Whiteface Conditions

[Face4Me]

Another very good day yesterday, in fact, MUCH better than expected. They did a very good job with grooming to deal with the change in weather. Skied from 8:30 to around noon, and everything I skied was good. Conditions were definitely better at the higher elevations than lower ... there was obviously less impact from the thaw to freeze cycle. It was cold, but not brutal, and there was no one there. Three good days in a row ... woo hoo!

I also heard that the issues with grooming over the prior weeks was related to mechanical issues with two or three of the groomers that have now been resolved. So ... This goes back to something that's been said many times before ... COMMUNICATION!!!!!!! Let the public know there's an issue ... apologize for it and work to get it resolved as quickly as possible.

Isn't that better than saying nothing, posting rainbows and unicorns on your social media outlets, and leaving the public to think you're either incompetent, trying to save money or simply don't care? Worse still, for people who come for the first time and experience less than ideal conditions, if they leave thinking "This place sucks ... I'll never go back", is that really what you want as a business owner?

 

[gorgonzola]

Other than blower pow I think I ski’d every ski And weather condition known to man, variable would be an understatement. iBest run was after a skeleton ride down the headwall of sky I followed a crow to a fun stash skiers right

 

[lukoson]

I have a season pass and know that you can't use the free or discounted ticket during the holidays. Anyone know of any available discounts for tickets during the winter break? thanks

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

I have a season pass and know that you can't use the free or discounted ticket during the holidays. Anyone know of any available discounts for tickets during the winter break? thanks

No Buddy Passes on Holiday Weeks. That is new either this year or last year. My daughter's friend found out the hard way today (different group from us).

She didn't miss much though. WF got about 2-3 inches, but it was on top of ice and/or ice cubes. Not great. Wilmington Trail was probably ly the best surface.

Tonight the wind is blowing like crazy, so it the surface should be pretty polished in the morning. Probably sleeping in and then ice skating tomorrow!

 

[Face4Me]

Overall, I thought conditions were pretty good this weekend, considering the weather situation. It seemed to me that they did the best they could with what they had to work with. They did some "touch-up" snowmaking here and there, and overall, the grooming was good. The Wilmington Trail was particularly good, at least all of the times I skied it. Lines at the gondola, Face Lift and Bear Den were a little long, but everywhere else, it was almost ski right onto the lift most of the day.

Skipping the details, against our better judgement, on Saturday afternoon, we came down to the base area ... it was around 1:30 or so, and we were hoping the lines might be down a bit with people taking lunch breaks, leaving early, etc. ... no such luck. We decided to head over to the new Warhorse lift and then ride Freeway to get back above mid-station. It was my first time riding the new lift.

Earlier this season, I had commented about how far from the lodge, and how difficult it looked like it would be to get to the new lift ... I wasn't wrong, and we had the advantage of coming at it from Boreen, where we were able to carry some speed past the Face Lift to get over there. I can't imagine trying to get to it directly from the base lodge.

Sorry ORDA, but this was a cluster-*%$! of EPIC proportion (our tax dollars at work). Maybe next year they'll move the seldom (if ever) used lower magic carpet from Bear Den over to the old Mixing Bowl location to provide easier access to Warhorse.

Skyward was open briefly on Sunday morning ... The top was pretty brutal ... from the ladies downhill start building to the split was OK, and Lower Skyward was pretty good. It didn't stay open very long though. There was an injured skier on it around 11:00 or so ... the ski patroller bringing the sled to the scene looked like he was having a REALLY tough time getting the sled there.

On another note, the mountain was the closest to "normal" that I've seen it since the pandemic began. There was definitely a "buzz" in the lodges that just hasn't been there ... children crying ... children screaming ... parents yelling ... It was awesome!

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

I'll agree to disagree on weekend conditions. Ice or piles of ice cubes aren't my thing.

That being said, today was phenomenal. The summit warmed up first, so Skyward was nice. soft (not spring yet) corn. The rest of the mountain followed. Wilmington Trail opened late for a beautiful "cream cheese" surface. I'll take it!

 

[lukoson]

Was about 3” when we woke but snowed all day. Got probably 10” and was just starting to stop when we left at 4. Was over some scratchy snow in parts but by midday was a true powder day. Really light and fluffy. Tomorrow should be packed powder groomers.

 

[NorEaster27]

7 inches fresh?

 

[NorEaster27]

Sneaky powder day, should have went, although it’s likely windy

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

It was super windy in Wilmington this morning. No chance that snow was anywhere you could ski it.