APRIL POWDER DAY AT WHITEFACE!

The skies opened up today to deliver a late-season powder day at Whiteface. It’s been a while since we’ve seen much in the way of snow, so this was an extra sweet treat! I’m not sure what the official count was for Whiteface, but to me it skied like at least six inches of new snow up high.

Upper Mackenzie.

Lower Parkway.

I skied after work, so I got there in the afternoon. Despite today’s new snow, the mountain was empty. Over the weekend it was warm, and then we had a freeze Sunday night in to Monday morning, which caused some terrain to be closed yesterday due to icy conditions. Most of the terrain that was closed yesterday due to ice was open today, including Upper and Lower Skyward, thanks to the new snow.

Draper’s Drop.

Upper Skyward.

Niagara.

It snowed all afternoon, and it came down heavy at times, but I wouldn’t say there were free refills. By the time I got there, most of the runs were tracked out, except for the Parkway’s, so the snow was pushed around in to piles on most runs. In between those piles you could either find packed powder or ice. The little piles of snow were very soft, and blasting through them was a lot of fun. Up high you really needed to stick to the middle of the runs, as often times the sides were icy in a coral reef-like way beneath the fresh snow.

Mountain Run.

Bear.

Paron’s Run.

The one downside to late season snow like this is that it covers up all the nasty stuff lurking out there, like rocks and bare ground, just enough so it’s hard to see it, but not enough so you won’t wreck your skis if you go over it. Fortunately, you could still easily identify most problem areas, and I didn’t run in to any issues. There were also a few areas that’ve been a problem recently that weren’t today, such as Lower Mackenzie. There’s been a big bare patch at the top of it for a little while now, but today there was no trace of it.

All of this new snow is going to groom in nicely tonight. With sunshine in the forecast, tomorrow is shaping up to be another great day!

Never Quit Skiing,

Lincoln