Whiteface 4/15/11

Hit the road early this morning so that I could ski Whiteface one more time this season.  I arrived around 8:10 and was around 10th in line or so for Face Lift. The operators there were starting and stopping the lift after it ran every few feet.  At 8:30 we were told that it would be about 20 minutes and that we should go get a cup of coffee.  20 minutes later I'm back on line and the lift isn't moving at all.  After 20 minutes with absolutely no announcements I headed to the lodge to find out what management's plans were.  The first person I spoke with said that they were still planning to open Face Lift but would not give any time estimate.  By around 9:40 I was getting pretty annoyed and headed over to the ticket counters.  There I was told that Face Lift would not be opening and that they were waiting to get the gondola fired up.  I voiced my displeasure at the lack of announcements by the Whiteface staff and worked my way back to my skis that I had left up by Face Lift.  Right after I skied to the ropes by the gondola I saw a few staff members by the loading station and then the lift started to run.  My position allowed my to be 3rd in line and we were told it would be about 20 more minutes before we could board.  Finally at 10:05 I was on the first car with a great group of people and we were on our way up the mountain!

Once off the gondola it was a race down Excelsior to the Summit Chair.  This turned out to be a great run and I ended up on the second chair with a couple that I had met on the Gondola.  Once up top we took a look at Skyward and it appeared to be softening up all ready.  We dove in and had a blast getting first tracks roaring down to Niagara and back to the chair.  A few more laps on all of the trails up top was great!  From there I worked my way down to the mid-mountain and played around on Lower Wilderness, Mountain Run and Upper Thruway.  Conditions there were a mix and I longed for the summit so I worked my way down to the base for another trip up the gondola.  From the gondola I jumped on Upper Northway which was still very hard and crusty in most places and I worked my way down to the Summit Chair again.  The plan was for a couple of more laps on Skyward but once up there I found that it had softened up a lot and the snow was getting pushed around quite a bit.  Turns out Skyward took it's toll on my already tired legs and then a nasty tumble on Niagara convinced me that this party might be coming to an end for me.  I was already very limited on how much time I had left and I decided that at this point it would be best for me to just enjoy myself skiing down the rest of the mountain and leave with fond memories of another fun (albeit short) day at Whiteface.

What a difference from a year ago.  Last April 3rd was my last day at Whiteface and of the season.  It was 75 at the summit that day, I skied in shorts and a t-shirt and the mountain was a slushfest.  The atmosphere was one of celebration but the skiing left much to be desired.  Today I never took my jacket off and when I took a run without my hat I found myself regretting it.  The skiing was much better today but I think I would have preferred a day that was somewhere in-between the two.

All in all I had a great time there today even with the delays and I'm glad that I made the trip.  Whiteface has always been a favorite of mine and if this ends up being the end of the season for me then it was a great ending!