Whiteface Conditions

[Moe]

Agree. Very impressed this past weekend and appreciate all they do. Just curious about the change from the typical direction.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Maybe it's their way of testing the pressure in the pipes. "Hey, let's fire up Paron's and see what happens."

 

[CarlS]

I generally stay away from being critical of Whiteface when the inevitable pipe explosion happens at the beginning of every season. I understand that the infrastructure is old and it is a very demanding system.

That being said I can't help but "smell a rat" over the lack of blowing on Little Whiteface and specifically Mountain Run. It is usually the first up. I hope I'm wrong and this is just a different snowmaking pattern. But.....

Think the pace of the snowmaking has been vastly improved this year. I think the pattern is different form years prior. Example is they are almost done on Paron's Run and Follies. Never seen snowmaking on this trail this early. They are also getting Drapers ready much earlier than ever before and that is a huge undertaking. Should be open shortly. I truly believe the new pumps and the majority of the pipes being the "no seam" is making the system more robust than ever.

Also praying each night they don't blow it up!

 

[snoloco]

The first race of the season is December 10, so that's why Draper's is seeing attention so early. The report also said they were working on Boreen and Bear Den terrain before the warm up today.

I think the early move to the summit is about getting an extra lift open and spreading people out. One thing that was always frustrating about early season at Whiteface is how for the first 3-4 weekends, the gondola was effectively the only lift open. Even though Facelift was usually open, to ski most of the terrain, you had to lap the gondola. Since it does not have very good capacity, it often had very long lines. I'm not sure why, but they were always very reluctant to run the Little Whiteface lift unless Mountain Run was open, even if they had multiple routes to mid but only one to the base. They won't need it either way if the Summit Quad is up and running.

 

[SayvilleSteve]

I was on the gondola on Friday and overheard a conversation between a patroller and a local he seemed to know quite well. I don't know the mechanics or the lingo of snowmaking, but the patroller mentioned they were having issues with the "#2 pump." And yes, Little Whiteface was barren.

 

[Moe]

I love being wrong. Website says summit is opening tomorrow and they are blowing snow on Mountain Run. Looks like the last 2 years of snowmaking improvements are paying off.

 

[snoloco]

While they are clearly expanding faster than in previous years, keep in mind that there has also been a change of priorities. They skipped Lower Northway and Victoria and went straight to the Summit and the Mountain Run-Thruway-Draper's route. They also skipped Boreen and started on Bear Den.

 

[Face4Me]

Today was pretty good ... As promised, the Summit opened with the Follies to Paron's Run. Conditions were very nice early, but it did get skied off by late morning. They were blowing primarily on Drapers, Upper Thruway and the upper part of Mountain Run ... from Thruway up to the mid-station of Little Whiteface. Some other guns going here and there. Coverage on Lower Valley was MUCH better than last weekend.

Hopefully once they get Thruway/Drapers open so the racers have a place to play, they'll start thinking about some expansion ... Essex ... Victoria ... Boreen ... For the second full weekend ... definitely a good start ... Monday looks rough weather-wise, but it seems like it's just for the one day. Hopefully they'll withstand that without too much trouble.

It started snowing pretty hard in the afternoon for a while ... probably a couple of inches so far.

 

[Face4Me]

Another good morning ... The snow that fell yesterday made a difference ... There was definitely a "silkiness" to the snow on top, especially early in the morning.

Snowmaking now in place all along Approach ... Should have Approach, the upper part of Mt. Run, Thruway & Draper's Drop any day now. Unclear where they'll be moving to next.

 

[ADKmike]

Haven’t been on here in a while...been pretty busy!

Skied today after being in LP through Monday’s weather and we couldn’t believe how it seemed like it hardly rained. It actually skied pretty well this morning considering Monday was a mess...First day out for us this season, looking forward to a great ‘21/‘22!