jamesdeluxe
Administrator
I finished off my three-day ADK quickie with two days at Whiteface. 36 hours beforehand, Monday's weather event was looking like up to a half inch of rain followed by a freeze. Lovely. But it turned out to be all snow, about five inches.
After they groomed it in overnight, Tuesday was a prime Whiteface cruising day, so I spent most of it doing laps off the summit lift and conditions never deteriorated -- there was enough substance to the new snow that it didn't get skied off:
About the only place you had to pay attention was the teeth-rattling runout at the very bottom of the mountain, which didn't soften due to no sun and cold temps. But hey, that left about 2,700 vertical feet of great turns. I only make it to WF once every other year, but on my first few laps on every visit, I'm always surprised by how long the runs are.
The new snow put Whiteface's YTD total at 232 inches, but like anywhere in the east (even Jay Peak, which is now at 341 inches), you're only as good as today's conditions. Depending on where you are at the mountain, you'll see stretches of off-piste terrain with little to no snow -- due, I assume, to wind, rain, and anything else that you can think of. The Slides weren't open, but they looked well covered from the lift.
Due to bad timing on previous visits over the past 2.5 years, this was my first time skiing off the Lookout Mountain triple. Wilmington was the only trail open, and it was in nice shape after Monday night's grooming. Given all the potential ski terrain back there, in a perfect world without budget constraints or trail limits, it's tough not to fantasize about Whiteface opening a pile of new trails back there.
After they groomed it in overnight, Tuesday was a prime Whiteface cruising day, so I spent most of it doing laps off the summit lift and conditions never deteriorated -- there was enough substance to the new snow that it didn't get skied off:
About the only place you had to pay attention was the teeth-rattling runout at the very bottom of the mountain, which didn't soften due to no sun and cold temps. But hey, that left about 2,700 vertical feet of great turns. I only make it to WF once every other year, but on my first few laps on every visit, I'm always surprised by how long the runs are.
The new snow put Whiteface's YTD total at 232 inches, but like anywhere in the east (even Jay Peak, which is now at 341 inches), you're only as good as today's conditions. Depending on where you are at the mountain, you'll see stretches of off-piste terrain with little to no snow -- due, I assume, to wind, rain, and anything else that you can think of. The Slides weren't open, but they looked well covered from the lift.
Due to bad timing on previous visits over the past 2.5 years, this was my first time skiing off the Lookout Mountain triple. Wilmington was the only trail open, and it was in nice shape after Monday night's grooming. Given all the potential ski terrain back there, in a perfect world without budget constraints or trail limits, it's tough not to fantasize about Whiteface opening a pile of new trails back there.