Whiteface Conditions

[capecodbeach]

My first time to Bear Den was on a very windy day. Parked in closest lot and walked the rest of the way up. I did not get a chance to check out the location that much. This next time I will have extra people with me. I probably missed it last time, but is there a ski, boot bag, and passenger dropoff area near the Bear Den Lodge? When I drove up the center access road in the lot I was greeted by a DO NO ENTER sign and sawhorses? Yet I think I remember a shuttle bus getting closer? Is there a public dropoff / pickup loop? Thanks.

 

[Deez]

Yes - the parking lot road splits -there are traffic cones - take a right to access the loop

 

[JTG]

For those who haven’t seen, snow report says Skyward opening tomorrow. Expect it ungroomed for a couple of days. Embrace the whales! See y’all Saturday.

 

[Kleetus]

For those who haven’t seen, snow report says Skyward opening tomorrow. Expect it ungrounded for a couple of days. Embrace the whales! See y’all Saturday.

Gore Saturday but I'll be there Sunday and Monday. Looking forward to it.

 

[NorEaster27]

How was today?

 

[518Dave]

Can’t speak for today, but conditions were really fun yesterday. Upper and Lower Skyward were particularly fun - ungroomed with big whales all over the trails and snow guns blazing all day. Wilmington trail was also really good. Only negative was visibility was pretty rough at times, particularly off the summit, but that got better in the afternoon.

 

[Kleetus]

What an epic day and difference from Gore yesterday. Like two different worlds. Early laps on Mountain Run and Wilderness were perfect packed powder. Then up to the summit and Skyward was off the hook with chalky manmade snow on upper and lower and Niagra. Nice bumps too. Lapped that a bunch. Follies also were good. Did a couple Wilmington laps which were nice. Finished the day doing a couple laps on the freeway lift as summit closed at 1:30 for mechanical issues. Hope it's back open tomorrow. Never was a crowd all day.

It's really incredible how great the snowmaking has been. Edge to edge coverage on everything open, no rocks, nice snow. Skyward is absolutely BURIED top to bottom as is Niagra with high quality powdery snow. I think this is going to be my Gore replacement going forward this season.

There's something just epic about skiing Skyward in the sun with conditions like today. No wind. Perfect temperatures. Not crowded. Great conditions. Today's definitely up there with one of my better Whiteface days.

 

[Face4Me]

It's really incredible how great the snowmaking has been. Edge to edge coverage on everything open, no rocks, nice snow. Skyward is absolutely BURIED top to bottom as is Niagra with high quality powdery snow. I think this is going to be my Gore replacement going forward this season.

Without a doubt, the weather this year has been much more cooperative, however, I think the difference here also comes down to management.

The "paint it white" strategy that marked Mike Pratt's years as ORDA CEO is hopefully a thing of the past. From what I've seen, the snowmaking strategy appears to have gone back to one where the idea is to make enough snow on the trails to withstand the thaw cycles. They are piling it really deep! That has not been the case in recent years.

The other big difference this year appears to be the change in the Ops Manager. The prior two seasons, in my opinion, were the worst I've experienced at Whiteface in the 21 years that I've been a "regular". While weather was certainly a factor, the overall experience has been SO MUCH better this year. Apparently, bringing in the manager from Belleayre last year has paid dividends at Whiteface this year.

Whiteface responds to concerns about trail conditions

Following complaints, Olympic Authority CEO Ashley Walden summons Belleayre manager to monitor operations at Whiteface

www.adirondackexplorer.org

Grooming has been 1000% better this year. No where is that more obvious than on the Wilmington Trail. I skied it today at about 12:30, which in most years what have been a pretty foolish decision. Instead, it was a fun run, on still very good conditions overall. Even things like the attitude of the employees appears to be different. The lifties have been very friendly. There are a more employees in the parking lots. Mountain hosts have been all over the mountain helping people out. The overall vibe just seems to be completely different.

The last two years, I was generally leaving the mountain on most days by 11:00. This weekend, I went non-stop from 8:30 to 1:30 on Saturday, and 8:30 to 12:30 today. The only reason I left was because my legs were done. If I had had anything left in the tank, there was still plenty worth skiing.

I've been on this forum for a lot of years, and as many probably know, I've been pretty quiet the last couple of years. That was largely due to the negative attitude I've had with the way things have been, and I was tired of always posting negative stuff about Whiteface. I'm cautiously optimistic that maybe we've turned a corner. Time will tell.

 

[GoreSkiMom]

Such a nice writeup from a jealous Gore skier.

 

[Kleetus]

Without a doubt, the weather this year has been much more cooperative, however, I think the difference here also comes down to management.

The "paint it white" strategy that marked Mike Pratt's years as ORDA CEO is hopefully a thing of the past. From what I've seen, the snowmaking strategy appears to have gone back to one where the idea is to make enough snow on the trails to withstand the thaw cycles. They are piling it really deep! That has not been the case in recent years.

The other big difference this year appears to be the change in the Ops Manager. The prior two seasons, in my opinion, were the worst I've experienced at Whiteface in the 21 years that I've been a "regular". While weather was certainly a factor, the overall experience has been SO MUCH better this year. Apparently, bringing in the manager from Belleayre last year has paid dividends at Whiteface this year. https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/whiteface-complaints

Grooming has been 1000% better this year. No where is that more obvious than on the Wilmington Trail. I skied it today at about 12:30, which in most years what have been a pretty foolish decision. Instead, it was a fun run, on still very good conditions overall. Even things like the attitude of the employees appears to be different. The lifties have been very friendly. There are a more employees in the parking lots. Mountain hosts have been all over the mountain helping people out. The overall vibe just seems to be completely different.

The last two years, I was generally leaving the mountain on most days by 11:00. This weekend, I went non-stop from 8:30 to 1:30 on Saturday, and 8:30 to 12:30 today. The only reason I left was because my legs were done. If I had had anything left in the tank, there was still plenty worth skiing.

I've been on this forum for a lot of years, and as many probably know, I've been pretty quiet the last couple of years. That was largely due to the negative attitude I've had with the way things have been, and I was tired of always posting negative stuff about Whiteface. I'm cautiously optimistic that maybe we've turned a corner. Time will tell.

I agree with everything you said 100% but not a regular. I skied Wilmington also for the first time today around 1230 and it was good. Then did it again at 1:30 when summit went down. Still was good.

First time I've skied Whiteface in about 2 years but it was definitely well worth it. I'll be back much sooner than usual (which is maybe once or twice a season for me)