SKIING CORN AND MASHED POTATOES AT WHITEFACE
The view today from a lookout on Lookout Mountain.
Between the morning corn and the afternoon mashed potatoes, today was a full meal at Whiteface. The day started off cold, but it quickly warmed in to the upper 30s and 40s. There was sun in the morning and then rain and snow showers in the afternoon. The only thing missing from today’s plate was ice, but some things are best left off the table.
That’s not to say there weren’t firm conditions to be found on the mountain. Upper Northway seems to evade the sun just enough to stay firm on mild days, and that was the case today. It skied pretty well, but you could hear that icy layer underneath the top layer of snow.
Upper Northway
Lower Thruway
For the first time in years, Hoyt’s High opened this season with snowmaking. I make that clarification because it did open with natural snow for a day or two a couple of seasons ago, but aside from that it’s sat there skier-less for years. As y’all know, I broke six ribs skiing in February. My first day back on skis was just a few days ago and Hoyt’s High was closed. Today it was open, so this was my first chance to get on Hoyt’s High this season.
Taken near the top of Hoyt’s High
Looking down Hoyt’s High
Looking up at Hoyt’s High
I’ve skied more than 300 days at Whiteface in the last 5 seasons and I’d never skied this run until today. Hoyt’s High is a fun black diamond with varying pitches and curves. It’s also very long and uninterrupted. These are all great qualities and I hope Whiteface continues to push to get this run open every season going forward.
Looking down Upper Skyward.
Looking up at Victoria.
The Wilmington Trail.
Elsewhere on the mountain, Skyward was soft and bumped up. The Wilmington Trail was is in pretty roughy shape up high and I don’t know how much life it’s got left in it. Hoyt’s High was thin and narrow in spots. On Victoria, there’s some bare spots and you can see rocks and dirt lurking under the snowpack in some places. This can and probably will be fixed with grooming, but it’s just a sign of what’s to come. Down low on the mountain, the snow is starting to thin out, but there’s good coverage on most of the groomers.
Overall, it was an excellent day of spring skiing. The snow was soft, there weren’t really any lift lines and the weather was pretty good. I also had quite a few people welcome me back to the mountain today, which was really cool. To those who did, thank you!
Never Quit Skiing,
Lincoln