Whiteface 2/29/12 | Sliding into 2nd (and then some)

After skinning out of JBL from my two night camping trip, I decided to wander over to the Wilmington Ski Hill also known as WhiteFace.

I love this view of the hill. It's sort of away from the other ADK peaks, which gives it a majestic quality. This isn't the best shot but when you see it crest over the road it appears to be two miles tall.



It hadn't snowed (but was a bit breezy), so I wasn't expecting much. When I got to the top I was greeted by a nice gentleman that asked me if I had a beacon. I didn't, so took a top to bottom non-stop run to go get it. LEGBURNER!!!



*Note, those french-canadians thought they should be able to ski the slides sans-bacon. HA!

The view of the resort from the slides shows a bit of the steepness near the top of the WSA.



But I was more interested in the view above!



I found a skinny slide to suit me because I like skinny suits. The four inches from the previous night and big winds plus all the other snow had turned the slides into a nice catch. Loosely cut up and wind effected pow were on the menu.



It looked great looking up, too



And up again



I wish I switched to the longer lens to get some action shots, these local guys let me tag along with them for a run and they were fun fun fun to ski with. I dug the water ice and ripped a few turns through it. The only shop I let touch my skis is Ski Sharp in the peoples republic of Vermont, and I had just gotten my yearly tune. Rick puts the best edge on, anywhere.



Tagging mode, this time they were it.



I can never get enough, so this disappointed me hugely.



CLOSED!!!!!!! ARGHH

So I skied Cloudspin which was fun and pretty and pretty soft but also bony.




Blogspot is resizing the photos a bit making them look strange.

Maybe it just can't handle the face because it's so big and steep!

Thanks for looking, ml242

Great pictures!!!

Love the shots from the new slide ... I sure hope I get to ski it this year!!!

Was at WF this am, excellent conditions but the Slide requirement of having a Beacon is total BS! According to the patrol at the top they are not worried about anything sliding they are worried about people getting lost and having to find them. Sorry, I've skied the slides for years and the chance of someone getting lost and needing a Beacon to find them is beyond BS. I tried to be nice to Mr Patrollman but I,m sure the tone of by disbelieving voice and the look on my face gave away how I felt about being turned away. Rode up in the Gondi with some guys who had driven 4 hrs this am to get up here, having never skied the slides and they were really pissed.

endoftheline wrote

Was at WF this am, excellent conditions but the Slide requirement of having a Beacon is total BS! According to the patrol at the top they are not worried about anything sliding they are worried about people getting lost and having to find them.

I don't think needing a beacon in case of a slide is ridiculous, especially after the slide on Wright.
However, saying they need a beacon in case someone gets lots is totally absurd.

Matt, looks like you had a better day than I did on Weds!

Yeah, the range on most beacons is really only 25 meters max, which isn't going to find anybody unless they're buried under a few feet of snow.

I do think there are some lingering instability issues there, but do they really have snow science guys working for ORDA?

It was a kick ass day man, wish you could have been there.

The new policy is right on!  All the local rippers support it.  Buy a beacon and stop whining!

I'm surprised there's not an app for that^^^^

It's kind of funny, but some cell phones mess with the beacon transmissions.

An app would be amazing if it could show multiple burials on a gps screen. Not that you should be staring at a phone instead of digging when there are possible survivors (or barely possible), but I could see some cool research and more tools coming out of an app like that.

If skiers choose not to get beacons, it's fine by me as long as I can go. Maybe they'll start opening the slides earlier in the year rather than waiting for March.

IMO if you've skied the slides even once, you can NEVER resist a slides TR.  To me, the most deluxe pics are the shots looking down a slide.  They bring back the adrenaline from the moment when you are about to drop in.

This is a great TR ml.  

I haven't been lucky enough to ski the Slides, if I do, I wouldn't dream of doing it "sans-bacon"...mmmm bacon. Everything is better with bacon.

Great TR, great pics, and I'm sure you had a great time. I bailed on WF Sunday with the wind holds. Looks like I'd have had fun if I stuck around. No regrets, skied the Mad River Valley all week, had a blast there too.