Whiteface Conditions (2018 - 2019)

Wow!

2:45 on MLK Sunday.

Well my pessimism fueled by Gibs forecast were way off base.  This snow was custard not blower pow but it was excactly what we needed.  Very little wind maybe that is coming tonight.  It kept refilling during the day so it didn’t get to the harbor chop crud state if you stayed off the high traffic stuff.

I was 3rd track in on Empire which was sweeeeet.  I heard about huge lines wait8ng for the summit to open so I lapped little wf for the start of the morning.  Zigging when others are zagging was the way to go.  Got my first 3 runs uncut pow.  Parkway didn’t open but skied great or so I heard

Mid morning headed up to summit and hit high entrance of yellow brick road into cloud a couple times which also skied great.  Tourists that ventured into the reef in the middle of cloud didn’t fare as well.  Don’t go there dudes.



Once my legs started slowing down did laps on Mt Run pod as the shorter runs help keep your legs going.  

Grabbed a burger with my son at pourmans fir a late lunch.  It’s good again after a sketchy period with their cooks.

Fing plow guy didn’t show and with 18” in my considerably uphill driveway my Outback couldn’t plow thru it so we spent and hour snowblowing and shoveling.  Now adult beverages and football.  

This was arguably the best January ski day in my memory at WF

We can agree.....it was a great day.  I’ve skied some pretty heavy, dense powder in places, but not today.  Custard and a high temp in the single digits don’t usually go together.  It was deep though.  Fun, but hard/tiring!  I ripped Cloud down the middle a couple of blissful times.  Scrub brush?  Yeah.  Rocks?  Nah.  Not many times I’ve skied Cloud in better conditions.  

Opinions always vary, but today, at WF at least, was the kind of EC day most dream of.

-25F actual here in SW corner of park.  WF summit reporting -9.  Warm air coming!   Bet Saranac Lake beat me though.  

Was cloud formally open?   Was everything open except slides?  

Hoser wrote

Was cloud formally open?   Was everything open except slides?

I don’t think cloud was open from top off Parons but you could get to it from the various cuts which were not roped so I assume it’s formally open

Lookout pod is not open and yes Sno is not happy about it.  Besides Hoyt’s I don’t really care.

Slides are going to need another dump I’d think based on how thin glades were.  What we got should stick to the ice and rocks in there.

Z wrote

Slides are going to need another dump I’d think based on how thin glades were.  What we got should stick to the ice and rocks in there.

From what I am seeing there is a heck of a slab that built up - if we get some rain on Wed/Thur that might consolidate it but otherwise I'd stay away from the slides.

Yes.  The rope was still across the very top entrance, but the entrance around the corner after the fence wasn’t.  Other than the Lookout pod, Upper Northway, Blazer’s Bluff, and Lower Parkway were the only trails not open.  That may or may not mean they weren’t skiable.

My brother is at WF today.  Sounds like the wind did a number yesterday.  Granted, he’s not an in the woods/powder on Cloud kind of guy, but he found the Mt. Run pod to be firm/frz, while the wind blown summit was somewhat icy.  So, maybe don’t expect soft groomers or on-piste everywhere.  That said, where the wind taketh away it giveth somewhere else, so I suspect you can still find some soft leftovers if you get in the woods or explore.  Of course none of that matters once it starts raining tomorrow afternoon.

Upper Northway was open Sunday
With gun going it was hard to see there was no rope
I was in the 1st 10 in and it was good
Didn’t hit bottom at all
Disappointed cloudsitter glades from that side we’re not open though

Looks like the W trail is getting some love.  YIPEE!!  

Skied the face Friday-Sunday and had some really good conditions. Pleasantly surprised. When we were driving up in the pouring rain Thursday afternoon we thought we were crazy by going but by the time we got to town it changed to snow and accumulated a few inches. It apparently groomed in well because the skiing was good! More snow Friday and Sunday helped. Empire was even open on Saturday and fun! We found the best snow on wilderness and Mtn run. Bumps on Mackenzie were  fun too.

We had hoped that the summit would be the best because of the elevation but the snow up there was the firmest. Skyward had wet snow groomed in to golf balls and the blue trails were the firmest we found.

Guns going on the Wilmington trail.

Yep.  Sunday was great up top.  Summit opened really late, about 1:00.  Skier's left of U/L Skyward x3.  Yee haw!

Purely a guess, but I suspect W will be open this weekend.

Seeing Empire and Cloudspin open has me really tempted to change my plans for Friday (if I can escape from work) and head up to WF instead of Gore. The cold though for Friday may sway that opinion though depending on if things up top don't spin.

Ha.  I’d say don’t change your plans for want of chasing “open” trails!  What’s open today isn’t guaranteed to be open Friday, and Gore is forecast to get more snow this week than WF.  Of course, the coverage ain’t likely going anywhere, even if a rope goes back up.....

Gore going to get more snow today than WF, but need to watch out for LES band affecting WF on Thursday.

How much did Whiteface get? Don't see an update on the site.

1 to 4 inches on their site but it's going to get windy so it will be dust in the wind by afternoon, Gore did better.

Solid 12" here in SW corner of ADK  Gore must be good,  Oak, Woods Valley, ground zero.    I would mention Snow Ridge but its just starting there,  1 to 3 feet off the lake expected.  They pulled in 5 plows from Long Island to focus on rt 12 N of Utica this week.  Yea!