Whiteface Conditions

[Cork]

With egg on my face or should I say, the face...man I had fun this morning at Whiteface. Going back to my post on Gore, the runs at WF are longer...no bumps or woods but the snow was really nice. There were people complaining about not being able to see because of the snowmaking(us Gore skiers can’t bitch because we aren't making snow). My response was you don't have to see when it was so soft. Mountain run was powder refills until they shut some of the guns off.
Kudos to the WF folks! Ski you at Gore Sunday

Told ya!

 

[gorgonzola]

Ya was a good day, with snowbows

 

[capecodbeach]

I posted this on the Gore Conditions site as well, but wanted to post it here because the positive comments here are what swayed me to make the right decision.... Thank you!

A wise decision may have saved my ski season... It is no secret I only ski green. Probably can ski some easy blues but skiing alone I usually stick with trails I am totally confident on. On Friday I made the decision to drive the extra 45 minutes to Bear Den trails at Whiteface. I had never skied there before but comments here had been encouraging. Not surprisingly the wind was still a factor, BUT the Falcon Flyer lift and the near by Bear Den Lodge were EXCELLENT. Met my needs exactly. I was able to ski a number of green trails all off the Falcon lift. Plus the conveyor Falcon Flyer lift was a dream to load, unlike the Bear Cub Quad at Gore where you have to climb and turn after getting you RF card scanned. So I enjoyed my day. I was able to ski for a long time, lapped different trails, and NEVER ONCE felt like I was going to get run over by more advanced skiers. Not really faulting them, but on the lower mountain trails at Gore I all too often feel like I am in the way, if you know what I mean. But really I have no other options at Gore. At Bears Den I felt like I was skiing exactly the trails right for me and skiing with skiers with a comparable skill level. It felt comfortable. Now I see had I decided to go to Gore, I would very likely have been one of those unfortunate skiers who would have crashed on the ICY section of Sunway. At 75 one of those hard, icy falls could have shortened or even ended by season. Good decision made. Now I am hesitant to go back to Gore until there is a major snow storm.

 

[DomB]

View attachment 27048
Ya was a good day, with snowbows

Thank you for sharing - I have never seen a snowmaking rainbow before - quite a sight!

 

[Kleetus]

Thinking about doing Whiteface next weekend instead of Tremblant or Gore for MLK. Insanely crowded I suspect? I've never been up there on an MLK weekend before. Conditions sound decent and I see they started on Skyward...which would definitely draw me in vs other options as I'm guessing it'll be ready by next weekend.

I've only skiied Gore or Tremblant on MLK last few years. Last two years had been Tremblant due to getting dumped on and not being blacked out on IKON. Was awesome. Given how good things look this year though at Whiteface was thinking of taking a jaunt up there instead and I've heard Tremblant had been pretty icy and they don't have the snow like the last two years or are supposed to get a big storm before next weekend.

 

[Deez]

Today Whiteface was legit --- hard packed - fast !

@capecodbeach I am glad you have a good time - yeah, Bear's Den is pretty "secluded" ....not many people zoom through.

 

[capecodbeach]

Today Whiteface was legit --- hard packed - fast !

@capecodbeach I am glad you have a good time - yeah, Bear's Den is pretty "secluded" ....not many people zoom through.

I watched the web camera a couple of times today... Ideal conditions plus a blue sky. And it was still not busy. Next time I want to extend my comfort zone to NOTCH lift. Is that a mid point? Can you unload there? I seem to remember a video showing the lift does a 'turn' there? From Falcon (just before you unload) I remember a trail coming down from Notch area to the left. It looked kind of steep and narrow for a green? I am not thinking of Wilmington, it definitely was from the Notch lift area. If I did come down from Notch lift area what trails should I take? Many show as green (Boreen, etc) but are they really green level? I did enjoy the Bear Den area and am anxious to take my grandson there. I figure I can 'sell' him on the area if I talk up Flying Squirrel as a terrain park... kind of.

 

[DomB]

Hello! What is a good progression at WF? Pretty strong skier but I do recall that WF is long! I think I have only skied a handful of days at WF.

I have skied all the stuff at Gore confidently though last Rumor run might be two seasons ago now.

Will be parking at bear den on Tuesday for the chargers. Belle Monday.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Deez]

Hello! What is a good progression at WF? Pretty strong skier but I do recall that WF is long! I think I have only skied a handful of days at WF.

Victoria is "blue" but it can be pretty tough, it's got some steepness to it and if it's icy - its a challenge.
IMHO - Mountain Run is the "easiest" black diamond when it's not icy - taking the Little Whiteface lift and "hearing" the skis below will tell you. Mountain Run is wide - so you can spread out your turns if you need to.

 

[Face4Me]

Thinking about doing Whiteface next weekend instead of Tremblant or Gore for MLK. Insanely crowded I suspect? I've never been up there on an MLK weekend before. Conditions sound decent and I see they started on Skyward...which would definitely draw me in vs other options as I'm guessing it'll be ready by next weekend.

In addition to it being MLK weekend, it's also Chevy promo weekend, and there's also an FIS Freestyle event at the jumping complex that weekend too, so yes, it will likely be pretty crowded. That said, IF everything is open (Summit Quad, Lookout Triple, Gondola & Little Whiteface chair), it shouldn't be too bad, just avoid the gondola after any early morning runs. Stick to the Little Whiteface chair to get back to the summit of Little Whiteface. The big problem with that is that the Little Whiteface chair is on its last legs, and when there's a big crowd, they often load it every other chair, which really messes things up. You can ride the Freeway chair to do laps on Mountain Run and part of Wilderness, and Thruway if it's open to the public (usually closed for racing).

If you ski the Wilmington trail, you can cut over to Bear Den and ride the Notch back to mid-station, and then take the Little Whiteface chair up to avoid the gondola. To me, this was the biggest mistake with respect to the Notch ... If they had continued it up to the base of the Summit Quad, that would have been a HUGE game changer! Maybe some day they can find an old double that they can re-purpose to run from the Notch terminus up to the base of the Summit Quad.

As for Skyward ... yes, they starting blowing on it on Saturday, so it would seem pretty likely that it will be open by the weekend, but I'm guessing it will be ungroomed at that point ... they've been leaving the whales for quite a few days to drain.

I watched the web camera a couple of times today... Ideal conditions plus a blue sky. And it was still not busy. Next time I want to extend my comfort zone to NOTCH lift. Is that a mid point? Can you unload there? I seem to remember a video showing the lift does a 'turn' there? From Falcon (just before you unload) I remember a trail coming down from Notch area to the left. It looked kind of steep and narrow for a green? I am not thinking of Wilmington, it definitely was from the Notch lift area. If I did come down from Notch lift area what trails should I take? Many show as green (Boreen, etc) but are they really green level? I did enjoy the Bear Den area and am anxious to take my grandson there. I figure I can 'sell' him on the area if I talk up Flying Squirrel as a terrain park... kind of.

The Notch has two unload points. The first is at the "turn". That leaves you on Boreen, a little further up from the junction with the Wilmington Trail and the cut-over back to Bear Den (Bobcat). From the unload point, there's a moderate pitch down to the Bear Den connection, but it's fairly wide. If you're there mid-week, it shouldn't be much of a problem. On weekends, that pitch on Boreen can be fairly busy with a lot of ski school groups and others zooming through.

The trail you saw coming in from the Notch area is Bobcat. It's the connecting trail from Boreen to Bear Den. It's not really very steep, but it definitely IS narrow. If you continue on Boreen past Bobcat, there's another connecting trail lower down (Runner up) back to Bear Den that is much wider, but you will have to ski another moderately "steep" pitch on Boreen to get to that other connecting trail.

The pitches on Boreen are definitely steeper than anything within Bear Den itself, but, they are all very wide, and they're not too long.

If you stay on the Notch past the turn, it will unload you at the mid-station lodge. From the unload point, if you go to the right, you can take Boreen Loop as a way to bypass the Boreen "headwall". Boreen loop is somewhat narrow, but it's fairly flat. You'll be able to see the "headwall" as you ride over it, which should give you an idea of whether it's something you can handle or not.

Hello! What is a good progression at WF? Pretty strong skier but I do recall that WF is long! I think I have only skied a handful of days at WF.

I have skied all the stuff at Gore confidently though last Rumor run might be two seasons ago now.

Will be parking at bear den on Tuesday for the chargers. Belle Monday.

Thanks in advance.

If you've skied The Rumor at Gore, then you shouldn't have any problem with anything at Whiteface. That said, some of the blues can be more difficult than people expect.

Start with the gondola and Excelsior. You can take Connector from Excelsior over to Victoria. Victoria is a blue, but, it's somewhat steep, and I think the thing that gets a lot of people in trouble there is that the pitch is sustained for quite a way, so it's not like you can just survive the steeper part and then ride it out on the flat. There's also a pretty big "compression" at the bottom of the pitch, so just be aware of that. If you're going on Tuesday, just be aware that they were making snow on it yesterday, so no telling what it's going to be like on Tuesday. There was also a VERY WET gun that was spitting crazy glue onto the trail right at the bottom of the pitch before the compression. It was no bueno!

Paron's Run from the Summit Quad is another blue that for some people, skis more like a black on the section above the junction with The Follies. Just take it slow the first time and you'll be fine.

Finally, there's the Wilmington Trail. It's another blue trail that for many people, skis like a black, and it's very long ... I think about 2.5 miles. The top third is very mellow (green) until you come to the "Marble Pitch". That's the first point at which it will feel like a blue. From there it continues on to Hickock Hill, and that's where the trouble begins for many. It's a moderately steep pitch that kind of funnels into a somewhat narrow, but relatively flat traverse, that takes you to the junction with Lookout Below. The big problem with that section of the trail is that on skier's left, there is a fairly significant drop off, and that definitely freaks a lot of people out. Just ski the trail and try to ignore the drop off on the left!

From Lookout Below down, this is where the trail really starts to become difficult (and awesome), and realistically is a little more black than blue. The first pitch you'll encounter is somewhat steep, and kind of funnels into a right hand curve. On the left, you still have that significant drop-off (though there are some sketchy looking nets) and on the right, there's a big rock face. After that pitch, there's another pitch that curves to the left, with a bit of a double fall line, and then the trail curves back to the right into a flat section. Next comes the steepest part of the trail, with a pitch that turns to the left, followed by another turn to the right, and then into the "runout" to the bottom of the trail. That last pitch is definitely steep, but quite wide.

I believe Whiteface added Lookout Mountain (and the Wilmington Trail) in 2006. In my opinion, the Wilmington Trail has been skiing the best it has EVER been this season (on a consistent basis) since they added it. In most years, after about 10:30, it's all skied off and I usually stay away from it. This year, it's been holding up well into the early afternoon. I've don't think I've ever skied that trail as much as I have this year. They're definitely doing something different over there this year, and it's working!!!

The only blacks that are open right now are Mountain Run and Wilderness (and Approach). Thruway might be open, but it's often closed for race training. All three are pretty straight forward. Long, straight (except for Upper WIlderness) and moderately steep (not close to the pitch on The Rumor).

Last note ... if you're going on Tuesday, there may be some wind issues. The forecast is calling for some wind today and tomorrow. Hopefully it won't affect lift ops.