L
LordHedgie
Guest
Date(s) Skied:
11 and 12 December, 2004
Resort or Ski Area:
Windham Mountain, NY
Conditions:
No natural snow. Only Wooly Bear (bunny), What's Next (green), Upper & Lower Whistler (Blue), and Upper and Lower Wolverine (Double Black / Blue respectively) were open. Being my first day of the year, I didn't try the double black, and there was no other way to get to Lower Wolverine, so I didn't get to try it.
Both days there were bare spots, especially on the lower third of the mountain, but they were well marked and (mostly) avoidable. Occaisionally someone would kick a rock fifty feet downslope from a bare patch, so you had to be on the lookout.
Saturday was nice frozen granular, temperatures in the lower 40's. Conditions were good for the weather. Slopes were a bit crowded at times, since most people were forced onto Whistler.
Saturday night we had rain turn to snow, and I went up expecting dust on crust. Whistler was rivers of ice, with lots of death cookies to boot. Not wishing to risk life and limb to cope with these conditions, I gave What's Next a try. They had the new automatic snowmaking system on, and I have to give them credit. Despite a fairly large number of people skiing down What's Next, they managed to keep a good layer of powder on the slope. As long as you didn't mind skiing through a blizzard, of course....
Trip Report:
I stayed at the Winwood Inn. Affordable and decent place. The bathtub wouldn't hold water very well, but we did have a balcony overlooking the slopes. All in all, a pretty good place.
The trip could have been a lot more fun if more terrain were open, but with this weather you take what you can get. It was my first turns of the year, and a lot of fun.
Although I didn't take a lesson, the instructors were very nice. One even gave me a free lesson when he saw me struggling in a particularly steep section of Whistler (hey, I didn't say I was a good skier!).
If you head up to Windham, I suggest making the drive to Albany to the C.W. Evans Brewery at the old pump house -- well worth the trip. They've got a nice fireplace you can cozy up to while drinking your beer.
Final judgement -- Better than staying in sunny green Maryland.
11 and 12 December, 2004
Resort or Ski Area:
Windham Mountain, NY
Conditions:
No natural snow. Only Wooly Bear (bunny), What's Next (green), Upper & Lower Whistler (Blue), and Upper and Lower Wolverine (Double Black / Blue respectively) were open. Being my first day of the year, I didn't try the double black, and there was no other way to get to Lower Wolverine, so I didn't get to try it.
Both days there were bare spots, especially on the lower third of the mountain, but they were well marked and (mostly) avoidable. Occaisionally someone would kick a rock fifty feet downslope from a bare patch, so you had to be on the lookout.
Saturday was nice frozen granular, temperatures in the lower 40's. Conditions were good for the weather. Slopes were a bit crowded at times, since most people were forced onto Whistler.
Saturday night we had rain turn to snow, and I went up expecting dust on crust. Whistler was rivers of ice, with lots of death cookies to boot. Not wishing to risk life and limb to cope with these conditions, I gave What's Next a try. They had the new automatic snowmaking system on, and I have to give them credit. Despite a fairly large number of people skiing down What's Next, they managed to keep a good layer of powder on the slope. As long as you didn't mind skiing through a blizzard, of course....
Trip Report:
I stayed at the Winwood Inn. Affordable and decent place. The bathtub wouldn't hold water very well, but we did have a balcony overlooking the slopes. All in all, a pretty good place.
The trip could have been a lot more fun if more terrain were open, but with this weather you take what you can get. It was my first turns of the year, and a lot of fun.
Although I didn't take a lesson, the instructors were very nice. One even gave me a free lesson when he saw me struggling in a particularly steep section of Whistler (hey, I didn't say I was a good skier!).
If you head up to Windham, I suggest making the drive to Albany to the C.W. Evans Brewery at the old pump house -- well worth the trip. They've got a nice fireplace you can cozy up to while drinking your beer.
Final judgement -- Better than staying in sunny green Maryland.
