Whiteface Conditions (2017 - 2018)

snoloco wrote

...  And they wasted 3 days on Lower...

Wah

No, it really is Sno-rrific!

First World problems

Skiing Sunday was considerably better than Saturday and way less crowded. TJF convinced me to hit W trail 1st thing when my instinct to to hit the Summit.  Skiing it as like first down was pretty darn nice.  I enjoyed skiing with the guys in orange coats.  

Everything was better today except Upper Northway which evidently didn’t get groomed and was dangerously sketchy.  

Wilmington skied nice today.  Snowing harder up there than elsewhere this afternoon it seemed, nice soft layer.  Coverage is pretty good considering.  Other than that we thought yesterday skied much better.  Never warmed up today to soften the loose and frozen granular.  Faster and firmer today, which is good if that’s your thing!

W trail skied better yesterday but we hit it with fresh cord and a dusting on top first thing. It was pretty perfect. Lower sky was the trail Saturday. We are back in building mode here.  The next 10 we we get 20 inches and we are in business. Next weekend the clock changes and grills come out.

WF skied very good today.  Better than I had expected.  Wilmington skied off in parts later in day, but expected.  Run of the day - Parons! Yeah I know....did it twice, went to do Sky but so many bodies on the ground, did not look good at least for the first few hundred feet.

Victoria very good left side 20% or so, right 80% ok not great.   Mt Run held good all day.  

Two weird events from opposite spectrum-
Coming down Fox Farm road,  was tailgated by a Mercedes (coupe not SUV if they even make SUV) who at stop sign, waiting to turn left onto 86, while many cars in front of me, both directions, she honks honks honks at me (yes, they were yellow NJ plates, in case I have to say it).

Then I turn left, she immediately and closely follows, and passes me while cars within view coming at us on 86.  Immediately hits brakes as behind the line turning right into WF.  She turns into WF and right up to the drop-off area.  Poor Johnny must be late to something.  

Then first Gondi run, I hear advertisements. I ask, what is this?   Local guy I have seen many times says his radio, and its playing loud ads.  Then goes to music. Must be phone on speaker.  I ask, oh, glad the Gondi isn't piping marketing and music in.  He says, yes its me enjoy it and if you don't want to be social then ride the lifts not Gondi.  Another guy spoke up and said the lifts aren't loading yet, and I said right otherwise I would be, but that's not the point.  Music all the way up.  I says its not a social thing, its the advertising and forced music.  

So I go over to Lookout chair, what do I hear about three chairs back?  Loud loud music from its a wonderful life from the guy who sings the Christmas songs. You would know his voice.  And Pizza Hut ads in between.  All the way up the chair.  Unbelievable.  Two opposite social dynamics, NJ soccer (ski) mom and WF local, both with total disregard for others in captive environments (stop sign, two lane road, and Gondi cabin. )  

Can not imagine the sh*%show of the catskills this weekend.  Sigh......

oh and kudos to WF for the good skiing today. Let's get a new water fountain in mid-lodge.  Can't drink outta the half inch stream, much less fill a bottle.  Really no real concerns, great job WF crew!

On Feb 21 snoloco wrote

The other thing that's to blame is trying to be "intermediate friendly" and only resurface intermediate trails and that's why they're about to be closed for the season.  Unfortunately if they do make snow again it will probably only be on intermediate trails, so the spring is still toast.

On Feb 22 snoloco wrote

Skyward is definitely done for the season but it looks like grooming was able to salvage Paron's and W Trail.

I was just wondering ... do you have any more words of "wisdom" for us?

Non headphone music is another no no in ski lift etiquette.  Almost as bad as smoking in the gondola.  Yelling between chairs is another thing that annoys me unless you're making sure your group does or doesn't get off at mid on LWF and Freeway.

Please use a watch to provide accurate time measurements of both day and duration of the wait.  Doing so throughout the day or weekend will provide a more holistic view of the perceived lines.

snoloco wrote

And they wasted 3 days on Lower Parkway and it never opened.

I don't fault them for trying.....it's not lift maintenance you're talking about.  You can't be afraid of failure.

Sunday morning less than 5 mins at both 845 and 915.  Probably closer to 3 mins.   Around 12:15. zero minutes. Walk on.

D.B. Cooper wrote

Please use a watch to provide accurate time measurements of both day and duration of the wait.  Doing so throughout the day or weekend will provide a more holistic view of the perceived lines.

I don't ride the gondola at all unless there's no line period.  Why bother when you can ride the chairs with little to no lines?  I also find at Whiteface the line moves really slow compared to Tremblant and even Gore since there's so few cabins, it's not run anywhere near full speed, and they only load 6.

Lookout chair was super slow yesterday.  Gondi speed seemed normal

Lookout chair has been really slow all year.  Probably to discourage people from riding it because Wilmington is the only trail open up there and it isn't full width and is skied off so quick.

Fun fact the gondola was the fastest monocable system in the world when it was built in 1999 with a design speed of 6.16 m/s or 1212 fpm.  However, I've never seen it go anywhere near that speed.  I calculated that even on President's Weekend with a line well out of the ropes, it was only traveling at 930 fpm with a capacity of less than 1200 an hour based on the loading interval.

snoloco wrote

D.B. Cooper wrote

Please use a watch to provide accurate time measurements of both day and duration of the wait.  Doing so throughout the day or weekend will provide a more holistic view of the perceived lines.

I don't ride the gondola at all unless there's no line period.  Why bother when you can ride the chairs with little to no lines?  I also find at Whiteface the line moves really slow compared to Tremblant and even Gore since there's so few cabins, it's not run anywhere near full speed, and they only load 6.

Then why comment on the gondola line, if you don’t ride it and don’t have a clue how long the line actually is?

snoloco wrote

Lookout chair has been really slow all year.  Probably to discourage people from riding it because Wilmington is the only trail open up there and it isn't full width and is skied off so quick.

Shit......I’ve been trolled again!

snoloco wrote

......even on President's Weekend with a line well out of the ropes......

 
Ah, bull......

Almost foiled again!

My grill has been out all winter.