Whiteface - 3/21-23

[gladerider]

Date: March 21-23, 2008

Resort: Whiteface

Conditions: 2” of new snow on top of frozen ice.

Weather: Blue bird

Trip Report: ICE, ICE and more ICE

3/21 - Wind hold. Just magic carpet and Mixing bowl ran. Went dog sledding in town.

3/22 - Pretty icy but was edgeable all around mountain. The merging area around Lower Empire was all boiler plate ice. By the afternoon, it got dangerous. All the snow Thursday got blown off with high wind. I was really expecting more powder. Most trails had lose granular to golf ball ice chunks. Some areas facing the sun started to losen up by the afternoon.

3/23 - Should have brought my skates. The morning was not too bad except for some areas, but by the afternoon, most of the areas revealed shiny ice. Some trails had no powder for several hundred feets. Upper cloundspin had big golf ball ice chunks. It got real nasty as the day went on. Mckensie was closed, but was accessible via 2200 road. Ice moguls with some powder on top. The left side was better than the right side. After 3pm, it was thick boiler plate everywhere. I've seen some people getting seriously hurt. It was not fun.

Got home late last night. I am glad everyone got home safe and sound.

One of the ICYest conditions I've seen. Time for spring skiing. Please bring warm temperature.....I cannot believe I'm saying this....

 

[tjf67]

ooff it was tough this weekend. If you knew the hill you could avoid some of the stuff but the places to ski were few and far bewteen.

Sat did not get to the hill unitl 11 or so. When I came out everything was starting to turn. The yellow dot over to lower sky was the trail. Skiers rt was deep and soft. For most of the day we were the only one skiing it till it caught on. There were some great lines through the trees as well. Breaking trails in places I have never been was a blast.

Sunday spent the whole day at the top of the hill. Dropped in from the yellow brick road and had wind blown powder all day. There were four of us that just kept lapping it. WE felt we were doing our public service busting up all the powder for everyone. Had to go slow(relatively speaking) and steer with a heavy foot but it would break through and it was soft powder below. Skiers left was the place to be. The plump house chute held some good snow in there and Niagria over on skiers right corned up nice. Sky down to the crossover was big loose frozen granular that you could push up over into the ices slabs and listen to it slide down in there. Pretty cool.

 

[gladerider]

i need to seek local knowledge when i am up next time. but, i have a feeling it will be next season.

i try to follow the local kids whenever i am up skiing by myself. they were going down the wilderness. the approach was actually very nice, but once i got to wilderness, it was ice.

 

[tjf67]

i need to seek local knowledge when i am up next time. but, i have a feeling it will be next season.

i try to follow the local kids whenever i am up skiing by myself. they were going down the wilderness. the approach was actually very nice, but once i got to wilderness, it was ice.

You should reach out before you come. I avoided wilderness I am not that young and my feet cant take that beating. That stretch when you came off of lower cloud Sunday was a widow maker. It had to have been 250 yards of ice. You could have played hockey on it.
There is a ton of snowpack up here jut waiting on the warmer weather.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Wow what a difference Stowe was 58 miles away as the crow flys. It's amazing how Stowe has received 350+ inches so far while Iceface has received 200 inches..People here in PA think I'm crazy when I tell them to go to Stowe/Sugarbush vs Whiteface..

 

[X-Linked]

Dood, whiteface is the coldest place I have ever skied. It is always SUPER WINDY and Icy. Gotta do with placid some how.

 

[tjf67]

Wow what a difference Stowe was 58 miles away as the crow flys. It's amazing how Stowe has received 350+ inches so far while Iceface has received 200 inches..People here in PA think I'm crazy when I tell them to go to Stowe/Sugarbush vs Whiteface..

It is crazy. Whats even crazier is when you look at the snow sticks and there is a 15 inch differance. Now how does that work??

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

It is crazy. Whats even crazier is when you look at the snow sticks and there is a 15 inch differance. Now how does that work??

Huh...:roll:

 

[gladerider]

You should reach out before you come. I avoided wilderness I am not that young and my feet cant take that beating. That stretch when you came off of lower cloud Sunday was a widow maker. It had to have been 250 yards of ice. You could have played hockey on it.
There is a ton of snowpack up here jut waiting on the warmer weather.

that stretch on lower cloud actually got worse. from there to the U. empire connector all the way thru U valley was ice. that's a long stretch.

 

[tjf67]

that stretch on lower cloud actually got worse. from there to the U. empire connector all the way thru U valley was ice. that's a long stretch.

Yeah it is and there was no stopping unless you went way over on the rt. Puts hair on your chest.

 

[deadheadskier]

Puts hair on your chest.

If skiing ice puts hair on your chest, I'd rather be bald chested thank you :lol:

 

[tjf67]

If skiing ice puts hair on your chest, I'd rather be bald chested thank you :lol:

You take what the mountain gives. or stay home.

 

[deadheadskier]

You take what the mountain gives. or go to Stowe.

makes sense to me

 

[tjf67]

makes sense to me

Im calling shanigans you cant do that. haha that was pretty funny

 

[deadheadskier]

Just razzing you

I know how fiercely loyal you and HPD are towards Whiteface. Nothing wrong with it. I look forward to skiing there someday, but it's forever and a day away from where I live. So, if I go it will be when I know the riding is prime and not like this past weekend where it gets its not so friendly knickname.

 

[kingslug]

I really like the place, and yes I've hit it when conditions where pretty scary..but that the way it is up there. You have to get a local report before you go. HPD is my source, and he's a hoot to ski with...or at least to try and keep up with. His advice right now is..............wait until it gets warmer, plain and simple. When it finaly does.......3200 vert of corn awaits...as do I.

 

[skimore]

Ice

Driving back down the Northway from NVT and looking over at some of the slides in the peaks you could see them glistening. They looked to be completely ice