Whiteface Conditions (2015 - 2016)

Word I got is no lift served skiing at WF tomorrow.

My son is headed to Colorado Frday for a 10 day NYSEF race training camp.  We had hoped to get in a ski day before he went but no lifts were going to spin.
 
We decided to go earn turns.  Unfortunately it rained last night and the coverage that looked so good yesterday disappeared. My plan was to skin up and my son would have to hike.  He decided to do it in hiking boots and carry his boots in my pack.  I wish I went that route.

We started at Kids Kampus and walked to the bottom of tower 10.  I tried skinning from there but the snow was too soft and I was just breaking thru so I went back to hiking.  We made it about half way up the face lift before we decided we would really rather be watching football.  The skiing was tricky and sticky plus you had to walk between piles.   We got some exercise and spent some time together and made it home for kick off.

Very cool!

Evidently I've ticked Harv off

I don't post TRs for WF as its not a trip it's home.  Never have so it seems the only place to put notes about WF for me is in conditions.

Respectfully I disagree with not putting the date in the title since there can be several discussions that take place during the course of the season say the day of a storm or the slides open.

Nice. Not a bad day for you guys: Got some exercise, slid on snow, watched football. Good job.

Next time you see a whiteface snowmaker thank them! They've been busy the past 24-48 hrs making the guns blaze!
P.S.The white ski mark going up the mountain i is now growing!

From the Gov.  WF will open Thursday, Gore Friday:

Whiteface, Gore set to open

That is what I heard up here as well
Pretty amazing since you saw how little snow was on the lower mt Sunday and the ground is not frozen.

Go snow tribe!  

Awesome! Looks like the daughter and I have plans for Thanksgiving morning!

Pics late afternoon 11/24/15.  Temp was 30-31 at 4pm according to my minivan.  Snowed around Mt Van Hoevenburg from 4:00 to almost 8:00pm.  I'm staying near there at South Meadow Farm B&B tonight.

Noted Local

WF is getting pounded w/ the manAmade!  

Pretty nice opening day.  Firm but grippy up top and soft and not quite wet (yet) at the bottom.  Could have skied new skis cover is excellent though Friday that might be a different story down low.

Got in 4 quick Gondi runs 10k vert and back home for Turkey

Temps in the 50s on Friday really melted off a lot on the lower mountain.  On 11/28, Mixing Bowl didn't open until 12:30pm with the snow guns on all over the trail in the morning.  Still had a few on at the top and bottom in the afternoon.  The upper runs off the gondola were okay, as long as you didn't mind snow guns and low visibility due to clouds/fog.  Below mid-mountain was . . . variable conditions.  The afternoon was better after most people left.

Facelift was open now and then after mid-morning.

Got plenty of dirt on my boots walking to lifts at the base.  Was with a few friends who needed some funs on Mixing Bowl to get warmed up.

I feel bad for the lifties that are going to have to sweep out all those Gondi cars filled with mud tommorow.  Heard they are going to bring them all in tonight to let them warm up and then sweep em out Monday.

Skied at Whiteface yesterday (Saturday) for our season opener.  Neighbors had been to Gore the day before (Friday) and described conditions as "terrible," so we figured things might be in better shape further north.  Plus, early season when there's just a couple runs open, we find WF a bit more interesting - at least you get 2400 verts with every lap.  Temp was 31 degrees with a bit of light snow when we pulled into the lot mid-morning, and we were pleased to see guns going strong as far up the hill as we could see.



Pretty socked in at the top of the gondi:



But visibility improved significantly partway down Excelsior.  There were a handful of pinch points on the lower mountain, but coverage was overall excellent.  The snowmaking and grooming crews did a hell of a job getting surfaces into decent shape when you consider it had been 50 degrees 24 hours earlier.  Crowds were a non-issue.



Maybe an inch or so of new snow fell at the upper elevations during the day, improving conditions with each lap as the natural snow mixed in with the manmade.  Visibility steadily improved as well, although there was this persistent layer of fog around mid-mountain.  The forecast had called for clearing in the afternoon, and sure enough around 2:30 or 3pm the summit finally peaked through.




Overall we felt it was one of the better season openers we've had.  It's always good to start the season on a positive note, happy wife, happy life:

^ Good choice

Skied WF on Thanksgiving day and again today (Sunday)....  I thought conditions were great considering the fluctuating temps. Lots of guns going today :-)  Looking forward to next weekend.

"We just opened Essex and Northway. We will be moving to Victoria, Broadway, Danny's Bridge and Brookside. After that we're most likely going to the Face."

Skied at Whiteface today.  Besides the Excelsior - Upper/Lower Valley route they've now opened Essex and Northway.  Victoria looks ready but was officially closed (Aaron led a group down it, but I missed that).  Nice groomed manmade conditions early, softened up in the sun and down below but then got a bit icy as the trails went into the shadows.  Coverage is excellent on all open trails, maybe a bit thin from Tower 10 hill down.





While the trails were white, everywhere else was shockingly brown, even up high:



Saw HPD briefly at lunch.  Good to meet you, we'll have to make some runs next time.
Heading back up to the Face this weekend, should be good.