An unbelievable awesome day of skiing........For Whiteface.......on December 2nd. Shirley dragged me out the door kicking and screaming <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT="
"> before 8:00 as we headed out in temperatures in the mid teens and overcast and threatening skies. Quite a change from the weather all this past week. Everything is dusted white from the last 24 hrs or so and looking a lot better than could have been. <BR> <BR>I didn't know what to expect for sure and thought that they only would have had the same trail options available as last week. Two mistakes I made were not bringing my shortie Elans and not bringing my fanny flap. They have done some serious snowmaking even over the course of the warmer temperatures over the week. We started with a midstation chair ride to drop the back pack off for lunch later and found the guns blasting on Mt. Run and Parkway but no chair open,---yet. We headed down a very heavily traveled lower valley run and found very good edgeable conditions all things considered. I proceeded to carefully pick the trail sides for maximum snow and terrain challenge considering the trail. I worked far to skiers left to maximize the loose snow and skied a line pretty much under the chair where few sliders tend to go. It probably has something to do with those threatening towers in the way. I opened it up across the flats and did about four GS turns down the last drop and finally caught up to her at the bottom. Grinning from ear to ear she proclaimed, "what's next?" <BR> <BR>We headed up the gondi and took a run down Excelsior and Broadway to midstation. Excelsior was amazingly good considering the warmth, rain and traffic toll from the past week. Especially good was the section called Summit Express that drops down off Excelsior to Upper Valley. Guns had been blowing from the left side and soft velvety powder made for excellent carving. At the bottom we took the mid station shuttle just to be different and upon getting off I noticed one figure working their way down Mt. Run. I scooted over to the chair and asked if they were open. A smiling lift attendant gave the thumbs up and I motioned to Shirley to come over. She never balked and up we went on a glazed over chair. The guns were still blowing on the lower half from the Parkway, Thruway intersection and it was still roped off with skiers channeled over to lower Parkway just below the headwall. No grooming, no packing, just here it is skiers, have at it. Awesome lose powder, all just molded to the natural terrain plus the whales and high spots left by the guns. Oddly enough, it never got as crowded as the rock hard blue square screamers. I think the super racer types and the hard core screamin' blue square skiers just don't like the variable terrain and snow conditions as well as the bowling alley trails. Anyway, here I am rippin' an ungroomed black diamond for the first time this season on my second time out and Shirley's pretty much hanging there with me turn for turn. This season can only get better. Snow was soft loose velvety powder, chunky styrofoam breaking up, stiff hard sheetrock texture type stuff, but no ice and no grooming. Halfway down Parkway I stop gasping for breath and Shirley pulls up along side and our friend the assistant manager pulls up right behind her. He exclaims he saw her up there on Mt. Run and cautioned her to take it easy on me. I don't think I have ever seen her grin that big. He also mentioned that they were getting ready to drop the ropes and open up lower Mt. Run. <BR> <BR>We catch the mid station shuttle again and head up Mt. Run again. At least the accumulation of warm skier butts is having a beneficial result on the chair conditions. Now it's starting to break up a little more and loose pack and form some mini moguls. I get over all the way to skiers left on the lower part which is downwind from the guns on the right side. Awesome, awesome awesome, unbelievable-- yee haw! It may be manmade but it's better than midwinter conditions, except for that occasional genuine big dump that seldom hits Whiteface. We take one more on the whole thing and break for lunch. <BR> <BR>We do a run to base and a gondi ride after lunch and find Excelsior to be getting scratchy in the middle pretty much but I can still find good snow within six to eight feet of the downhill sides. Another run up Mr. Run finds beeeeeggg moguls starting to form and Shirley starting to fade, thank God. We do two more Mt. Runs and one Mt. Run/Parkway run and both find the legs starting to not obey the brain quite so well. We take a final run to mid station to pick up the pack and take a last break. Wouldn't you know it, the legs are seeming to come back and it's probably the best run I took to base all day. Oh well, there's more skiing to be had. Next weekend---demo day. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.
"> before 8:00 as we headed out in temperatures in the mid teens and overcast and threatening skies. Quite a change from the weather all this past week. Everything is dusted white from the last 24 hrs or so and looking a lot better than could have been. <BR> <BR>I didn't know what to expect for sure and thought that they only would have had the same trail options available as last week. Two mistakes I made were not bringing my shortie Elans and not bringing my fanny flap. They have done some serious snowmaking even over the course of the warmer temperatures over the week. We started with a midstation chair ride to drop the back pack off for lunch later and found the guns blasting on Mt. Run and Parkway but no chair open,---yet. We headed down a very heavily traveled lower valley run and found very good edgeable conditions all things considered. I proceeded to carefully pick the trail sides for maximum snow and terrain challenge considering the trail. I worked far to skiers left to maximize the loose snow and skied a line pretty much under the chair where few sliders tend to go. It probably has something to do with those threatening towers in the way. I opened it up across the flats and did about four GS turns down the last drop and finally caught up to her at the bottom. Grinning from ear to ear she proclaimed, "what's next?" <BR> <BR>We headed up the gondi and took a run down Excelsior and Broadway to midstation. Excelsior was amazingly good considering the warmth, rain and traffic toll from the past week. Especially good was the section called Summit Express that drops down off Excelsior to Upper Valley. Guns had been blowing from the left side and soft velvety powder made for excellent carving. At the bottom we took the mid station shuttle just to be different and upon getting off I noticed one figure working their way down Mt. Run. I scooted over to the chair and asked if they were open. A smiling lift attendant gave the thumbs up and I motioned to Shirley to come over. She never balked and up we went on a glazed over chair. The guns were still blowing on the lower half from the Parkway, Thruway intersection and it was still roped off with skiers channeled over to lower Parkway just below the headwall. No grooming, no packing, just here it is skiers, have at it. Awesome lose powder, all just molded to the natural terrain plus the whales and high spots left by the guns. Oddly enough, it never got as crowded as the rock hard blue square screamers. I think the super racer types and the hard core screamin' blue square skiers just don't like the variable terrain and snow conditions as well as the bowling alley trails. Anyway, here I am rippin' an ungroomed black diamond for the first time this season on my second time out and Shirley's pretty much hanging there with me turn for turn. This season can only get better. Snow was soft loose velvety powder, chunky styrofoam breaking up, stiff hard sheetrock texture type stuff, but no ice and no grooming. Halfway down Parkway I stop gasping for breath and Shirley pulls up along side and our friend the assistant manager pulls up right behind her. He exclaims he saw her up there on Mt. Run and cautioned her to take it easy on me. I don't think I have ever seen her grin that big. He also mentioned that they were getting ready to drop the ropes and open up lower Mt. Run. <BR> <BR>We catch the mid station shuttle again and head up Mt. Run again. At least the accumulation of warm skier butts is having a beneficial result on the chair conditions. Now it's starting to break up a little more and loose pack and form some mini moguls. I get over all the way to skiers left on the lower part which is downwind from the guns on the right side. Awesome, awesome awesome, unbelievable-- yee haw! It may be manmade but it's better than midwinter conditions, except for that occasional genuine big dump that seldom hits Whiteface. We take one more on the whole thing and break for lunch. <BR> <BR>We do a run to base and a gondi ride after lunch and find Excelsior to be getting scratchy in the middle pretty much but I can still find good snow within six to eight feet of the downhill sides. Another run up Mr. Run finds beeeeeggg moguls starting to form and Shirley starting to fade, thank God. We do two more Mt. Runs and one Mt. Run/Parkway run and both find the legs starting to not obey the brain quite so well. We take a final run to mid station to pick up the pack and take a last break. Wouldn't you know it, the legs are seeming to come back and it's probably the best run I took to base all day. Oh well, there's more skiing to be had. Next weekend---demo day. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.