Volkls. I was so sure the cover would be so poor that I didn't even bring them with me. How quickly I forgot my lesson from my trip to Smuggler's last year. If you have any extra skis don't leave home without them. <BR> <BR>Once I got my boots on I could barely walk out of the lodge. Every sinew in both my legs and lower back and hips was screaming from fighting the ice all day yesterday. I even had arch cramps in my feet. I jumped on the gondola and ate my lunch that I brought along on the way up. I figured one warm-up run down the same way that was the main route to midstation would loosen me up enough to tackle Wilderness. Wrong again, the legs would go every which way but the way I wanted them to go. It was a good thing the ice was fairly prominent as I could just skid and slide whenever I had to try to turn. Also, I hadn't been on any black diamonds yet this season, let alone big moguls and steep ledges with solid Styrofoam type manmade cover on them. The face of Little Whiteface is right around 900 to 1000 ft of vert. and it seemed to take me an eternity and a zillion stops to catch my breath to get down. The sweat was pouring out of me like old faithful. I really considered just taking one more and calling it quits. The second run got a little easier it seemed and I started focusing on some of the tips that I have been picking up from instructional sources. My legs loosened up quite a bit and started fully cooperating and my stops became fewer. I started to flow with the terrain, in and out of the moguls and even carved up the slabbed stuff on the edge of the trail that broke away in three inch thick blocks. I was really getting into it and amazed at the way those old skis were performing. I really got an appreciation for the technique differences between today's shaped skis and the older straighter types. I stuck it out and was one of the last people to ride up before the patrol loaded for sweep. Then came the fun part. (not really) I had to make tiny little tiptoe type steps and balance myself along the wall to get into the lodge and change back into my street boots. Carrying the stuff out to the parking lot was really an ordeal. I don't remember having to concentrate on walking and not falling down so intensely since leaving the SKIVT-L party last April.(especially with no alcohol involved) I felt an urgent need to suffer(what a way to suffer) through those extra runs today in light of the weather forecast for the next day and a half or so. If the rain doesn't wash out the skiing altogether, it will be solid ice worse than it is now. (if that could ever be) <BR> <BR>They told me at Whiteface that they will go to full ticket price this Thursday or so no matter what is open. I imagine Vermont areas will do the same. Where's all those December snow storms we're supposed to get before the holidays? Time's running out.