Whiteface Conditions (2013-2014)

Skidds wrote

I'm disappointed in WF.  I've frequently avoided Gore for their history of midweek closures/lack of service...and that's not something I recall ever being a problem at WF.  Now I need to think twice about how much spring skiing I'll do there.  I was thinking of upgrading my WF only non-holiday season pass to a Ski3.  Instead of doing that, I'm kind of regretting giving them my $459.

Now you're feeling our pain down here. Half a mountain should be half price to paying customers. Another way to get Gored, is that on Thursdays, paying customers are charged the weekend rate all season long. Stay away from the ORDA juice and you'll be fine!

Darkside Shaman wrote

Skidds wrote

I'm disappointed in WF.  I've frequently avoided Gore for their history of midweek closures/lack of service...and that's not something I recall ever being a problem at WF.  Now I need to think twice about how much spring skiing I'll do there.  I was thinking of upgrading my WF only non-holiday season pass to a Ski3.  Instead of doing that, I'm kind of regretting giving them my $459.

Now you're feeling our pain down here. Half a mountain should be half price to paying customers. Another way to get Gored, is that on Thursdays, paying customers are charged the weekend rate all season long. Stay away from the ORDA juice and you'll be fine!

So indeed, they're not running the Lookout lift today, midweek savings. Too bad.What  a nice day (I'm not at the mountain, but would be tomorrow, but likely go elsewhere.)

Agreed, it is disappointing that parts of the mountain would be made unavailable.  As for deciding where to spend your spring mid-week days (if you have them), it becomes a rock and a hard place.  For much of April where else are you going to go that offers what WF can even without Lookout?  If Vermont is in play you have options, but you may find things closed at some of those mountains.

While I may pick my spots to complain, I'm not oblivious to the economics of spring skiing.  Most mountains probably aren't making any money come April.  It's nice to have the opportunity to take advantage of some of the best skiing of the season.  I can accept if that opportunity comes with some limitations.  Here's what I would like to see, though....

Communication.  Not sure if anyone here has seen it, but Killington put a dissertation on K Zone letting their customers know what terrain would be open when, and for how long.  Yes, the economics of spring skiing force them to curtail operations, but at least they give customers info they can plan around.  Why can't WF similarly do that?  If and when Lookout/Kids Kampus/certain lifts are going to be shut down mid-week or for good, put it on the website in advance.  This way someone doesn't have to get to the mountain only to find something is closed that management knew days or weeks ago would be closed.

Pricing. Sure, late season lift tickets are cheaper in general.  However, why should they charge the same late season rate mid-week as they do on weekends when they are offering less of a product midweek?  This is more a principle issue, if you are going to give me less you should charge me less, than a cost issue.  Not like a few bucks is going to break the bank, but make the mid-week ticket $5 less than weekends, and people will feel less like they are getting hosed by terrain that is skiable but unavailable.

I got to the summit 5 minutes after they closed the slides today
I b-lined to Cloudsplitter Glades=Closed
I found some incredible spring skiing that I have not done in years
My biggest beef was that to ski Mackenzie you had to ski to the bottom and the snow was too sticky.
My favorite run was Cloudspin!

Big spring bumps...I like

sudsnbumps wrote

I got to the summit 5 minutes after they closed the slides today
I b-lined to Cloudsplitter Glades=Closed
I found some incredible spring skiing that I have not done in years
My biggest beef was that to ski Mackenzie you had to ski to the bottom and the snow was too sticky.
My favorite run was Cloudspin!

Big spring bumps...I like

The slides closed around 2-230..I believe I saw them sweeping around 230ish On my last ride up summit.

Honestly, the slides were open and there was NOBODY on any trails.  They had plenty of terrain open for who was there.  Everybody was in slides.  To shut down a few lifts to save on costs is fine by me. And I would have loved lookout yesterday.  But I was also pretty satisfied with what was there. I would prefer they shut gondola and open Little WF but they get way too much criticism for not openin ggondola than any other lift.

Why cant you look at the trail conditions on website?  When you see Lookout is closed and not on wind hold then figure it out.  They just started closing lookout as of Monday and you heard about it Monday...so what is the problem?

Pants wrote

I would prefer they shut gondola and open Little WF but they get way too much criticism for not openin ggondola than any other lift.

You can add me to that preference too!!!

You can want all you want but it is what it is and you need to enjoy what you have.  I was bummed about not getting to the slides or even cloudsplitter but what WAS AVAILABLE was incredible...bummed I missed today and will be in the area tomorrow but working the whole time...no time for play 

Although the skis will be in the car just in case

I like that idea as well.  Its spring we dont need the gondi.  It would be cool if they alternated which lifts were spinning as well.   M-W-F summit T-T Lookout.  

Face4Me wrote

Pants wrote

I would prefer they shut gondola and open Little WF but they get way too much criticism for not openin ggondola than any other lift.

You can add me to that preference too!!!

+1000 in the spring

I try to not go to the bottom

Am I safe in assuming a lot of the closed trails the last couple days have more to do with winter conditions (below freezing temps/ice) than with spring conditions (snow melt/lack of coverage)?

Skidds wrote

Am I safe in assuming a lot of the closed trails the last couple days have more to do with winter conditions (below freezing temps/ice) than with spring conditions (snow melt/lack of coverage)?

Yes ... That would be a very safe assumption.

There's still PLENTY of snow.

Nice day at Whiteface on Sunday, finally a spring day! The non-groomed trails opened up as the sun softened them up, Hoyts was really nice in the afternoon.  One negative is that they were not running the little Whiteface chair which meant that if you skied it (from the Gondola) it was back to the bottom which got fairly slushy as the day wore on. I'm sure ORDA is trying to keep cost down but it seems like that not running that lift is a real drawback this time of year.  

On a different note one issue I think Whiteface has is that the "slow skiing zones" seem to mean bomb the trail to some folks especially on Excelsior.  this seems to be more of a Whiteface issue than an other mountains we visit, perhaps it si because there are not a lot of Intermediate trails there. We are Gore regulars and don't typically see that much there, of course Gore has a lot more intermediate trails than Whiteface.

xWeatherMan wrote

On a different note one issue I think Whiteface has is that the "slow skiing zones" seem to mean bomb the trail to some folks especially on Excelsior.

EXCELSIOR!!!  

Looks like a good portion of the mountain is on mid-winter freeze lock up today.  While warner weather is coming, continued cold like today can only keep the snow around longer.  Hoping for good conditions for Easter weekend.  Predicting snow this time of year is a dicey gamble....but Sunday to Tues there is some moisture coming through, and lows anticipated in the low to mid 30s.  Mountain-Forecast is calling for snow on the mountain Monday night, heavy on the summit.  Something to keep an eye on?

According to the conditions report.  Everything is open except Kids Kampus (who cares), Lookout (may still run weekends), some short pointless connector trails, Empire, Upper Northway, glades, and the Slides.  Although it is less than Killington's offerings now, it will probably be more than Killington after this weekend when Killington closes Needle's, Snowshed, and Bear Mountain.  I am hoping for an extended season at Whiteface this year so I can do my spring trip there.

Coach Z wrote

Face4Me wrote

Pants wrote

I would prefer they shut gondola and open Little WF but they get way too much criticism for not openin ggondola than any other lift.

You can add me to that preference too!!!

+1000 in the spring

I try to not go to the bottom

I can't decide whether to have the Face Lift or the Gondola running in the spring.  I like that the Face Lift gives direct access to the Summit Quad and Lookout and you can leave your skis on, but the Gondola is my favorite lift of all time since it has an amazing view and gets you to 2,400 vertical in one quick 7 minute ride.  LWF should be open no matter what in the spring since it gives direct access to the LWF pod with no thin long runouts to the bottom.  I say that for late season, run Face Lift, Gondola, LWF, Summit Quad, and Lookout if enough snow.

According to the ski report, Mixing Bowl, Face Lift, Gondola, and Summit Quad are open, but LWF is shuttered.  Why in the world would you run Mixing Bowl this time of year?!  There are no first timers out this time of year, and people who have skied for more than 1 day should be fine on the green terrain off the Face Lift.  Either run both the Gondola and LWF or run only LWF and use the Face Lift as the sole way from the base area.  The gondola is my favorite lift, but not to lap all day.  I sure hope LWF is open next weekend because I don't want to have to take the long flat thin covered runout to the bottom to get on the gondola every run.  

Air is very warm. Can't seem to dress correctly. Conditions not to shabby for April 14!  Bare spots , small streams to be expected. I know they need the $ , but I think sixty bucks is a little steep. Oh well last turns for season , so I'll try to get my money's worth.