Whiteface Conditions (2012-2013)

WF is claiming 10" in the past 24hrs.  Must be a party on the hill today

I'm making a 2nd hand report.  My son had NYSEF training today.  I doubt they ran any gates though because he skied on his fat skis all day well that means I don't have to tune his skis tonight.  ZZ said it was an EPIC day.  His group was 1st on Hoyt's and he loved it.  He said it was the best Whiteface day he has ever had.  The snow is blower light from this storm becuase it still is cold up here.  It was over his knees so I'd say it may be well over 10".  Life is tough to be a 9 year old that skis 3 days a week.

As I dug out from 100+ emails after skiing Jay the last 2 days I kept staring out the window thinking I should be skiing.  

Sorry I was too exhausted from skiing myself silly yesterday to post.  I'm sure it was better on Friday but Saturday was still really good.  I took my new 98mm width boards out for the first time.  The rocker tip just floated right over the crud piles and the camber under foot was nice when you were down to the ice.

I was in line for the Gondi before it opened and elected to hit Upper Mac 1st run.  There were only a few tracks in it and it was superb.  I hit it again the 2nd run since it was so good.  With shiny new boards on my feet I decided to skip the glades since I heard it still was thin in there.  3rd run I skied Parkway all the way down and that was still excellent as many seem to over look it.  I had to teach at morning line up so I got back out at noon and hit Hoyts and Wilmington to LOB.   Wilmington is ungroomed and was more like a double black.  I felt bad for the dad I saw with a little tike making power wedges.  That kid had some tired legs by the bottom I'm sure.

Honestly I was a little disappointed in Hoyts - the the huge whales down the middle it skis like a longer version of LOB.  its really hard to maintain any kind of rhythm for more than about 6 turns.  I hope they have figured out how to groom it which will make it ski so much better.  If we get that rain on Monday and its not groomed it will be unskiable.

Skyward opened around 1 due to some lift issues.  It was super slick the top 200 vert but then was pretty fun with Powder over the ice.  It was noisy but good.  Lower Skyward was great.

Sunday started with a huge inversion.  It was 15 below at my house in the valley and 10 above at the summit.  It warmed up fast mid morning.  It was packed power heaven.  Wilderness 1st thing was some of the nicest PP this side of the rockies that I can remember.  Bumps formed but they were pretty nice and soft.  After teaching when I got to the summit in the afternoon they had guns on Skyward and it was closed.  Parons in the sun and views was a pretty nice run instead.

It was a great weekend, the best weekend of the last two seasons. We left CT on Thursday evening gambling schools would be closed on Friday. For my two daughters and my wife today was the best day of the three, they were waiting for the grooming. Every run today was the "Run of the Day", started on Mountain Run (2x), Essex (3x), Parons and Wilmington. My oldest doaughter did do Hoyt's on Friday for the first time; I agree with Coach, if they can groom it, it will be a great trail.

It's a shame that Hoyt's didn't live up to your expectations. Sometimes the whales ruin the flow on Upper Mac, but sometimes it skis great.

At the very least, I'm sure Hoyt's is going to be super fun come spring. I can't wait to do some laps on Hoyt's and LOB.

ADKarver wrote

...gambling schools would be closed on Friday...

THAT'S what I'm talking about!  

Coach your post qualifies as a TR. IMO.

Hoyt's is a game changer!  Whoever said it did not live up to expectations is nuts!  It's the real deal! You need some solid ski legs 4sure but it skis w/ rhyme and rhythm!!

Absolute game changer!  It's a big boy ski!  It's off the hook.  O, yeah!  

did I mention how much I love Hoyts High???  Unfreaking real!  

The trifecta is the real deal.   Hoyts is really a great trail.  I did not even miss the summit quad until about 1:30 on Friday.  Hit Hoyts as soon as it opened and it was game on.  Just came from Lower Sky where one of my buddies jumped my line...it was not happening again.  I took off under the ropes quick and poled to get in there.  I had the whole right side.  Boot deep powder with a man made base below.  No scraping.  About two thirds of the way down I was getting tired made a turn and saw three skiers tracking from behind.  Decided to keep going went another drop or two and gave up.  The three went by.  The two young chaps peeled the left and were gone.  The wise old man that was tracking me and stayed to the right.  He made it one drop further and stopped.  He was exhausted as well.   I jumped on it and went a little holly wood off a snow whale on the way by and finished my first tracks to the bottom.   Jumped back on and hit Willmington trail.  Same conditions.

I was hoping Sat the snow would compress more than it did.  Went into ravens and was in hip deep pow a lot but you were stomping right threw to the forrest floor.  Lots of logs and boulders to deal with.   Got on Sky a little later.  Holy cow was my first thought when I jumped out onto the burg.  There was snow down below and Niagaria was where the good were at.  Nothing like jumping into the turns and sinking to you hip.  

Sunday it was bluebird.   Did not start till 10 but before I knew it we were loading lookout at 3:30.

Trifecta's each day. more than once.

Speedy course was a little slow but I did win with a launcher on the last kicker.  

Oh yeah.  Lets have a repeat next weekend.



Yo Aussie how did you like Hoyts?  Come on you can admit it.  YOU LIKEY

Harvey44 wrote

ADKarver wrote

...gambling schools would be closed on Friday...

THAT'S what I'm talking about!  

On Friday, a guy in the locker room at WF asked my wife and me "Is school really closed today or are you two really cool parents?" School was closed, haven't been cool since the kids started school...

Harvey44 wrote

ADKarver wrote

...gambling schools would be closed on Friday...

THAT'S what I'm talking about!  

Coach your post qualifies is a TR. IMO.

Harv I told you I don't do trip reports at my home Mt because getting in my car and driving 10 mins is not a trip but I did think that this weekend did deserve more than a quick conditions report regardless what its is called or filed on the web site.  

Scotty maybe I would have been more pumped by Hoyts if I skied it Friday - my kid raved about it Friday night.  By the time I got on it Saturday afternoon it there was not any soft stuff left and big firm bumps with out any good lines interspaced with huge whales.  I was the only one on it then - not another person was in sight.  My legs were a getting tired and I had such hopes that it would be such a great experience.  It really needs to have those whales groommed out. The whales kind of take the fun of the twists and turns out of it.    Others said the same thing to me so I'm not the only one thinking this.  Does anyone know if they can groom it or not?

Not this year.  They only go down.  To groom it they would have to go down all the way around and up W trail.   That is what I was told.  

By spring those bumps are going to be a big as the whales  .  

Coach, Agree on Hoyts, need to get the whales down. From what I've heard as far as grooming the only way to groom would be from the top down, too steep to go up it. That means 3-4 round trips minimum all the way down to the base of the Wilmington trail and back up. The other alternative I've heard speculated was finding an attachment point for winching in 3 different spots to go with the fall line. Either way it will be slow and expensive. I think what we are seeing now is what we get for the rest of the year. Maybe next yr when they blow it they can have the crew move the guns more often so we don't get the 20 foot whales down the middle. Sat was fun early on it though. LOB was a blast , lapped it several times as soon as they dropped the rope. Skinned up and got an early pow run on Skyward, it was well worth the effort. Skiers right was a little windblown but lots of fun. Niagara was a blast, deep, soft up over the knees into my chest. Too bad Sky was mostly tracked out by the time they opened lift 6.

CONTENTS DELETED

Hoyts was fantastic on Friday and Saturday, I passed on Sunday to play on LOB.   I am hoping that yesterday's weather did not mess things up too much.  Hoyt's will need to be groomed and I recall reading or hearing that they planned grooming from the top down and using Willinmington to get there.

I agree with Dave, I mean Coach Z that the whales wreck the flow, the divide a great trail into two small narrow ones.

I am looking forward to this next weekend and week, (even with the tourists)

How is Lookout Below doing after the storm? Any hope for this season?

ml242 wrote

How is Lookout Below doing after the storm? Any hope for this season?

ML - its open - scroll up and read about.  LOB = Lookout Below

It was good Saturday but I didn't get back to it on Sunday since I heard Wilmington Trail was a mess.

Sunday LOB was tough in the morning.  It got a little better after it sat in the sun all afternoon.  

Willmington trail was really good Sunday.  They left the upper section un groomed.  Nice soft long angle bumps with good lines.  Not very often you can let your skis run in the bumps up here.  It was nice.  Down from the Jersey Turnpike it was groomed.  JT skied better at 3:40 then it has most of the time in the past years.  They must have cleaned it up skiers rt.  I don't remember it being that bad at any point this year.   It was a intermediate trail Sunday.

so one could assume hoyts and lob will be open this weekend? might warrant a trip up, how bad do the crowds get on prez weekend?