Whiteface: Get It While You Can

I’m done talking about the weather this year. Social media proclaimed the season over. The warm up is here and the four horsemen of spring rapidly are approaching. If you’re going to complain when it’s bad then you better get it while it’s good.

As it happened the season wasn’t over, doomsday was averted as a large storm was rolling in last weekend. Forecasts favored northern and higher elevation peaks, so Farah and I set our sights for Whiteface.

On Saturday we headed up Route 28 to the Central Adirondack Trail. After passing through Old Forge, we turn north onto Route 30 at Blue Mountain Lake.

In Tupper Lake checked out the Wild Center. It was an awesome way to break up the drive. We loved the live animals and the otter pond. On our way out huge wet snowflakes were coming down, but in Lake Placid it turned back to rain.

Sunday morning I brushed off three inches of heavy snow off the car and we made our way to the mountain. We scored a sweet spot in the river lot, hurried across the bridge and geared up. We got in line for the gondola right as it opened up with around 30 folks ahead of us.

At the top we cruised the blues over to the Summit Quad. At the top of Litte Whiteface, there was 4 inches of wet but creamy snow. Our timing was ideal as we hopped on the Quad maybe 7 chairs back from the first. Our lift partner claimed this would be the best run of the day and he was right.

The mass of people headed down Skyward, and the Follies were looking particularly tasty. The added elevation brought the accumulation closer 6 inches up top. We made floaty turns all the way back to the quad, and repeated until it was properly chewed up.

It continued to snow throughout the day but down below the precipitation was heavy. We took more laps off of Little Whiteface before the slushier conditions got to our legs in the early afternoon. We probably skied more vertical on Sunday than we had skied the entire month of February and we still had one more day to go.

Back in town we walked main street, checking out the shops and playing some arcade games along the way. The snowfall continued and we decided to called it an early night.

Monday felt like Christmas morning. There was at least 6 inches of new snow in town, I didn’t have to go to work and the ski resort was only 15 minutes away. We quickly packed up and made our way to the mountain. When we grabbed our lift tickets it felt like the Grinch stole Christmas; the upper lifts were on windhold. Plenty of folks in the ticket line sighed, some even left, but we were determined to get on the mountain. We were going to enjoy the new snow anyway we could.

I’d never ridden the Warhorse Quad but became very acquainted with it that morning. I think the name is very appropriate. Despite the 35mph wind and the occasional gust up to 60mph, she just kept chugging along, doing her job. The Lower Valley runs are low angle, but they were prime. The powder was super light and in some spots windblown, but if you picked the right line it was dreamy the whole way down.

We saw that the Notch was running. The choice was to take the shuttle over to Bear Den or a small hike through the connector at Valvehouse Road. We opted for the hike and in a short 15 minutes we headed up the Notch. It was our first time on the new lift which takes you just above the new Legacy Lodge.

As we made our way up the mountain it was quite apparent why we were on wind hold. I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced something like that on a chair lift. The ride was worth it as the additional vertical gave us access to more terrain.

There was a ridge along the left side of Lower Valley formed by snowmakers that was catching the wind. My eyes widened as I plunged into the snow drifts that were deeper than my knees. With no effort at all and taking the gentlest of turns I was getting powder face shots. It was 500 feet of bliss. Farah found the same on Brookside. These trails were relatively empty because no one wanted to keep traversing from one lift to another. Their loss, our gain.

Operations never did open the upper mountain, understandably so. Powder days usually come with a kind of pressure. You have to get to the top, you have to get the untracked snow, you have to ski it before it’s all gone. Somehow the windhold removed that pressure and we were able to enjoy the low angle packed powder conditions.

On the last run down Farah found a particular deep wind drift and yelled across the trail for me to join her. She was elated, exclaiming she finally felt what it was like to float. It made up for all the rain, the firm questionable conditions and all the windholds. One good run can make a season, so get it while it’s good.