The Whiteface Blog

Cinco de Mayo at Whiteface

Posted on by JTG

As the season winds down, experienced and pragmatic skiers make lemonade, finding a way to relish the end. This year — with lift-assisted skiing on Cinco de Mayo at Whiteface — we made margaritas.

With some help from mother nature, Whiteface went for it, spinning a lift this past Saturday May 5, her latest closing date ever. While setting a record was a feather in the cap for Whiteface Ops, it was also a nod to the Whiteface faithful. One last chance to ride the lifts, make some turns, hang on the deck and make connections while celebrating the holiday. I cleared my schedule and hit the road at 6am Saturday to be part of an historic occasion.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Whiteface11 Comments

Warming Up to Whiteface

Posted on by John Giuffo

Whiteface elicits a lot of passion from skiers from both sides; some thrive on the unique and challenging terrain, while others make up the group responsible for the notorious nickname “Iceface.”

Rational or not, until recently I fell into the second group. After my collision with a tree at Stratton in December, I’ve developed a newfound skittishness on firm surfaces.

I’m relatively new to skiing, I started in 2015. I love skiing fast, but slick surfaces force me to make skidded turns on skis that never seem sharp enough. When I encounter sporty conditions, I tend to end my day early, once the corduroy is gone and the loose granular gets pushed down the slopes.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, The Slides, Whiteface13 Comments

Return to the Mountains: Back to the MAX

Posted on by John Giuffo

Since my fateful and educational collision with a tree at Stratton in early December, I watched my social media feeds with a mixture of jealousy and anticipation as the east got some good early season snow. Surely, I thought, Ullr’s bloodthirst was slaked due to my offering, and he was preparing the mountains for my return.

Then, right on schedule, came the January thaw. All of that glorious fluff gone thanks to two days of rain and near-60-degree weather. I began to dread the ice that would follow as I now fear ice in a way I hadn’t before. But as I kept an eye on the forecast and saw that some areas were due to get up to eight inches of fresh snow, I grew excited and decided to head up north for the first time in six weeks.

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Tagged: Adirondacks, Gore Mountain, NH, VT, Whiteface8 Comments