Whiteface Conditions

I'm usually on the Gore conditions forum but took the kids up to Whiteface yesterday for the first time in a few years. Had a great day. We managed almost 32k vert skiing from 9-3 with a couple of quick breaks for lunch, water and bathroom. Got to ski Lookout Below, which apparently is rarely open. We lucked out and were some of the first people on it. Overall the mountain is a ton of fun and a nice change of pace. As my 14yr old said, "this mountain just gives away the vert"! We'll be back!
 
An incredible day ! Sunny skies, low crowds, soft snow ...an absolute beautiful day !
Skyward was soft and in the sun - great condition - if a trail was in the shade it was a bit icy, if you followed the sun it was all good. I think tomorrow with the temperatures going to the single and teen digits, might be a different day - but today is the reason you ski !
 
I found conditions to be surprisingly great yesterday and today. I thought yesterday would be bulletproof but Skyward was groomed in the AM before opening and was excellent all morning. It was also really fun skiing under the guns on lower mountain. (Yes, they're still blowing at WF. ) Today Wilderness was about as good as it gets on manmade snow. Just excellent. From the first run of the day until early afternoon. Skyward was closed until the afternoon and although it was fun, once they opened it, it was a lot firmer today. Fun bumps on Victoria both days and beautiful blue sky days. I kinda love the last day before a blackout expires, hardly anyone on the mountain.
 
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The last weekend of Presidents week is always light - 3 days of great conditions (considering the weather pattern).
I heard Ski Patrol say there were 40 mph winds at night that blew the snow off of Skyward - hence the late opening.

Off Topic - at the lower level of Legacy Lodge is a pierogi, kielbasa vendor - they are the nicest people ! They treated my young kids like top of the line patrons - they were the friendliest, warmest people ever ....I am not a huge polish food person but I will patronize that place as much as I can ...they also make a pretty good sized fried dough.
Also the Bears Den cafeteria makes a really decent falafel sandwich - good size.
 
Conditions were largely mediocre, particularly on the upper mountain, but the place was empty, the sun was out, and I got a lot of good runs. The conditions being better down low is the reason I took so many laps on Facelift and Notch.

Also, I like The Notch a lot more than I thought I would, now that I've ridden it on a day with all the trails open. It provides another option for lower mountain laps, and allows one to lap some of the trails to Bear Den without having to ride the very slow Falcon lift back out. It also has noticeably reduced the ridership at Facelift, which means shorter wait times. This is good since I ride it quite often to get back to the Lookout lift after a run on Wilmington.

Lift Count:

Facelift 6
Summit 5
Gondola 4
Notch 4
Lookout 3
LWF 3

Pictures below:
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snoloco said:
Conditions were largely mediocre, particularly on the upper mountain, but the place was empty, the sun was out, and I got a lot of good runs. The conditions being better down low is the reason I took so many laps on Facelift and Notch.

Also, I like The Notch a lot more than I thought I would, now that I've ridden it on a day with all the trails open. It provides another option for lower mountain laps, and allows one to lap some of the trails to Bear Den without having to ride the very slow Falcon lift back out. It also has noticeably reduced the ridership at Facelift, which means shorter wait times. This is good since I ride it quite often to get back to the Lookout lift after a run on Wilmington.

Lift Count:

Facelift 6
Summit 5
Gondola 4
Notch 4
Lookout 3
LWF 3

Pictures below:
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View attachment 23689
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Click to expand...
Well, I don't think the second part of that sentence follows the first. Wilderness, especially upper wilderness, was just outstanding today. It's true that a lot of the mountain was pretty firm but there was plenty of fun to be had and it sounds to me like you managed to have some of that fun.
 
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Good in the am but as the weather warmed up many trails had some corn and a bunch of paste which was interesting to put it nicely. Almost went over the bars a few times. And below mid lodge it was deadly slow. Hit the W Trail about 1 and called it. W trail was still pretty good if you stayed right in the shadows where the sun hadn't baked it yet, but below LOB it was pasty. Sure was nice with the sun out though. Spring skiing in Feb, only about a month early.
 
Second that the snow on the lower half was very slow. So slow that I wiped out as it drastically cut my speed and caused me to fall. What causes the really slow snow?
 
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