Whiteface Opening Day 11/25/11... Spring Skiing in November

[Cornhead]

Date(s) Skied: 11/25/11

Resort or Ski Area: Whiteface

Conditions: pp?

Trip Report:
Warm temps, bright sunshine, limited terrain, soft bumps, it must be.....November? Thanks to receiving 14" the other day, WF offered up some interesting opening day offerings. I had a sense of dejavu all day, it was like this year's season picked up right where last year's ended.

I arrived right at opening time, 8:30, it was sunny, cool, and windy. I started to worry that it was too windy to open, it was not. The only lift running was Facelift, it serviced basically one trail, consisting of Upper Valley, Lower Valley, and Fox. The Gondola didn't open till about 10, consequently, it was very congested. I was slammed from behind by a boarder, luckily it was a one hundred pound girl, she didn't stand a chance against my 240, she just bounced off, I barely moved. Trails accessed by the Gondola were, Excelsior, and Summit Express. Coverage was good on all trials, rocks started poking through later in the day. The loading area of the Gondola was a swamp by then too.

As the day wore on I had a change of plans. I had planned staying overnight and skiing Saturday. I figured my legs wouldn't be up to the challenge. The snow was quite taxing on unaccustomed muscles, I'm sore today. I think I made the right call. I don't think I'd have had as much fun today. Made for a long day, 8 hrs of driving, 6 hrs of skiing. Hopefully it'll satisfy my itch till things start cooling down and my local hill can make snow.

I guess I'm going to have to scan these resort's Facebook pages for information. Plattekill posted that they were opening following the October storm, Facebook only. Whiteface posted that lift tickets were $38, not the $58 posted on their website. All in all, had a great day. Spent $38 to ski, $80 to get there and back, something's bass ackwards with that equation.



Fox


View of the summit


Upper Valley


Top of Excelsior


Lookout Below, in need of some snow

 

[speden]

Spent $38 to ski, $80 to get there and back, something's bass ackwards with that equation.

Yeah, the cost of gas really blows. I wish my car got better gas mileage. I only get 25 mpg so it's a money burning machine.

 

[kingslug]

25 would be great..my jeep gets about 18.too bad my vette doesn't have 4wd as it gets 25...its why I like bus trips..$105.00 to killington includes lift ticket..

 

[Cornhead]

Yeah, the cost of gas really blows. I wish my car got better gas mileage. I only get 25 mpg so it's a money burning machine.

What's worse, I have to use premium in mine, turbo. It sure is fun to drive in the snow though, awd, turbo, Blizzaks. Made a trip to WF last March, two feet of snow, one lift spinning,wind. My son and I drove down to Gore. I think I had as much fun on rt 9 as I did at Gore. ;-)

And yes, it does suck. It now cost me about ten bucks just to get back and forth from home to my local hill. This will add up to way over the cost of my season's pass. I think the near doubling of gas prices in the last few years has to be a major reason the economy is in such trouble. How much is left to spend on other things in someone's budget? You need a second job to pay for gas to get to your first job! If you're lucky enough to have a job,sad. I may be and old fart, but I never thought I'd see the day when it would cost $60 to fill up, shocking.

25 would be great..my jeep gets about 18.too bad my vette doesn't have 4wd as it gets 25...its why I like bus trips..$105.00 to killington includes lift ticket..

That's a great idea, less stress, safe imbibing, if you're so inclined. I averaged 25 on this trip, I'm supposed to get 29 on the highway, WRX. It does have the snows mounted however.

 

[bigbog]

Beautiful snowcover Cornhead.....