A CLASSIC ICE COAST SKI DAY

Sharp edges were a must this afternoon. There was ice available to ski just about everywhere up high at Whiteface, and some pockets of snow too, but a lot of ice. We haven’t had many classic Ice Coast days this year so it’s hard to complain, and honestly, despite the mostly firm surfaces, I still managed to have a good time.

Ice on Essex.

The top of Little Whiteface.

Conditions were what they were as a result of a warm up and freeze this past weekend, as well as strong winds around the mountain today. There was snow in the air, and that certainly helped a little with freshening things up. With the icy conditions, a lot of the mountain was off limits, including everything off Approach and Skyward. In years past, days like this would normally leave us with just good ol’ Excelsior to ski, but with more terrain open than usual for this date, there were other options like The Wilmington Trail.

Victoria.

Ice seen on Lower Skyward from the Summit Quad. Lower Skyward was closed.

The entrances to Paron’s Run and The Follies.

Upper Boreen.

My run of the day was probably Victoria. The wind had blown the snow to the left side of the run, and there were some pretty nice turns to be had there. I also really enjoyed the right side of Paron’s Run down beneath where it meets with The Follies. Essex, while pretty icy, also had some decent pockets of powder, though it wasn’t as good as the other runs listed.

It’s worth noting that everything below mid-mountain was in decent shape compared to up high. As mentioned, there was snow in the air, and I found the lower mountain runs to ski pretty slowly as that snow accumulated on the surface. It was very grabby in some places, including on Ausable Run and Moose.

Never Quit Skiing,

Lincoln