Whiteface recovered nicely from the rain. When I arrived, it was in the 20s and windy. The roaring of the snow guns was music to my ears.
I didn’t get a chance to take my first run until 9:45 and was anxious to ski Essex because I’d missed it last weekend. I asked a couple of guys on the Gondi how it was skiing — they found a breakable crust at opening, but hadn’t skied it since.
Bruce McCulley is the General Manager of the king of New York State ski mountains: Whiteface. We had a chance to catch up with him this past week, just before the opening of the 2010-2011 season.
NYSkiBlog: When and where did you start to ski?
Bruce McCulley: I started skiing here at Whiteface when I was 19. I was hired in July 1981, one year after I graduated from high school.
NYSB: What were your positions at Whiteface before you became GM?
Bruce: I started as a lift attendant. I’ve been a snowmaker, on the trail crew, the night snowmaking foreman, lift supervisor and the assistant General Manager.
“We arrived at the booth for the Toll Road at about 10:15. There were 10 other cars parked along the road, and the snow depth was about 5-7 inches. The feeling at the base was electric. I was excited to be on snow, excited to have skis on my feet, and excited to know that I’d be sliding down hill in a matter of hours. We put on our packs, I strapped up my skins, and we hit the trail…”
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