Slides Open

campgottagopee wrote

Do the slides slide often, or is it not that common.

I can't tell if you're joking, but if you're not, then no, it's not common at all. In the interest of making sure they're as safe as possible they are only open when ski patrol assesses them to be in really good condition, which tends to be like 10ish days a year.

miker92 wrote

campgottagopee wrote

Do the slides slide often, or is it not that common.

I can't tell if you're joking, but if you're not, then no, it's not common at all. In the interest of making sure they're as safe as possible they are only open when ski patrol assesses them to be in really good condition, which tends to be like 10ish days a year.

Not joking---thanks for the info

My experience w/ BC skiing #1 was a long time ago, and only for a span of 5ish years. I remember dudes digging pits and all that but never remember anything sliding so that's why I asked.

campgottagopee wrote

Not joking---thanks for the info

My experience w/ BC skiing #1 was a long time ago, and only for a span of 5ish years. I remember dudes digging pits and all that but never remember anything sliding so that's why I asked.

Gotcha. Yeah, I gather that the slides at WF used to be treated like regular BC but at some point became open as part of the ski area at patrol's discretion. I don't know too much about it but I would imagine it had something to do with having too many people ski it after riding the lifts and then getting in some kind of trouble or something. The thing that's weird about them is how people who would never dream of having interest in BC skiing are super into skiing the WF slides thanks to the easy access. I've never actually gotten to ski them myself because I'm never lucky enough to end up there on a day when they're open. I'm certainly not complaining about the easy access myself, seeing as I'd rather spend my time descending than hiking up.

sick pics up on wf fb  looks like everyone had their beacons and probes but left their helmets in the truck

Doooooood

No clue who this guy is but he is BOSS!!


pix stolen from WF FB page

gorgonzola wrote

sick pics up on wf fb  looks like everyone had their beacons and probes but left their helmets in the truck

 
These guys must have those super-duper compact shovels that you put in your pocket

yeah where the hell are the shovels on the people in the blue and purple jackets who dont even have backpacks on? i would hope the ski patrol post to stop them would be further up. i think them make you hike all the way before they stop you to add an extra "you should have a better idea of what youre doing" factor.

Well ... the guy in the blue jacket is the one who hucked the flip off the cliff ... looks like he knows what he's doing!!!

Face4Me wrote

Well ... the guy in the blue jacket is the one who hucked the flip off the cliff ... looks like he knows what he's doing!!!

I hope to god the winky face means you're joking.

"I can do a backflip so not only am I more skilled than you at not triggering avalanches, but if you get buried I am unable to help. If I do have a shovel it is magically stashed under my coat and is VERY easy to get at, I assure you." Great example for the kiddies, man.

I just posted that exact thing ^ as a comment on the picture from my personal Facebook. Really, that is terrible judgement on their part and I am not at all ashamed of being an asshole about it.

I seriously don't think that the slides are going to slide. They really only slide when there is a lot of rain. Can anyone say when there was an avalanche there?

I think the beacon/probe thing is just to keep the tourists out. They want good skiers in there to pack it down with minimal chances of needing to bring a sled down for a rescue.

miker92 wrote

Face4Me wrote

Well ... the guy in the blue jacket is the one who hucked the flip off the cliff ... looks like he knows what he's doing!!!

I hope to god the winky face means you're joking.

"I can do a backflip so not only am I more skilled than you at not triggering avalanches, but if you get buried I am unable to help. If I do have a shovel it is magically stashed under my coat and is VERY easy to get at, I assure you." Great example for the kiddies, man.

I just posted that exact thing ^ as a comment on the picture from my personal Facebook. Really, that is terrible judgement on their part and I am not at all ashamed of being an asshole about it.

So just to be sure we're all clear, your little "Whiteface 12/30/12 (adventure included)", on a closed trail, was OK, but a freestyle aerials coach doing a back-flip off a cliff, in an open, patrolled area, with spotters present, is not OK.

Did you notify the Whiteface ski patrol that you were accessing a closed trail before you hiked up? Did you have permission to do it? If you and your friend had gotten into trouble in the Sugar Valley Glades, would you have paid the costs associated with your rescue? How many people would have been put at risk by your actions?

And, to make matters worse, posting your pictures and story, was that exercising good judgement? What if some "kiddie" saw your post and said, hey that looks cool ... I'm going to go do that!!!

You're ridiculous and a hypocrite.

Face4Me wrote

You're ridiculous and a hypocrite.

But so is this taxpayer funded mtn in this regards

Powderqueen wrote

I seriously don't think that the slides are going to slide. They really only slide when there is a lot of rain. Can anyone say when there was an avalanche there?

I think the beacon/probe thing is just to keep the tourists out. They want good skiers in there to pack it down with minimal chances of needing to bring a sled down for a rescue.

In 2011 there were two avalanches in the slides.  They are called "slides" for a reason.  In 2001 there were quite a few as well and that was the year of the killer avy in the High Peaks.  All the avalanches in 2011 and 2001 were not rain related.

http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Whiteface-slides-Slide-td2590812.html

Face4Me wrote

You're ridiculous and a hypocrite.

Haha, awesome. I love Internet arguments.

To be fair, posting about that was perhaps against my best judgement. My thought process in doing it was this:

1. This is a forum site with a relatively restricted audience compared to Whiteface's official Facebook page.
2. Skiing closed terrain is a risk I chose to take and I was prepared to accept any negative consequences of doing so.

As far as the actual safety of the guy skiing without avy gear goes, yeah, I agree it's not likely to slide, but if patrol is requiring avy gear and is literally going to turn me away at the top if I don't have it, I don't see why a pro or semi-pro skier doing a backflip should be broadcast all over the internet breaking that rule. It's more hypocritical on Whiteface's side than anything, and IF, God forbid, it DID slide, that guy would look like an absolute asshole.

skimore wrote

Face4Me wrote

You're ridiculous and a hypocrite.

But so is this taxpayer funded mtn in this regards

ZING!

Seriously though.  It's a pretty terrible message to require avalanche gear in there for everybody present, unless of course you're part of the official Whiteface photo-op marketing crew.

One caveat though.  Although the Facebook page noted "beacon, shovel, probe", perhaps they felt the avalanche risk was non-existent, and today was one of the days that it wasn't begin required?  

BenedictGomez wrote

skimore wrote

Face4Me wrote

You're ridiculous and a hypocrite.

But so is this taxpayer funded mtn in this regards

ZING!

Seriously though.  It's a pretty terrible message to require avalanche gear in there for everybody present, unless of course you're part of the official Whiteface photo-op marketing crew.

One caveat though.  Although the Facebook page noted "beacon, shovel, probe", perhaps they felt the avalanche risk was non-existent, and today was one of the days that it wasn't begin required?

That's my point. If you're right and it wasn't required, I will happily eat my words. The man himself responded to my comment with this:

"Hey gaper... Whats the problem?? Our ski patrol wouldnt open the slides if it has a chance to slide... Beacons are required to keep gapers like you out. Go back to saratoga and thanks for the comment : )"

I think that's really awful for Whiteface PR all around. Sure, my comment was snarky, but I don't know if that was a smart reply on his part. Whiteface is advertising to me via Facebook saying to come up and ski. He's saying stay in Saratoga. Fine, I will, but if I didn't have a pass and had the potential to give them money (and I do at least buy a grilled cheese when I'm there) it would be poor to discourage me from coming. Elitism really doesn't sell.

Related to some of the comments a few pages back, I asked if the Slides were likely to be open for more than a day:

"We hope to keep them open.  We are letting skiers in because they are in great condition not typically seen this early in the season.  Getting them tracked out help them stay open but it is not why they are open.  They are open because they currently meet the standards necessary to safely manage slide access. One of the main goals of our team is to properly manage the slides to allow more safe access. We are off to a great start.  Thank you mother nature."

miker92 wrote

"Hey gaper... Whats the problem?? Our ski patrol wouldnt open the slides if it has a chance to slide... Beacons are required to keep gapers like you out. Go back to saratoga and thanks for the comment : )"

Not sure how having a beacon disqualifies someone from this distinction. That comment puts this person at the top of the list

Paging ML242. ML242 to the white courtesy phone.

When you were there last year, did they require shovel and probe, or just beacons? I seem to remember for being. Just beacon.