Whiteface Conditions (2015 - 2016)

Hey Guys, how has Whiteface been lately? How is the snow holding up this week. I was planning on skiing for two days next week, and We have a place reserved in Lake Placid. I'm trying to decide if its going to be good skiing, or if I should be heading up to Canada to get a true winter experience. I'm obviously not looking to ski the slides, but I don't want to waste my time if I cant ski the top. How are things looking right now, and how do you think the conditions will be next week?

skiing the top wont be an issue for a long time. They blew a ton of snow up there when it was super cold.

the bottom still looks good based on when I drove by this evening

keeping it real though those photos of Treblant where it is still winter looked pretty enticing

Looks like some dust fell on that crust last night

Things look white again at least...will be skiing tmrw hope it's edge-able.

In a word........no, give me two.

Fucking awful!

Any (well, almost) day on the snow is fun, and today was fun.....but, boy, do the conditions suck.  Loose granular over ic, er, frozen granular.. Sure, the LG piled up at the edges and fun turns can be had, but I haven't seen conditions this bad in forever.

As for Cloudspin (lounge) conditions.....the new band setup in the back of the bar, it really does suck.  There's a band back there, but you wouldn't know it unless you went looking for them, or to take a leak.  Boring.  Rock the Face....not!  Even my wife, who doesn't like loud bands/music, agrees the band in the front was better.

Ah, the good old days, from which I still have several fleece won from trivia and frozen t-shirt contests.  I haven't seen that fun atmosphere in the Cloudspin Lounge in a loooong time.  

Drinks are still good!!!

Alternate view.

I had a great day up at the Face today.  Boyz day - me, my son Daniel and my brother Davey, who skis with us once or twice a year.

We sharpened our edges last night, knowing conditions would be firm.  And firm it was.  But there was just enough loose gran over the firm.  And if you stayed out of the shadows it was easy to avoid the islands of ice. Or at least most of them.

But the thing about today was it was just an absolutely gorgeous day to be out in the mountains, big mountains, like Whiteface.  Winter hasn't been kind to skiers, but the mountain was just as beautiful as ever.

And when I'm ripping down Skyward, with the High Peaks as my backdrop under blue skies with clouds whipping over the summit in the 45mph wind, and the bottom of the mountain is three thousand vertical feet away, and the skiing isn't easy because it's Whiteface on a hard day, and you link a twenty turns together after a hundred foot death slide dropping in, I dunno, I kinda dig it.

Daniel on Skyward, my brother Davey about to drop in:


Mtn Run:


Skyward:


Mtn Run:


Wilderness:


Last run:


Woulda been fun to hook up with you for a couple runs today JTG.  Next time.

Nice.

Anybody have any idea how long edges stay sharp when you're skiing on ice?

Depends on aggressiveness of the carve.  Racers get three or four runs.  I tend to get through the day but sharpen nightly.  Wife maybe three days.

Also depends on your edge bevel angles

My son skis half degree bottom 3 degrees side and his skis need to be touched up with a diamond stone in the side file guide every day

I use 1 degree bottom and 2 side and mine can go a couple of days between tuning

His edge is almost twice as a acute as mine so it wears down quick even though I weigh double what he does.

Jeff, well stated.   It was a beautiful day to be in the mountains, and the pics look great, and we all had fun and found a few good turns.  We all made lemonade out of the lemon of conditions we've got right now....and we're gonna do it again today!  But the conditions do suck, it's ok to say that.  Go ahead, you can do it.

Exactly. Actually worse than ice is the late nov early dec conditions.  Some dirt with man made snow is killer. Actually kinda like now for most mountains.  

Harvey wrote

Anybody have any idea how long edges stay sharp when you're skiing on ice?

Mine stay sharp all the way from the bench to the top of the mountain.

Coach Z wrote

Also depends on your edge bevel angles
My son skis half degree bottom 3 degrees side and his skis need to be touched up with a diamond stone in the side file guide every day
I use 1 degree bottom and 2 side and mine can go a couple of days between tuning
His edge is almost twice as a acute as mine so it wears down quick even though I weigh double what he does.

I go with 1 deg base, 2 deg side as well.  I think that's pretty much the standard tune.

I'm an accountant, so I'm good at adding and subtracting and that's about all.  Geometry and physics, forget it.  But half a deg base + 3 deg side = 86.5 deg edge (mini-Z), and 1 deg base + 2 deg side = 87 deg edge (Big Z).  How is 86.5 twice as acute as 87?

JTG4eva! wrote

But the conditions do suck, it's ok to say that.  Go ahead, you can do it.

Just... can't... do it.
You gotta admit, coverage was great, even right down to the bottom.  And that surface was very consistent!  Give me that at least!  My brother was all smiles, and he PAID (Empire card) for a lift ticket!

Also had a pretty great day at Whiteface - blue sky, two ten year olds with me, one who had never been to WF, who were proud to ski Skyward.

Day ended prematurely at 1:45 when my son crashed in the terrain park and got a mild concussion even with a helmet on - it's like concrete under the grains!  Great treatment from the Patrol as well as Adk Health in LP and Saranac where he got a CT scan and clean bill of health (with headache).  I think he, like many of the mountains, is done for this year.

Yes, beyond the generally apalling lack of snow around the mountain, the snow tribe did a great job covering trails when they could.  I do fear what spring will bring, as the base isn't as deep as we'd hope at this time of year.  Yes, the conditions were very consistent........ly bad!  But it's all good!  Not a knock on the mountain to call the conditions what they are.  It's the weather that's the problem.  WF has done an admirable job generally putting lipstick on this pig of a season.  From a trip reporting perspective, we had a great day yesterday, too. Today should be even better. Upper 30s already, headed for a nice spring skiing type day, but the conditions.......eh minus.

Pics for those of us stuck at home please!

Here's a few.  Looks nice, but still eh!  Fun, but eh!

Sunday was much better than Saturday.  The summit was socked in with a really thick cloud so I didn't get up there.  Made 9 laps on Gondi by lunch time.  For some reason there was a line at LWF but the Gondi line was really short.  Had a nice time skiing with a buddy of mine.  

Upper Mac was groomed and that was the run of the day for me.

Hi there fellow Whiteface lovers!  I just discovered this blog and have really enjoyed reading your posts!  I have been skiing at Whiteface for the past 10 years or so, since I moved to southern Quebec.  Judging from the pics and posts, I am nowhere near as experienced and knowledgeable as posters here!   I have skied some of my most glorious days here, swooshing down the Skyward, over and over again, a ridiculous grin plastered on my face the whole time.  But I have also had, well, terrifying days here too, lol.  You know, those days when even the approach to the summit quad is particularly icy, and there you go, weaving between the Fallen on the ice sheet, suddenly finding yourself snowplowing for the first time in years, desperately trying to stop yet ever scraping toward the tree line... hey, like I said - I am nowhere near as experienced as posters here!   Will be at Whiteface on Wednesday, with a few kids in tow, hoping it won't be too brutal, and that they get to discover why I love this hill.  Please keep posting about conditions - looks like we may get a bit of snow before then, too!

Welcome Amy

We should be getting some snow Tuesday into Wednesday but the downfall with WF is that usually means wind.  If you get high winds the chair to ski is the "I" lift also known as the Freeway or Race chair.

According to their website, WF is firing up the snow guns tomorrow!