TR: Whiteface Toll Road - 10/16/10

Yep, you read that date right: 10/16/2010.  It's definitely the earliest I've ever skied in the East, and, judging by the weather around the country, we're some of the first people to slide on snow this year.  Nice.

Driving to the mountain was kind of a surreal experience.  We knew we were going skiing, but we didn't start seeing snow on the tops of mountains until around Exit 29 on the Northway.  We didn't start seeing snow on the ground until we got off the exit and the car started climbing towards Keene.  There were some intermittent rain showers and Dean and Ted were already regretting not bringing waterproof shells.  Dean forgot his snowshoes as well, which would prove to be a costly mistake (more on that later).

On the way in, we stopped at the Mountaineer in Keene Valley.  I can't say enough about how great this place is.  I needed some climbing wires (not that the Toll Road was going to be incredibly steep, but I just didn't want to stretch my calves that much over the course of the 5.5 mile hike).  They sold me the climbing wires, attached them to my heelpiece (which actually involved taking the heelpiece off), and trimmed my skins a little more for me so that my edges were exposed (Friday night was my first experience trying to cut skins).  They also gave me the lowdown on the trail.  One of the guys said that he was up there before work that day.  I asked what time he started work and he said "8:00".  That means he got up around 3:30-4:00, hiked up, skied down, and came in to work.  I said to Dean as we were leaving, "No matter how hardcore you think you are, there's always someone more core than you."

We arrived at the booth for the Toll Road at about 10:15.  There were about 10 other cars parked along the road, and the snow depth was about 5-7 inches.  We stepped out of the car and a few snowboarders were putting on their snowshoes.  This was their second time up.  They had taken a run the night before while it was still snowing (No matter how hardcore you are . . .).  The feeling at the base was electric.  I was excited to be on snow, excited to have skis on my feet, and excited to know that I'd be sliding down hill in a matter of hours.  We put on our packs, I strapped up my skins, and we hit the trail.



We started off around 10:30 or 10:45.  Here's the first sign we passed:



The trip up was uneventful.  We met up with a few skinny ski aficionados, a couple of dogs, some snowboarders that were building a jib out of a picnic table, and a few other tele skiers.  We definitely had the fattest skis out of anyone.  Ted had his 92mm-waisted park skis, Dean had some fat-ish Rossis with AT bindings, and I had my 96mm-waisted Karhu Jaks.  Needless to say, it took us a while to get up.   About 8-10 people passed on their way down.  Most of them were on skinny skis, and some of them didn't reach the top (a few said that they had to go to work).  A couple of people were mad that Dean was post holing the skin track because he didn't have his snowshoes, but most of the people we encountered were pretty pleasant.





Eventually, though, the post holing became a problem. As the snow started to get deeper, it was becoming harder and harder for Dean to walk up.  There was a little over 2 feet near the Lake Placid turn, and Dean was dropping down to his thigh with every step.  He was expending an incredible amount of energy trying to lift himself out of each hole and take the next stride.  I told him to just attach his skis, free his heels, and hike up AT style. Unfortunately, as Dean had bragged to us earlier, he had just waxed his skis on Friday night, so he was sliding all over the place. The only solution we could come up with was for me to give Dean one of my skins, and both of us would hike the last 2 miles with one skinned ski and one naked ski.  It worked, but it was an awful lot of work.



Finally we reached the top of the Toll Road.



We had originally planned to push to the summit, but we were pretty beat, and it was very windy and cold up there.  Plus, we were inside of a cloud layer, so we wouldn't have been able to see anything anyway.  We decided to hang out inside the old timey building at the end of the road, dry out, warm up, and have a celebratory beer.



We also noticed an aerial photo of the Toll Road (useful because we'd been in that cloud layer for most of the way up). The climb felt just as long as it looks.



We had reached the top at about 3:45. A couple of snowboarders were strapping on their boards just as we got to the top, and after they left we were alone.  Judging from the people we passed, we were probably 3 of only about 10-15 people who made it all the way to the top that day - pretty good for 3 guys on fat skis with 2 skins between us.  We started our descent around 4:45.



The ski down was great. There wasn't quite enough pitch on the Toll Road to really let them run, so we spent a lot of time in the skin track, getting speed up, and then powering out to rip a few turns in the fresh. The snow was great at the top, and then got heavier as we got further down. Overall, it was a really fun ski (I think it felt better because we earned it).

After some photos and video, we got down to the Snowboarders' picnic table jib around 5:15.  Ted obviously had to hit it up.







I couldn't get a decent shot, but there was a pretty cool effect with the sun shining from underneath the cloud ceiling.



EDIT: Here's a sick Panorama from Ted:



And then we skied out.

We got to the bottom (able to ski all the way to the car), cracked open a couple more beers and toasted to a job well done. As we drove past Whiteface on our way back to Keene, the sunset lit the west next to some snow covered slopes on Little Whiteface. Very cool.



I'd have to say, it was a very successful backcountry ski trip.  Skins were definitely the way to go, and Dean is now in the market for some.  We climbed over 2,300 vertical feet, we cobbled together a solution to a problem, and we got to ski on October 16th.  Does this make me hardcore?  Well, I guess no more than the next guy . . .

If you want to check out a short video with some ski footage and a few more photos, check out my blog.

Way to push the season in MC, Fuj & Dean.
Nice TR & I really enjoyed the video as well.  The WF auto road consistently yields the earliest turns in the Adirondacks, I'm glad you guys were there to get it this year.   I was surprised to see "the castle" at the top of the road unlocked... I've hundled alongside it in freezing cold and howling wind but don't ever remember being able to get inside.  
It appears likely that a good deal of the snow will melt off between now and next weekend, but no doubt about it: winter is settling in in the high country.

Nice report and pics. I was there too, started up about 11:00, didn't go to the top. I'll post a couple of my pics tomorrow.

Nice...(and thanks for the beta)

Planing on crossing the border with 3 pairs of Rossi tomorrow. One new pair with AT setup, one old XXXs and one really beaten up B1s. I'll only take the AT gear if there is enough coverage.

Destinations? Ski area or Toll Road. I have a 3 hours drive to decide what I want to do. If anyone wnats to team up, send me an email early tomorrow morning. madpatskiAThotmailDOTcom

It's going to be a short night, but I had bday/sleepover party fir my daughter + was seeing Roger Waters tonight.

It going to be a short night.

PS. Harv, don't expect any pics from me (not that you would anyway, right?).

mattchuck2 wrote

The only solution we could come up with was for me to give Dean one of my skins, and both of us would hike the last 2 miles with one skinned ski and one naked ski. It worked, but it was an awful lot of work.

Matt ... in my book that is core.  My definition of the term may be a little different.  Put it this way ... that's the kind of partner I want on my team, when I'm in the mountains.

The other little piece of coredom that may have gotten lost here is Fuje's "schedule" over the weekend ... would love to see a recap of that...

Guys ... a GREAT looking  adventure. Even though more skiing could be days or weeks off ... it really feels like a start. Props to all three, and thanks for posting it here, and giving me that great picture for today's homepage:



 It really gives me a good feeling. And I thank you for it.

It seems the toll road at WF is a popular place for early season turns. But with snow depths so deep, why not ski Whiteface proper? Snow depths certainly would have supported turns on even the steeper terrain. Great TR regardless, but I am just curious why not the ski trails?

No problem Harv.  If our only job is skiing hard and taking pictures, we're definitely able to do that.

Fuj definitely has his own take on the weekend (including the epic drive from buffalo), and he also has a couple of pictures he was going to work on in Photoshop (combining pics to make a panorama, etc.).  I'm sure he'll post them here soon, but he is a college student who just took off a significant amount of time from school, so he's probably got some work to do.

There's still time for the contest, though, so I might have to take a few more trips and put together a few more entries.

 

We got up top late and we actually had the discussion.

We decided to go back down the road for 4 reasons:

1. It was getting late and it would be dark relatively soon
2. The top was pretty socked in with clouds, and it was hard to see 50 feet in front of us.  We didn't want to get lost when we went over the top.
3. The snow on the frontside didn't go all the way to the bottom
4. We parked at the bottom of the toll road so we would have had to hitch a ride back to the car (possibly in the dark)

We decided it would be safest to just roll down the same way we came.

IDK, maybe cuz it's easier to hike the Toll road vs Whiteface proper? Maybe cuz the road is a longer ski?

Did anybody fall on the way down? Not looking to poke fun, just wondering. I've fallen on flat ground, even just standing there......Don't laugh, you have too!

Snowballs - We all fell at least once. Matt was the first to go down, he dug in a tip and went over the handlebars. No proof though. You can see me fall (barely moving) in the video, and there are plenty pictures of Dean falling.




I got a super innovative filter that completely eliminates fog! (And snow )

Lake Placid Turn


Sunset Under the Clouds


Mountain and a Sunset


Thursday - Midday Friday: Check the weather every 15 minutes, call everyone and anyone I can think of to try to find a ride home
Friday
 4-7:00 PM - Convince my brother I need to go skiing for my sanity.
 7:00 PM - My brother decided to let me take the car.. IF I help him set up his open house.
 8:00 PM - Finish setting up the open house, drive to my dorm, pack everything I can think of (Making a list, and checking it twice! Forgetting something in Buffalo wouldn't be fun)
Saturday
12:20 AM - Arrive home
12:20 - 2:30 AM - Scramble around getting all my stuff together, waxing my skis, driving around to see if there was any snow in the hills near me
2:30 AM - Find a dog wandering around my street
2:30 - 3:30 AM - Drive around the neighborhood looking for someone who lost a dog, making "Found Dog" posters and putting them up, trying to get the dog to stop crying.
4:00 AM -  GO to bed!
7:40 AM - Wake up!
7:40 - 8:05 AM - Get ready!
8:10 AM - Drive over to a friends, pick up his camera, Drive to exit 16 to meet Matt
8:35 AM - Meet Matt, throw everything in his car, head North!
9:30 AM - Meet Dean at exit 24
10:10 AM - Stop at the Mountaineer
10:45 AM - WHITEFACE : Get suited up, Go hike.
3:00 PM - Get to the top
3:00 - 4:00 PM - Sit in the castle, thaw out, foolin' around.
4:15 PM - Get suited up!
4:30 PM - Enjoy the snow and gravity
5:00 PM- Get to the base
5:20 PM- On the way home
7:20 - 7:45 PM - Back to the car, Wait for ladyfriend to show up so I can get pictures from Matt's card onto my computer
7:45 PM - 2:00 AM Sunday - Hanging out with friends and my ladyfriend.
2:00 AM - 3:15 AM - Taking pictures because it was  a VERY clear night
3:15 AM - Go to sleep
12:00 PM - Wake up
3:00 PM - Drive to the Sports Page!
5:00 PM - Drive home
5:30 - 11:00 PM - Family time
11:00 PM - 1:30 AM Monday - Homework time
1:30 - 4:00 AM - Sleep
4:20 - 8:50 AM - Drive to Buffalo
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM - Class!
4:30 - 6:30 PM - Nap time
6:45 - 7:15 PM - Dinner time
7:15 - ? - Procrastinate.

riverc0il wrote

It seems the toll road at WF is a popular place for early season turns. But with snow depths so deep, why not ski Whiteface proper? Snow depths certainly would have supported turns on even the steeper terrain. Great TR regardless, but I am just curious why not the ski trails?

Matt's reasons for the decision made at the top seem pretty logical.

Pure speculation:  I assumed the original decision to go for the road vs the base of the ski area included the fact that they didn't really know how much snow had fallen on Sat am when they headed out, and that the elevation of the bottom of the toll road is higher (800 feet?) than the bottom of the ski area.

Anybody know ... what is the base elevation of the toll road?

fujative wrote

Lake Placid Turn

Nice photos!

As far as that schedule goes ... I go back to what I said about the bear story ... "aaah youth!"

We weren't sure what we were going to do on the ride up. I wanted to ski WF Proper, but  we really didn't know what to expect for snow. 5" is plenty to ski the Toll Road without bottoming out, and I really wasn't sure what to expect for snow amounts. Once we got out of the car, the plan was to go down the front side. It changed when we saw that no one else had done it, and because it was late with horrible visibility. We got to the castle about an hour later than originally expected. We knew for a fact if we took the Toll Road, we would be able to ski right to the car. We were skiing in October, no reason to potentially mess things up. Getting lost in the wilderness would NOT be a good time.

According to Google Earth, base of the Toll Road = 2330 Feet. Base of WF = 1240 Feet. The first sign we took a picture of wasn't very far up at all, and it said 2351 Feet. Sounds pretty accurate. The Google Earth elevation is pretty accurate to the 4610 sign which was just above the castle, so I'd say it's pretty accurate. So a difference of 1090 feet. It made quite a difference, too. There was essentially no snow on the base of WF, as seen in the last sunset picture.  

Skied the Toll Road today...after 2 hours of sleep and a 3 hour drive.

Going to bed now...but first a few notes.

About 4 hours up, 30 minutes down. That is a long walk, well I knew it was going to be long.

Left the AT gear in the car as I didn't much snow from the gate so I bootpacked up. Followed fresh snowmobile tracks that made it easier to walk in. Above 3900 ft, I didn't sink in much. Snow froze hard and made for fast conditions, the problem is all the tracks that we're frozen solid, definitely had to be careful going down. Because of that it was hard to make some nice turns.

The snow conditions sucked today, but you can always ski great conditions in October, I guess it's the law of averages.

Beta as of late Monday. Skiable snow starts at about 100 meters vert above the gate.

Questions asked by others:

Parking lot at WF is approximately at 350m. Toll Road Gate is at 709m.

Why the Toll Road?

Driving in front of WF made it pretty clear, the snow was so much higher and the bottom of WF is pretty flat. The snow didn't reach Boulé Lodge/Mid station (?). I got 720m vert for my run today, I would have been surprised if I would have been close to that on the ski run in relatively good coverage.

MadPatSki wrote

Skied the Toll Road today...

THE STREAK LIVES!



(How long is the streak?)

Way cool tale. I'm sure everyone here is jealouse. I am.

Yea, I fell once just standing on flat ground. I leaned over to say something to the Kid and down I went. Had a hard time getting up, too. It's hard getting up off of flat ground! Started sliding around sittin on my tails....Had to click out! The Kid laughed his azz off.

He never lets me forget about it either...." Hey, remember when you fell just standing there? "

Goober.

Great pics too. But, who's the goofy lookin guy in the orange hoodie ?

Toll Road = 5.5 miles from the top!

MadPatSki wrote

Driving in front of WF made it pretty clear, the snow was so much higher and the bottom of WF is pretty flat.

Are you saying that what you could have skied at WF that day is flater then the Toll Rd.?

MadPatSki wrote

 The snow didn't reach Boulé Lodge/Mid station (?). I got 720m vert for my run today, I would have been surprised if I would have been close to that on the ski run in relatively good coverage.

Not following this one either, 720m is a little less than the summit of LWF. The top do the Summit Quad on WF is about 965m so not sure what you mean. I’m not trying to argue here just trying to follow your logic. There where a lot of tracks on Paron's yesterday, skiing down from that to mid would be some good vert.

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

MadPatSki wrote

Driving in front of WF made it pretty clear, the snow was so much higher and the bottom of WF is pretty flat.

Are you saying that what you could have skied at WF that day is flater then the Toll Rd.?

Just saying that the bottom of the ski area is pretty flat (and without snow) and it would be a long walk before reaching skiable snow passed the midstation.

Highpeaksdrifter wrote

MadPatSki wrote

 The snow didn't reach Boulé Lodge/Mid station (?). I got 720m vert for my run today, I would have been surprised if I would have been close to that on the ski run in relatively good coverage.

Not following this one either, 720m is a little less than the summit of LWF. The top do the Summit Quad on WF is about 965m so not sure what you mean. I’m not trying to argue here just trying to follow your logic. There where a lot of tracks on Paron's yesterday, skiing down from that to mid would be some good vert.

720 meters is the actual vertical on snow with the Toll Road. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but, for example, the vertical on the Summit Quad alone would be around 550 meters. How much vertical 'on snow' would a run at the ski area been yesterday (monday)?

One thing for sure, is that the hike would have been shorter if I would have been to the sjki area, but looking at it, it was hard to know how much there was before getting hiking something like 2 miles to get there.