Skiing "the slides" at Whiteface

[yiming]

Thinking about going to Whiteface to ski the "The Slides", but not sure how difficult it is. Can anybody share his/her experience skiing there? How does it compare to the most difficult trails in Killington, Jay Peak or Sunday River?

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

Thinking about going to Whiteface to ski the "The Slides", but not sure how difficult it is. Can anybody share his/her experience skiing there? How does it compare to the most difficult trails in Killington, Jay Peak or Sunday River?

Relatively steep, exposed rock, ledges, thight trees in parts. A solid skier who is in resonablly good shape will be ok. It is dangerous and you need to be very careful.

They've been open since 2/25, but that snow fell on almost no base so the warm weather is taking it's toll. If you go do it soon.

They are not trails, they where formed from rock slides. There are many all through the High Peaks of the ADK, but WF has the only lift accessable ones. Killington, Jay Peak or Sunday River has nothing to compare to them.

The gallery at skiadk.com has many pics of them. They are an unique slack country experience.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Here's a FTO TR from Saturday (not mine, unfortunately):
http://firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8759

 

[gladerider]

i did it yesterday for the first time myself. it is not a trail like HPD said. i think a good skier could handle the steeps. if you don't feel comfortable with the following, wait until you are:
- tight trees
- rocks
- ledges

jamesdeluxes TR pix are great, but in addition there were rocks and ledges where you have to jump off of.

 

[Moe Ghoul]

Skied em last week, 2&3, we waited until after 11AM so they softened up a bit. If you can handle cloudspin, upper empire and 10thmountain glades in last weeks condition, you can prolly navigate safely thru the slides. Safety first, team up with at least one other person, when in doubt take off yer skis and hike.

 

[Greg]

when in doubt take off yer skis and hike.

I've never skied the Slides, or probably anything as steep for that matter, but I've never heard the suggestion to take off your skis on something steep. Maybe you can get away with it now when the snow is soft, but I would think it's better to stay clicked in, if at all possible, no?

 

[Moe Ghoul]

I've never skied the Slides, or probably anything as steep for that matter, but I've never heard the suggestion to take off your skis on something steep. Maybe you can get away with it now when the snow is soft, but I would think it's better to stay clicked in, if at all possible, no?

Depends on the individual, equipment available and the circumstances. There are some steep sections, but mostly near the top. Given a choice of taking a drop that's out of my league or taking my skis off and hiking around it if possible, I'll take my chances hiking. If its so steep that dismounting doesn't make sense, traversing is about the only other option. Best plan is to talk to ski patrol at the gates for advice on where to go based on your abilities. They know not everyone going in there is an expert, so they're more than happy to steer 1st timers in the right direction.

 

[Greg]

Depends on the individual, equipment available and the circumstances. There are some steep sections, but mostly near the top. Given a choice of taking a drop that's out of my league or taking my skis off and hiking around it if possible, I'll take my chances hiking. If its so steep that dismounting doesn't make sense, traversing is about the only other option. Best plan is to talk to ski patrol at the gates for advice on where to go based on your abilities. They know not everyone going in there is an expert, so they're more than happy to steer 1st timers in the right direction.

Got it. Thanks.

 

[faceplant]

d would know better then me but wasnt that how Clairs Way got its name....
she made the mistake of clicking out of her skis?
I dunno....its what i heard somewhere
me personally- never take em off

 

[yiming]

I watched youtube videos of people skiing the slides. It doesn't seem to be that bad at least from the look of it. Anyway, the party seems to be over since they just closed the slides most likely for the rest of the season. I'll look forward to it next year.

 

[Greg]

I watched youtube videos of people skiing the slides. It doesn't seem to be that bad at least from the look of it.

Video and still photos never do pitch any justice. Sometimes you gotta be there.

 

[Geezer]

I skied Whiteface for the first time on Feb 27 & 28. They had just received a ton of snow from the multi-day storm. The slides were open on the Saturday but the top of the mountain was in the clouds so I didn't try them. The next day was clear in the morning and I spent a few lift rides wondering if I should give them a shot. Finally, I rode the lift with a local guy who offered to show me the way.

The traverse in was not as grueling or uphill as I was expecting. After a short while you pop out of the woods and into the open expanse of slide 1. Most people were turning right and heading downhill from there and that's what we did too. We saw a few people hiking uphill to the summit from there.

Slide 1 seemed steep but do-able (at least on that day with those conditions). There was one section of rock bands to get past about halfway down but you can pick your way past it without much trouble.

I didn't venture to any of the other slides but the terrain obviously gets more extreme out there. The whole area looks huge. I really just got a taste of it but I'm glad I did.

 

[gladerider]

i can understand why they closed it. i think the experience would be radically different depending on condition. on sunday, the snow was melting fast and there were many rocks and ledges exposed, which were prolly well covered after the dump.

if it's just the steepness, i would take my kids there. but, it's not. it's narrowness and rock ledges where you need to jump off of.
well, there is only one way to find out.

 

[SKidds]

Dont go into the Slides thinking they are manageable based on a couple minute video of someone making turns down the wide open top of Slide 1. ;-) Trust what people here that have skied them are saying. Yes, there are relatively easy sections of any of Slides 1 thru 4. But each will have it's hairy points, and those likely arent the places people are worrying about taking video!

Slide 1 is the most wide open and the easiest way down, but then you hit the waterfalls. Unless you head off to the side to skirt around them, you are looking at mandatory airs of 3 to 5 feet (or more) over exposed ice and possibly rock. And skirting around them isn't necessarily all that easy, though most can pick their way around if they are confident on their skis. Top of Slide 2 is relatively easy, but then you either go right, to the waterfalls on 1, or traverse left into the trees. If you go left you have tight, steep tree shots and potential mandatory airs depending on coverage. Slide 3 starts tight and steep, make that very tight and very steep, in the trees and then opens up, with rock ledges and potential madatory 3 to 5 foot airs at the bottom. Slide 4 is open at the top but very steep, and then funnels down to a tight ride thru the trees for the bottom half. At one point you have to navigate a waterfall of maybe 12 to 15 feet, with a narrow option to go around that is almost as dangerous as making a couple jump turns down the face of it. Later there is another waterfall that will require an air of anywhere from 3 to 7 feet. And given the tightness in the trees and the pitch, your landings have to be on.

So, you really have to be prepared for anything, including narrow, steep tree skiing and mandatory air, unless you stick to Slide 1. If you aren't prepared for any of that, you may have fun for a while, but things can get scary quick. It is gorgeous out there. The views are to die for, a true wilderness area and treat to ski. Yes, some people go above the main traverse to ski the powder fields above, depsite the no uphill climbing warnings, but patrol doesn't take kindly to it and will pull your ticket. That said, I took some video last weekend of people hucking a huge bolder up in those powder fields. I have some other pics and video I'll try and get up soon, and I'll throw a link here.

 

[takeahike46er]

Here are a couple videos (not mine) that show how much fun it is in there. The videos don't capture the pitch well, but they do give a great sense of the variety of terrain available.

Slide #4



Slide #3



Slide #2



Kids hucking off ledges on slide #3.

 

[jaywbigred]

How do they compare to some of the stuff at JH? Can anyone make a comparison?

 

[SIKSKIER]

Great stuff Take.That looks like fun terrain.I need to get on that.

 

[tjf67]

The slides are great. This year I did not ski them much with the new terrain opening. Hoyts and the the sugar glades are some of my favorite type of terrain. Most high intermediates in decent shape can get down the slides. They don't look like they are having fun but I am sure they are the bad asses aroung the watercooler on Monday.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

A old HS friend shot some pretty nice vides of the Slides a couple of weeks ago
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mike+snyder+slides&search_type=&aq=f

 

[Harvey]

I thought the subscribers to this thread might be interested in this piece by Highpeaksdrifter on skiing the Whiteface Slides.