Whiteface: When the Storm Chases You

Last week’s heatwave and subsequent rain storm caused no end of consternation among northeast skiers. Modern technology made it worse. Many of us spent last week checking and rechecking weather forecasts, obsessively going from one internet meteorologist to another, searching for a different model or a new track that didn’t spell disaster for the snow pack.

whiteface

Eventually we accepted reality, shifting our attention to the mountains where the damage would be the least. The meteorologists weren’t unanimous in their predictions but they seemed to agree that the mountains in the northern corner of NY had the best chances. Instead of chasing a snow storm, I was actually getting chased, halfway to Canada, by a rain storm.

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MAX Pass Adventures: Stratton

When we decided to spring for the M.A.X. Pass this year, I was confident we would get our money’s worth. Killington, Pico, Gore and Whiteface are all favorites. Belleayre and Windham are close to home, family-friendly mountains that I knew I could bring my kids and have a good time. But Stratton and Okemo were unknown to me.

stratton square

I’d heard that both hills were a bit bland, serving as playgrounds for wealthy city people, but it was my goal to use our MAX Passes to spread our wings. We’d already skied the Catskills a few times this season and this past Saturday was our first chance to venture farther: a day-trip to Stratton with Junior, my oldest son.

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Warren Miller’s Line of Descent

If you’re reading this you probably know the story: Warren and his guys started the tradition of making ski movies and touring the country to show their work in local —sometimes improvised— theaters, providing live narration and commentary. It grew into a traveling celebration of skiing and mountain culture.

warren miller line of descent
Line of Descent is Warren Miller Entertainment’s 68th annual feature film

As ski mountains and gear manufacturers noticed the impact that ski films had on their customers, they started offering free lift tickets and other goodies for Warren to give away at these events. Attending a Warren Miller movie today can easily end up being a net-positive financial transaction if you take advantage of everything in the Schwag Bag.

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