Whiteface = Okemo, but steeper

[AdironRider]

Primarily because patrol consists of a bunch of wusses and wont open it up until the spring corn cycle. I rode there for 3 years and I dont think it slid once. The slides are called that cause they were formed from natural land slides .. not avalanches. Also, theres a pretty nasty water/icefall on Slide 1 that could kill someone whose in over their head. If Whiteface was out west, theyd be open by January.

I bet GSS could tell you exactly what he ate at the midstation lodge though, just like his exciting reports of the Casper food here in JHole, which sucks by the way. Caspers only good for free beers from your buddies who work there.

 

[campgottagopee]

I can't believe I'm getting caught up in another one of these threads again. I need help.

Nah, just passion and I'm with ya. I really, really like WF and it's my fav place to ski in the east. Nuff said.

 

[Warp Daddy]

MANY R with ya HPD !!

 

[ski_resort_observer]

HPD....I know it's hard but your just feeding the trolls...people that say things like "the patrol are nothing but a bunch of wussies" obviously are either 10yo or have no clue whatsoever.

 

[deadheadskier]

The picture below shows 3 things:

2. The natural snow terrain in the picture is the Slides, there is nothing lift serviced that can compare to in in the East. Yeah I know it's usually only open in March and April.

Yes and no

It probably is the largest acreage of that sort, but there are things that do compare.

I haven't skied WF nor the slides, so these others might be mute if the slides are truly 'lift serviced' and don't require a little bit of hiking.

The Chin at Stowe certainly compares, though it requires a 45 minute hike. The Chin terrain looks to offer a bit less fully exposed verticle, but there are a ton of options up there. North Face, Hour Glass, Profanity, Epiphany Bowl to name a few. The former two lead into Smuggler's notch, the third does as well, but it's a bit more tricky. Though the terrain in the Notch is no longer exposed such as the slides, a run of NF or HG to Hell Brook offers roughly 3000 vert with roughly 500 of it above treeline of the sickest 'lift serviced' terrain I've ever skied in the east. The best part? It's unpatrolled and if you think the snow is good enough, go for it, you don't have to wait for the Patrol to dorp the rope on it.

Also at Stowe there is 'Tusk' off the back of Spruce. It requires considerable snowfall to be skiable, but this is essentially one 'slide' just like those pictured at whiteface and requires zero hiking to get to, fully 'lift serviced'. It offers I'd guesstimate 1700 vert of skiing that it is just like the slides. Again, unpatrolled terrain, ski it if you can.

Also to consider are the snowfields at Sugarloaf. This would probably be the closest comparison as it is a patrolled area and just like the slides, rarely opens outside of March and April. That said, it is much smaller in terms of acreage and vert to the slides.

So, yes and no, there's nothing that compares. Yes, if we're talking patrolled terrain. No, if we're talking 'lift accessed' terrain. The latter, which essentially is Stowe in the arguement I'm making here, I feel comfortable saying beats what the slides offers by a good margin. I haven't skied the slides though, so I could be wrong.

To be honest, I think the best thing that could happen to WF is to make the slides out of bounds, ski at your own risk terrain like the Chin is at Stowe. I'd be pretty pissed to have to wait for the patrol to open that terrain if I was a Whiteface skier knowing that the terrain is probably quite skiable many more days in a season then they allow.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Whiteface gets half as much snow as Stowe..which sucks..

 

[ski_resort_observer]

To the point of the OP, nothing like it at Okemo

 

[AdironRider]

HPD....I know it's hard but your just feeding the trolls...people that say things like "the patrol are nothing but a bunch of wussies" obviously are either 10yo or have no clue whatsoever.

And how much experience with Whiteface do you have? It was my home mtn for 4 years, and I rode there almost exclusively. I was riding the slides in December 2 years ago. The terrain, when it isnt late season snowpack, is pretty gnarly and would require alot of patrol work to mark obstacles, etc to open up early season. Plus, since its so easy to access, patrol doesnt open it up cause gapers, probably like you would get in over there head. Like I said, there wasnt an avalanche in there the entire time I considered it my home mtn, and I stand by my statement that if the slides were on a mtn out west (like JHole for example) theyd be open by January at the latest. Just the way it is there. Empire never opens that much either for similar reasons, even when its perfectly skiable.

 

[AdironRider]

To be honest, I think the best thing that could happen to WF is to make the slides out of bounds, ski at your own risk terrain like the Chin is at Stowe. I'd be pretty pissed to have to wait for the patrol to open that terrain if I was a Whiteface skier knowing that the terrain is probably quite skiable many more days in a season then they allow.

You sir, get it. This is what should have always been the case. But at least with patrol being over protective, I got freshies in there the majority of the winter before they opened it up.

 

[deadheadskier]

cause gapers, probably like you would get in over there head.

this isn't necessary to prove your point

 

[deadheadskier]

You sir, get it. This is what should have always been the case. But at least with patrol being over protective, I got freshies in there the majority of the winter before they opened it up.

Do they pull skiers passes who poach it? What do they do to deter it? If Whiteface was my home mountain, it would take a lot to keep me out of there.

 

[ski_resort_observer]

And how much experience with Whiteface do you have? It was my home mtn for 4 years, and I rode there almost exclusively. I was riding the slides in December 2 years ago. The terrain, when it isnt late season snowpack, is pretty gnarly and would require alot of patrol work to mark obstacles, etc to open up early season. Plus, since its so easy to access, patrol doesnt open it up cause gapers, probably like you would get in over there head. Like I said, there wasnt an avalanche in there the entire time I considered it my home mtn, and I stand by my statement that if the slides were on a mtn out west (like JHole for example) theyd be open by January at the latest. Just the way it is there. Empire never opens that much either for similar reasons, even when its perfectly skiable.

I don't care if it was your home mountain for 50 years it doesn't change my comment at all. BTW, I was skiing Whiteface before you were even born.

 

[lerops]

How long is the hike from the Summit Quad to top of the Slides?

 

[AdironRider]

Do they pull skiers passes who poach it? What do they do to deter it? If Whiteface was my home mountain, it would take a lot to keep me out of there.

Im sure theyd pull your pass. Most of the time its just roped off right at the top of summit quad. Very easy to get around if you have half a brain. Easiest and safest way, in terms of not losing ski privs, is to hike the auto road and drop in from the top.

 

[AdironRider]

I don't care if it was your home mountain for 50 years it doesn't change my comment at all. BTW, I was skiing Whiteface before you were even born.

Then back your statement up. I already stated my case, but you just called me a 10 year old with no clue. But I guess since youve been skiing the face since before I was born you dont have to do that.....

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

How long is the hike from the Summit Quad to top of the Slides?

10 minutes

 

[crank]

Putting the Slides aside though, I've skied about 6-8 days at WF and about 12 at Okemo through the years. In that they groom too much terrain they are similar. There is not an abundant variety of terrain on either mountain. Their runs run towards similarity. Whiteface is much steeper, but that alone doesn't save it from the boring category it shares with not-so-steepkemo. Okemo is more plush and has better snowmaking and grooming skills, also, more bump runs seem to be sprouting this year. I like both mountains for a day, but find both somewhat boring when the day is done.

I have never been lucky enough to be at Whiteface when the slides were open.

 

[St. Jerry]

Putting the Slides aside though, I've skied about 6-8 days at WF and about 12 at Okemo through the years. In that they groom too much terrain they are similar. There is not an abundant variety of terrain on either mountain. Their runs run towards similarity. Whiteface is much steeper, but that alone doesn't save it from the boring category it shares with not-so-steepkemo. Okemo is more plush and has better snowmaking and grooming skills, also, more bump runs seem to be sprouting this year. I like both mountains for a day, but find both somewhat boring when the day is done.

I have never been lucky enough to be at Whiteface when the slides were open.

Oh, looky. Someone agrees.

 

[Greg]

Devil's Advocate

Let me play devil's advocate here for a minute. Many WF fans themselves agreed that WF is for the most part a consistently steep groomer hill. A few said so right [thread="17531"]here[/thread]. So in a sense, the OP, while obviously trolling wasn't that far off the mark, was he? Take the Slides and Empire (which aren't open all that often) out of the equation, multipy Okemo's vert by 1.5, and tip the mountain on edge several degrees and do you really have radically different hills?

Just sayin'

 

[tjf67]

Both over groomed and boring. But Whiteface has more angle.

Man o man the groomers up at whiteface would love to see this. Okemo has some of the best grooming in the country to be mentioned in the same sentance is a compliment no matter what the intent was.
Northway to upper mac, HMMMM steep powder witha 10 foot hit 3/4 of the way down. A zip down to lower mak covered in symetrical soft bumps to finish the run. Jump on the double of if you have it in you go down to the ghondi and take a shot through the half pipe with it 69 foot walls. That was my sunday.

Borrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnnnnng