Whiteface Improvements 2016-2017

Heck yeah man! It's special for sure. So is sharing lift laps with good friends on a sleeper storm day where your tracks are wiped away clean every run. It's all good, skiing is rad.

The feeling we get after a long climb, ripping your skins off while looking down your line is a feeling that to me is impossible to describe. This is my best picture of that moment from last season.


For some size reference this is a photo of the same line from 2010. I'm still skiing towards that tree island straight ahead.


Here is another shot of the same zone from across the way, this is 2010 again and from the morning the sun decided to show itself after 100 inches in 5 days. This part of the day, when you can look back and enjoy your signature is pretty darn rewarding as well.

who knew Arizona had that type of skiing. this could save my marriage when it comes retirement time. cant see spending the entier  winter in Florida or South Carolina

Beautiful shots RA.  What's the elevation out there?  I love that rocky, craggy above tree line stuff.  Shots like that are what we need to inspire skiers like Sno, and my own teenage kids.  Yeah, ski school might be a drag in ways.  Icy slopes, huge moguls, deep powder, tight trees.....they are hard!  Sometimes it's not so much fun when you start to tackle them.  However, that's what it leads you to, eventually.  Shit like that....you remember the details half a decade later!  Hard to say that about the best groomer run.

A spot like Crystal doesn't necessarily have the same spectacular open vistas (although the view of Rainier from the top of High Campbell is amazing, so maybe I take that back) , but that's what's great....every place has it's own character.

The peaks in the distance here are the areas we hit on BC day one.  You can see the resort trails not far to the right.  



That shot was taken from our next day out in Bullion Basin, where this was our main target and spectacular last run.



Man, I'm stoked for this season!

We've gotten off the talk of WF improvements, but we can tie this back to the Slides discussion in this thread.  Developing the tools and experience to get into the BC or sidecountry/slackcountry is certainly a progression.  You take your time and work your way up, learning technique and safe travel in the process.  However, for everyone that gets into the BC, or other extreme terrain, there is always that moment where you push yourself toward your limits, test your developed skills.  It doesn't always go perfectly, but that's ok...necessary even.  I'm glad something like the Slides exists to give skiers that opportunity to, somewhat responsibly, push their own individual envelope.

The day my daughter went out to do Slide 4 with me was all at the same time the scariest, most exhilarating, most rewarding and memorable experiences she's had.  Those are the moments that make life worth living, IMHO.

This is Crystal at it's craggiest....

campgottagopee wrote

ScottyJack wrote

campgottagopee wrote

ScottyJack wrote

Brownski wrote

Off the top of my head I think the 10th fought a big battle to capture mount belvedere in Italy during WW2

Yes!  They climbed Riva Ridge in the night to get above the Germans.  Riva Ridge is on Mt. Belvedere!  You also are a patriot Mr. Brownski!

Nope --- didn't know that

I'm honestly disappointed man...  

You'll get over it

Thanks man. Camp is a patriot in my book

WORD!!

Thanks Brownski --- SJ is grumpy today

Was in LP today so I decided to stop by and look around.  The snowmaking department is all ready to go and is just waiting on colder temps.  They had lots of the big fan guns, including the brand new TF-10 on Lower Valley, with ratniks in between.  Just before the trail went up out of sight, it looked like they added some new HKD towers.  Can't see the top, so I'm not sure if they'll open up to LWF or just the Facelift.

Also noticed that the gondola had cabins on the uphill side from the base to just up the first steep incline, the rest are in the storage area.  A few of them at the bottom had the doors open in mid air, likely a sign that they recently completed evac training.  Not sure why they didn't bring them in after the training.  I'm guessing that will be done when snowmaking starts.

you need to get some mountain footware petit homme.  you will catch a cold walking around in sneakers!

Although it's not new for this year, I figured out what the renamed trails were when Kids Kampus was changed to Bear Den Mountain.

Gold-Otter
Silver-Bobcat
Bronze-Flying Squirrel
Main Street-Loon
Medalist-Moose
Home Run-Porcupine Pass

Runner Up remained the same.

Personally, I think the new names suck, even though I never ski over there and shouldn't really care.  Whiteface is The Olympic Mountain, and naming the trails after Olympics related things just worked well.  Renaming them after random animals is really bland.  They renamed them because they were moving the adult learning center over there (why they got rid of Kids Kampus) and made the trail names sound even more childish.

snoloco wrote

Although it's not new for this year, I figured out what the renamed trails were when Kids Kampus was changed to Bear Den Mountain.

Gold-Otter
Silver-Bobcat
Bronze-Flying Squirrel
Main Street-Loon
Medalist-Moose
Home Run-Porcupine Pass

Runner Up remained the same.

Personally, I think the new names suck, even though I never ski over there and shouldn't really care.  Whiteface is The Olympic Mountain, and naming the trails after Olympics related things just worked well.  Renaming them after random animals is really bland.  They renamed them because they were moving the adult learning center over there (why they got rid of Kids Kampus) and made the trail names sound even more childish.

I totally agree.  I thought the Olympic themed names were great.  It made absolutely no sense to rename them to kiddy names and then say it's not kids kampus any longer.  Orda's marketing team is pretty weak.  

Z, in your experience, how many snowmaking hours does it take to get the usual Excelsior-Valley-Fox route open each year?

I completely disagree.  

Whiteface is part of NYS's Forest Preserve and naming trails after animals that make their home in our woods and waters is really cool.  NYS's Forest Preserve is one of the greatest examples of commitment to co-existing with all the wild creatures on this planet.  WF's efforts over the past couple of years to increase awareness of the Forest Preserve and its plants and animals is an outstanding educational and marketing strategy.  


 

Some beginner trails on the other side are named after animals (Bear, Deer, Fox, Wolf, and Wolf Run), so maybe ORDA wanted the names to be consistent.  I guess that makes sense, but I still liked the Olympics themed names better.

just focus on getting proper ADK footware or you will spend ski season w/ the flu!!  

Temperature does not cause sickness directly.  Skiing has usually helped me stay healthy in the winter because I am more active than most others and I usually got sick less than other people my age during winter.

snoloco wrote

Temperature does not cause sickness directly.  

That's right Sno!!! You tell 'em lil buddy ---- take that ScottyKnowItAllJack

snoloco wrote

Although it's not new for this year, I figured out what the renamed trails were when Kids Kampus was changed to Bear Den Mountain.

Gold-Otter
Silver-Bobcat
Bronze-Flying Squirrel
Main Street-Loon
Medalist-Moose
Home Run-Porcupine Pass

Runner Up remained the same.

Personally, I think the new names suck, even though I never ski over there and shouldn't really care.  Whiteface is The Olympic Mountain, and naming the trails after Olympics related things just worked well.  Renaming them after random animals is really bland.  They renamed them because they were moving the adult learning center over there (why they got rid of Kids Kampus) and made the trail names sound even more childish.

Part of the rebranding process. The idea is that it can be a semi-autonomous beginner area.

snoloco wrote

Temperature does not cause sickness directly.  

correct... touching doorknobs causes illness. people are gross.

snoloco wrote

Temperature does not cause sickness directly.  Skiing has usually helped me stay healthy in the winter because I am more active than most others and I usually got sick less than other people my age during winter.

This headline from New Scientist would argue otherwise.  Skiing may help you stay healthy but not because you are active, but instead because you wear gloves, are covered up (preventing virus transmission) and are not in close contact with others, say, in comparison to riding the bus*.

Of course, I could be wrong.  I'm not a doctor.

*gondolas and trams excluded

Aaahhhh......but to determine whether that study answers the question we have to know what question we are asking!

Is the question "Does being exposed to cold make you sick?"

Or is it "Are you more likely to get sick being exposed to cold?"

The answer to the first is no.  Cold doesn't make you sick, germs and viruses do!

The answer to the second question is yes, as shown by the research, because germs and viruses spread more efficiently in the cold, and our bodies mechanisms for fighting them are compromised.

So, with full lack of any medical training, I posit this.  Sno would be better served to get a good new hat (to keep his head warm and his mucous membranes working properly) than he would to get proper ADK footware (because keeping his tootsies warm and dry won't help him fight off squat, other than trench foot).



Oh, and I'm not a huge fan of the furry woodland creature names.  Loon!  Loon?  What the F does that have to do with winter and skiing?  They aren't fricken furry, and don't those F'ers fly south?  And why the heck is SJ advocating for furry woodland friends?  Doesn't he eat squirrel?  Oh, wait, sorry.....that's CampTieAWangDangDoodleOnInTheWoods!

Snow you should come up with an alternative snow making plan for the mountain.  One that will not increase the  snowmaking budget but will provide a better product for the holiday week.   Making changes to the names of trails well Ill save my opinion on that cause frankly it don't matter.