Whiteface Conditions (2013-2014)

Fun conditions Saturday
Softened up nicely 2000-2500 ft and below with some rain drizzle.  Might be pretty firm Sunday with cold temps returning
Snowed above that and stayed soft cold and creamy
Run of day for me was Upper Cloud.  I just love that trail And don't get to ski it all that often

Antique ski equipment day aka super Sunday tomorrow.  Going to firm and fast.  Might still be good up high.

Antique ski equipment day.

I was sooo wrong it was not a firm and fast day.  The squall that came thru dumped well more than the 2" reported on the WF web site.  I took a run with my carving skis and went back to the locker room to get my fat skis.  It was boot top plus in spots.  Got Empire early.  There was some nice powder on parkway too.  Upper Cloud again was my fav but the fresh snow hid some of the rocks so it was a little more risky than yesterday but well worth it.  

Power line glade was my fav poach of the day and there was lots of poaching going on.  When a rope only half way covers a span when it clearly could go all the way across between two trees I take as more of a suggestion not a command.  I don't ever fully duck a rope.

Some dope tried to go in the slides on a pair of race skis.  Liftie stopped him and he was hoping at it with the Liftie.  A bunch of us supported the Liftie and berated the bozo.  Super Sundayistis

Coach Z wrote

I was sooo wrong it was not a firm and fast day.  The squall that came thru dumped well more than the 2" reported on the WF web site.

I was pretty surprised too ... from the mid-station down, it was pretty much what I expected, but everything we skied above the mid-station was very good, for the most part.

We popped into 10th Mt Division glades early just to "check it out", and it was like holy cow!!!! Where did all of this snow come from??? When we came out on the bottom of Empire, we looked up and it was clear what our next run was going to be, but first, we made our way over to High Country Glades, which also had quite a bit of fresh snow. Definitely some of the best snow I've ever skied in High Country ... usually, by the time I get to it, it's all skied out, but not this morning.

Coach Z wrote

Upper Cloud again was my fav but the fresh snow hid some of the rocks so it was a little more risky than yesterday but well worth it.

Tons of snow up there on skier's right, coming in from Paron's Run ... unfortunately, I wandered a little too far into the middle and found one of those rocks with the tip of my ski ... ejected right out ... face plant ... somersault ... smacked my knee on a rock ... bent a pole ... if only I had that one on film!!!

All in all ... a great day!

Not cool!

Face4Me wrote

 ... unfortunately, I wandered a little too far into the middle and found one of those rocks with the tip of my ski ... ejected right out ... face plant ... somersault ... smacked my knee on a rock ... bent a pole ... if only I had that one on film!!!

All in all ... a great day!

I'm getting worn out by those dissing my "overly positive view of life on skis."  I think I have found a blood brotha.  Nice.

Harvey wrote

I'm getting worn out by those dissing my "overly positive view of life on skis."  I think I have found a blood brotha.  Nice.

Don't let anyone come down on your for that!!!

As a side note, I heard that Andrew Weibrecht was skiing at Whiteface today with a kid in conjunction with the Make A Wish Foundation ... How awesome is that!!! Forget the silver & the bronze ... he's a gold medalist in my book!


Correction: He didn't ski with a kid ... he skied with some people who donated money to Make A Wish as part of an auction ... same difference ... Awesome!!!

I skied Whiteface Saturday. Conditions were a mixed bag with spring conditions down low, and a mix of packed powder, hardback, and sheer ice in varying proportions up high. Not surprisingly, the natural runs offered the most consistent conditions even if coverage is still thin in spots. Highlights included Empire, Cloud, and Cloudsplitter Glades. I also had a nice run on the skier's right side of Wilmington Trail (in and along the trees). Rand's was fun, though the upper portion was a bit too rocky for my taste with the current coverage.

I watched the heavy snow squalls move through the area while dining at L&S. Wished I could have visited the mountain today. Sounds like I missed out!

I had the fall of the year on one of those hidden reefs on Cloud as well

No matter how good it looks don't venture towards the middle

Somehow I missed you all weekend and we always seem to run into each other normally.  I didn't think you were here.
 

Coach Z wrote

Somehow I missed you all weekend and we always seem to run into each other normally.  I didn't think you were here.

Josh had a couple of friends up this weekend, so we weren't on our usual schedule or in the usual places!

Was skiing sugar valley glades most of the weekend.  Couple new lines got cut in there.  If I kept it to myself I would have had first tracks all weekend long.  Took a few people in and they decided to follow the guy that did not know where he was going.  Best part is no one is going to find them unless they go with someone who knows.  
When the mountain is all open it is really a big hill.  You can ski all day long and never repeat anything.  

Couple core shots Sat but fixed them before heading out Sunday.   Have another repair to do this week.   I have 7 core shots in different places.  Couple more and I will have more P-tex than base.   Is it Sat yet?

Couple chances for snow through Sat pm.....not big, but enough to freshen.  Headed up this weekend.  The boys will be hunting diamonds in ski school Sunday while I go solo.  If you are around and want some company in the woods let me know...

tjf1967 wrote

Was skiing sugar valley glades most of the weekend.  Couple new lines got cut in there.  If I kept it to myself I would have had first tracks all weekend long.  Took a few people in and they decided to follow the guy that did not know where he was going.

I guess it's best to stay behind the guy who's leading rather than be at the back of the pack!

Is was manky Sat.  Sunday dried out and softened up.

Well I'm going to take the contrarian view in that 72 hours after a 21" dump plus a few inches overnight, I thought the conditions yesterday were as poor as possible given that setup.  Agree with the above that High County Glades were fun, and U/L Mackenzie was fun too, but generally speaking the conditions weren't nearly as good as I was expecting. Especially after skiing Gore on Saturday, which was fantastic all over the mountain, from top to bottom.

BenedictGomez wrote

Well I'm going to take the contrarian view in that 72 hours after a 21" dump plus a few inches overnight, I thought the conditions yesterday were as poor as possible given that setup. ...  Especially after skiing Gore on Saturday, which was fantastic all over the mountain, from top to bottom.

Though I skied WF on Saturday instead of Sunday, I admit that I was underwhelmed by the overall conditions that day considering the recent storm. However, Sunday at Gore was even worse. The arctic front rendered anything at Gore other than the upper mountain glades not worth skiing.

 

Peek-a-boo




I ski you!

Pics like that combined with reports of lifties only stopping dopes on race skis is an encouraging sign.  Were they ever officially open?  Will have avy gear in hand this weekend, hope for the best.....

Looks like Scotty is getting there not from slide in

The dope on race skis stood there at slide in for a minute pondering his stupidity.  It was 2:30 pm and he was going to go in alone.  If he got hurt he would have become a Popsicle and the 2nd fatality that day

tjf1967 wrote

Was skiing sugar valley glades most of the weekend.  Couple new lines got cut in there.  If I kept it to myself I would have had first tracks all weekend long.  Took a few people in and they decided to follow the guy that did not know where he was going.  Best part is no one is going to find them unless they go with someone who knows.  
When the mountain is all open it is really a big hill.  You can ski all day long and never repeat anything.  

Couple core shots Sat but fixed them before heading out Sunday.   Have another repair to do this week.   I have 7 core shots in different places.  Couple more and I will have more P-tex than base.   Is it Sat yet?

Found those new SV lines and they are nice
When did they get cut?  Definitely not natural glades