With the weekend holiday blackout period in the rearview mirror, I was back at Whiteface today after work. It was a cold day on the mountain with wind chills below zero. The cold temperatures must’ve kept people away, because the place was empty! Seriously, it was probably the least crowded it’s been in weeks.

All lifts that usually spin were spinning, except the Little Whiteface Double. In total, there were more than 60 runs open, including the Bobcat Glade, which is an intermediate glade. This is the only glade open on the mountain and it’s located down near the base. I’m pretty sure the snow in this glade is actually just from snowmaking that occurred on the adjacent run, but hey, we will take what we can get!

Last Friday, Upper Skyward, Lower Skyward and Niagara all opened for the season. All three were covered in whales at the time. Today, Upper Skyward and Niagara finally got their first groom. Lower Skyward was not groomed and it was not open. Upper Skyward and Niagara were okay this afternoon. A bit windblown in spots, but you could find some decent snow. Mountain Run was in a similar shape when I got there this afternoon, but as always, there was some powder along the trees on skiers left.

Overall, most runs were packed powder and conditions were good. I think the best trails this afternoon were Victoria and Excelsior. They skied really well. The Bobcat Glade was also pretty fun to cruise through. After a long hiatus, Essex re-opened today and it was in a funky state, but it was kind of fun. There were small snowmaking mounds on it, plus some firm spots. It was just kind of odd. You had to be there!

They were making snow in a lot of places down low on the mountain, but as the ski day wrapped up I noticed a lot of the snow guns were being shut down. I’m assuming that means they’re moving on to something else. There were whales on a lot of lower mountain trails like Brookside, Lower Valley, AuSable Run and down around the base of the gondola. Some of these whales were quite large and it was fun to ski around them and over them. Though there were snow guns positioned on Upper Northway, and some small mounds of snow, they were not cranking out snow today.

Tomorrow looks to be another cold day. I think I’ll likely be heading back to Whiteface after work, but we shall see. Anything is possible!

-Lincoln

A VERY COLD DAY OF SKIING AT WHITEFACE

SKIING ONE OF NEW YORK’S SMALLEST SKI AREA’S