Whiteface - Lookout Mountain...estimated opening?

http://jerryoftheday.net/blogs/best-of-jerry-of-the-day/snow-gun-face-shots

https://youtu.be/NgIeT22QrSY

Grillman wrote

Is there anyone else here who pictures the staff at whiteface sitting around and laughing at Sno's "emails?"

"Hey, another email from Sno about Lookout."

"Fuck him, lets not blow it for another week.  Lets keep the guns on Sky...he probably cant ski in anyway."

"good idea, and next week, lets get Wilderness ready for the world cup."

"I dont know, we might get another email."

"Screw it, if we do, we can put the guns on Cloudspin."

Well, that last thought would be nice.

"Let's close a few more trails for racers"

D.B. Cooper wrote

Holy cow!  That petition is for real....and 4 other people signed it!

FTW

SIAWOL wrote

http://jerryoftheday.net/blogs/best-of-jerry-of-the-day/snow-gun-face-shots https://youtu.be/NgIeT22QrSY

Oof! They're gonna have a tough time clearing their goggles

D.B. Cooper wrote

Holy cow!  That petition is for real....and 4 other people signed it!

He stalked the 4 peeps that commented about WT on the WF fb page, got them to sign!

No I didn't.  I haven't even posted it on their Facebook page yet.  Will do that if they don't blow snow there in this next window.

Hey ORDA,,,, Blow the Willie !!!  

pathetic.  

You done gone and did it now Sno, you lost SJ!

Were he not fed up he would have said.....

Tres pathetique, mon Petit Homme!!

looks like a good list to send their money back and tell them to try another mountain as we can't meet your expectations.  Dumb shit.  

I signed it because I think it's hilarious.

And I think Snoloco is right. They should blow it this next window.

I also hate the Wilmington Trail and think it's a dumb trail.

But I also hate being stuck on the other part of Whiteface. I can only ski Mountain Run and Skyward so many times.

snoloco wrote

Sign my petition!!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/191/471/198/

I would, but I really don't want to put in all that personal info.

Im  guessing they will. They are covering everything as quickly as possible. They just dont have the fire power to do everything.  Wilmington trail is a lot of fun to me.  Heck is a top 8 trail. It's a great pod. Ethan you say you would sign if it were anonymous?

Ethan Snow wrote

snoloco wrote

Sign my petition!!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/191/471/198/

I would, but I really don't want to put in all that personal info.

I think you can set it to not display the name.

Whiteface trails (non slides, non glades) ranked:

1. Skyward
2. Cloudspin to Victoria
3. MacKenzie (when bumped)
4. Mountain Run
5. Top of Wilmington to Lookout Below
6. Hoyt's
7. Empire
8. Parkway
9. Thruway to Draper's Drop
10. Essex
11. Wilderness
12. Wilmington Trail all the way
13-30. A bunch of other trails that always seem packed with struggling intermediates

Everyone's rating of best trails at WF would make for a good thread of its own.

Keeping this Lookout-Wilmington related, curious as to why you put Wilmington to Lookout Below so high.  My take on Wilmington is that the best skiing is AFTER Lookout Below.  

From the lift to Lookout Below is fun, but not particularly interesting, IMHO.  The first third of this section is kind of boring flat, but you can cruise, get in a little switch.  The second third has "steeper" (but not steep) sections and you can carve nice high speed turns.  The last third is the section that trips everyone up, and usually isn't all that much fun to ski for anyone.  Irregular "bumps", skied off flats, just eh!

From Lookout Below on, the trail gets narrower and steeper, which to me is more fun.  Then there are some turny, multiple fall line-y sections, you can head skiers right in sections up into the rocks and catch some air or do some billy-goating.  The steep section just after that right hand rocky section, the pitch that turns to the right at the bottom, is great for charging down the fall line, and then you get some nice roller sections you can really carve on.

Interesting how everyone sees a trail differently.

A question for sno... Is Lookout better than other terrain or you just want more variety?

When I ski, what I really care about is snow quality, pitch and maybe (lack of) grooming. I guess I am in my own head and don't care that much about the specific trail.

Are you worried about crowds? I feel like I never ski in crowds at Gore or Whiteface or Plattekill or anywhere. I can't remember the last time I waited 10 minutes in a lift line. It has been years.

Why do you care so much?  Why do you ski?  For me if it the snow and terrain feel good, it's good for me.

I like lookout below and the only way to get there is by skiing Wilmington.

I'd prefer to stay off Wilmington entirely. I think the top is boring, I think the choke is terrible because people thought it was an easy blue, they were sorely mistaken, and the drop off on the left is intimidating to them. Then I find the bottom to be a soulless wide highway, full of people, similar to Excelsior or Parron's - other runs I hate.

Skiing to me is getting away from crowds (which sucks for a weekend warrior), but Wilmington, Excelsior, and Parron's always seems to draw the worst of them. Probably because they are the designated blue trails in general black pods, but I just hate fighting through the masses.

One of the reasons I like Gore is that I'm pretty free on the blacks to do what I want, and if those ever get crowded, I can jump in the Trees. At Whiteface, the crowds are everywhere. The runs I listed have this in common: I can avoid people.

That makes more sense, Matt.  One of your favorite RUNS at WF is Wilmington to Lookout Below.  Lookout Below being one of your favorite TRAILS, for which you have to tolerate some time on Wilmington.  I agree with that!

I read it as you saying that the top half of Wlimington (from lift to Lookout Below) was one of your favorite trails!  That would be cra cra.....

Part of the problem is that after the top 3rd or so the trail is really in the wrong place if the goal was to create a long real blue.  The whole thing was supposed to be as boring as the top part as that is what WF really needs is more lower level blues not 2.5 miles of blue with black pitches in it. We have plenty of that already.  Somewhere around the top of Sugar Valley Glades the run should have been moved to skiers left into where the glade is.  With the exception that top couple hundred feet of SVG which they could have switched backed the pitch is very blue in there.  It would have  been out of the wind and held snow really well and they could have done some islands of trees that the birds like and intermediates also like sort of like Birch glades at Pico.

The issue then is how would you connect LBO and the solution would have been to start LBO all the way up where the first really narrow section of WT is now.  Since it would have been black they could have blasted a lot less to get there.  Glades could have then be put in where the rest of WT is now and run to the left down to where the trail should have been.

Its been pouring all night so Sno's little conniption fit is really a mute issue as most of WT would have been washed away in the rocky sections if they did blow it sooner.  Smart move by Snow Tribe to hold off.