Whiteface 4/6 - another spectacular day

[Sharon]

I can't believe what phenominal spring conditions we had this past weekend. It was seriously capped off yesterday with even warmer temperatures, bluer skies and better conditions in the slides. Slide 1 was epic. The ice corned up and we were able to ski the ice fall.

We skied slides 3, 2 and 1 that day.

Here are some pix from slide 1 which was by far the best.

 

[kcyanks1]

Do you have to hike to get into the Slides the way they have the open now? I skied them once before, in March 2001, and I had to hike through a path in the woods about 20-25 minutes to get to the top of Slide 1. I ended up only a short hike away from the summit of the mountain before skiing down. Perhaps I'm wrong, but it appears from the picture you posted about the traverse that you aren't getting to start from as high up.

 

[Patrick]

Thanks for the pics Sharon. I've personally never taken any pics of the place, but yours capture well what the Slides are.

Do you have to hike to get into the Slides the way they have the open now? I skied them once before, in March 2001, and I had to hike through a path in the woods about 20-25 minutes to get to the top of Slide 1. (...) Perhaps I'm wrong, but it appears from the picture you posted about the traverse that you aren't getting to start from as high up.

They changed the entry point. It's much easier now (having done it in 2002(?) and last year). It's just an uphill traverse off the Summit Quad, it's take maybe 5-10 minutes to reach the top of Slide 1.

 

[Sharon]

It takes about 5 minutes of uphill side-stepping to get to the point where you can drop into slide 1 (the first pic above).

You can traverse another 5+ minutes to slide 4, but there are some tricky spots to get across.

Sunday, a kid was trying to make the traverse to slide 4 at the point where you have to slide your skis into a narrow spot between a small tree and ice in order to stay high enough on the traverse (there's a pic in my the 4/3 thread of that sketchy spot). It was way worse on sunday and a kid had hit the ice buldge pretty hard trying to use speed to get across that gnarly spot and his ski popped off. It almost hit me as I was waiting to drop into slide 3 (there's a very narrow choke point to get into #3). The kid then "supermanned" himself down the hill after his ski...headfirst RIGHT AT ME! I got out of the way in time, but I was really PO'd. He was about 14 and not using good judgement. He was a ripper though and had the ski chops...just not good judgement in assessing how what he was doing was affecting those around him. We had to exercise our adult authority and he apologized. I hope he got it.

 

[Patrick]

He was about 14 and not using good judgement. He was a ripper though and had the ski chops...just not good judgement in assessing how what he was doing was affecting those around him.

That is one reason (+ gnarly waterfall cliffs) why I don't think a 10 year old should be skiing in the Slides, at least mine.

 

[Sharon]

There were a number of father/son teams in the slides this weekend. Saw a few boys who were around 8-10yrs old...but these kids were supervised and they clearly had the skills.

The 14yr old (superman) was with a 10 yr old. The 10 yr old didn't have much etiquette and passed all of us while we were waiting to get through a tight spot while his brother was "supermanning" our way to retrieve his ski. The youngster couldn't wait, but at least he has excellent skiing skills and poked his way right through our bottleneck. The 14yr old was probably not a very good influence.

130cm skis get through 150cm slots easier than 175cm skis do. The little guy clearly had an advantage, as well as lower center of gravity.

I was much relieved when these kids were below us. I felt they were a danger to us when they were uphill.

 

[Tony Crocker]

There were a number of father/son teams in the slides this weekend. Saw a few boys who were around 8-10yrs old...but these kids were supervised and they clearly had the skills.

I've made this point before. Once they have the ability you need to teach them the etiquette, route-finding and tactics. Because they WILL be trying this stuff on their own when they are teenagers. And particularly what I'd call the "La Grave mentality." Joe said, "We want you to be aware of the risks and skiing defensively. Nobody should be skiing all-out in this terrain."

The pictures have been great. Like much of what I saw at La Grave, it's highly dependent upon snow conditions. Softened up like Sunday, I have little doubt that Adam would have been comfortable there at 8-10 years old. Morgane probably too, once she has some experience/instruction in this kind of terrain.

 

[Sharon]

Tony, what you don't see in the photos are the choke points. This is where there are a number of decisions that had to be made. Not sure how well a 10 yr old can assess these things. I did a number of kick-turns my first couple of runs. I found myself in places I was not 100% comfortable and would opt for another route. If the kids are comfortable with dropping 10' (or more), blind fall-line turns, quick turns in tight spaces, then they may do well. But these are just some of the skills that I employed and I believe it has taken me decades to get to this point. This was truly rugged, double black diamond terrain. Definitely the most technical I've ever experienced.

It got easier with each run (and softening snow), but that is what experience will do. I think it is a good idea for parents to cautious about letting their kids onto such terrain.

We talked to patrol on our way out on Sunday. They were bringing someone out on a sled. It was the only major injury they have had in there (where the person couldn't get out on their own). I'd say that is a real testament to the quality skiers that were in there. While I did see some skiers that were in above their heads, they all made it down.

By Sunday there was no longer a line to get in. This surprised us. Maybe people thought that one run was enough. I could have skied there all day long. My group was very stoked to ski the slides.

 

[rfarren]

So, you don't have to hike up hill anymore? I remember the half hour hike i made to the top of whiteface in 01'. Can you still go to the top of the mountain, or are they forcing you to traverse from the elevation of the highest lift? It truly is great terrain. I remember in 01' there was so much snow that the Icefalls were almost completely covered.

 

[Sharon]

We all oogled at the terrain above the traverse. They said "no uphill traffic" at the gate. But a few people did climb up there and got a few sweet turns on the high alpine terrain. It looks not look much unlike the Tram Chutes at Jay.

 

[Harvey]

Sharon - awesome, inspiring TRs - all three. Thanks for the photos. I'm ready to quit my job and hop on the interstate.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I know that pictures are no substitute for a personal visit. Of course kids should be supervised, and both parent and kid should have demostrated appropriate judgment and skills in the past. And probably the parent should take an assessment run before bringing the kid along. But Sharon did say there were some parent/child pairs that handled the Slides comfortably. Each parent knows his own kid best in making those judgments, so I do respect Patrick's call that Morgane doesn't have enough of that experience yet.

 

[Patrick]

Each parent knows his own kid best in making those judgments, so I do respect Patrick's call that Morgane doesn't have enough of that experience yet.

Sorry, I might be old school like Scotty Bowman when he used to coach the Montreal Canadiens. Let the kids sit on the bench, no matter how good they are. They need to win a position on the team, it's not a giving right.

This said, Montreal is going into the playoffs (with Bob Gainey as GM who sat on the bench as rookie player under Bowman) with a bunch of young rookies. Go Habs Go!!! Last time Montreal/Ottawa got so much snow was in 1971...year that a rookie goaltender meet the Bruins in the first round. Signs of Déjà Vu?

 

[riverc0il]

This said, Montreal is going into the playoffs (with Bob Gainey as GM who sat on the bench as rookie player under Bowman) with a bunch of young rookies. Go Habs Go!!! Last time Montreal/Ottawa got so much snow was in 1971...year that a rookie goaltender meet the Bruins in the first round. Signs of Déjà Vu?

If it wasn't for the B's regular season record against the Habs this year, this thread could get ugly. But given the regular season, I am not even going to bother. :roll: :wink: :lol:

 

[Patrick]

If it wasn't for the B's regular season record against the Habs this year, this thread could get ugly. But given the regular season, I am not even going to bother. :roll: :wink: :lol:

No worry River, I really liked the Bruins in 1971. As a kid, my favorite two players were Bobby Orr and Ken Dryden. The Bruins, rookie goaltender, record snow year...Stanley Cup??? :shock: :shock: :shock: :wink:

Sorry, I'm having a field day with this with my collegues Sens' fan at work making fun of the Habs at the start of the year. :lol:

 

[rfarren]

Enough hockey talk! Now, to more serious stuff.

Can you see the new trails and glades they're cutting for next season from the top of the slides, or are they hidden from view behind that ridge?

 

[Patrick]

Enough hockey talk! Now, to more serious stuff.

It could be worst, we could be talking about our marital relationships. :lol:

Can you see the new trails and glades their cutting for next season from the top of the slides, or are they hidden from view behind that ridge?

I didn't see much in the snow on Friday, but I noticed a massive clear cut/trails coming from the ridge across the river/stream near the base of the Summit Quad. As Sharon actually got some blue sky, I'm sure she would have noticed something if she looked in the right direction.

 

[Sharon]

Can you see the new trails and glades they're cutting for next season from the top of the slides, or are they hidden from view behind that ridge?

yup, we could see the lift line and a very nice looking trail beside it. It meandered, has shifting fall line and plenty of pitch. Looks pretty interesting. Can't wait to ski it.

I put the rest of my photos into an online album, edited and captioned. If you care to see more, check it out here

http://tinyurl.com/56v2xk

 

[Harvey]

Nice group of shots. Looks like your groups was at least half tele.

I'm nervous just looking at those pics.

 

[rfarren]

yup, we could see the lift line and a very nice looking trail beside it. It meandered, has shifting fall line and plenty of pitch. Looks pretty interesting. Can't wait to ski it.

http://tinyurl.com/56v2xk

Steep eh? Nice for me... bad for the mountain. The one real drawback of Whiteface is on crowded days it can be miserable, in large part because of the dependence on the Face Lift, and the Gondola. There is not enough intermediate and beginner terrain up high to disperse the crowds from the bottom of the mountain. I hear though they are putting in some real nice glades. If that be the case, I'm sure I'm going to spend the majority of my time on that terrain anyhow, and avoid the bottom altogether.