Whiteface Conditions

[Harvey]

The weekend before Christmas is always uncrowded, in my experience.

 

[MarzNC]

The nearly empty Bear Den with its own lodge sure is tempting.

Given the reputation of Whiteface, there are relatively few people who are beginners or cautious intermediates who would choose Whiteface for a holiday ski vacation. That means the Bear Den greens probably stay relatively calm. Especially compared to beginner terrain that is a shorter drive from NYC or Boston.

Out west, the "expert" ski resorts such as Jackson Hole or Taos have worked hard to convince people that there is good beginner terrain for learning how to ski. That has included building lifts that improve the beginner experience. Meaning not beginner kids but never-ever adults or cautious advanced intermediates over age 50.

 

[Moe]

Just wondering if they would be tempted to switch over to Hoyt's while they are blowing on Lookout. That would be a great addition to the unexpected, early snowmaking on Wilmington.

 

[snoloco]

The weekend before Christmas is always uncrowded, in my experience.

Yep, everyone is out Christmas shopping.

 

[snoloco]

Just wondering if they would be tempted to switch over to Hoyt's while they are blowing on Lookout. That would be a great addition to the unexpected, early snowmaking on Wilmington.

While I applaud the effort to get Wilmington open this early, and think it should be the strategy every year, they put off a lot of things to make it happen. I think the next priorities will be Upper Valley, the rest of Mountain Run, Danny's Bridge, and the rest of Bear. All of that was skipped to take advantage of this window to get Wilmington open. So they need to go back and finish it up. I think then the next phase would be Skyward, Wilderness, and Lower Thruway, and maybe some other lower mountain stuff. They may need to resurface some trails somewhere in there, as that was also skipped to get Wilmington done. I love Hoyt's, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. Although I think they will get to it this year, unlike the last 4.

 

[Moe]

I appreciate the outside of the box thinking with getting Wilmington Open. It should calm the torches and pitchforks group that was killing the snowmaking team (deservedly) the last year or so. I agree that they will go back to the traditional opening path. It was just an intriguing thought.

 

[518Dave]

I will recheck the Right at Keene route...
I am under an hour to Gore...
1 hour and say 45 minutes might tempt me to give WFace a try.
Mid week of course...
I am a lower mountain skier at Gore so trails off Falcon seem perfect...
Any other tips for a 75 year old first timer at WFace?
The separate lodge and nearby parking are also tempting to me.

First post, but enjoyer of the blog and the forums for a couple of years now. I think you would have a really good time at WF. The trails off of the falcon flyer are all very beginner-friendly but also somewhat fun. My son is a beginner skiier and he had more fun on those trails when we went last year than some other lower-mountain beginner slopes at other mountains. If you feel like progressing from there, the notch now allows you to go a little bit higher up the mountain from the bear den area, but with options to get down only on greens. The bear den lodge sometimes feels crowded to me on weekends, but not the actual slopes outside of bear den. I think you just have more families and younger skiiers taking more breaks from the cold, vs. the main lodge where people moreso just use it to change and then ski for a long time. Very unlikely it will be crowded at all during the week though.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Lookout to open "tomorrow at 9:00." Patrol bringing signs up today. Skiing like mid winter. No wind, visibility is decent up top. No wait in lift lines; all lifts that mean anything are open. no racing on Draper's. Guns staged on the rest of Mountain Run and Upper Parkway. I don't think middle Parkway has new pipes yet.