This week’s rain, mild temperatures and winds were today’s ice. Welcome to the East, baby! Conditions have been stellar over the last few weeks, but I think we all knew it wouldn’t last. Eventually, we’d get a warm up and some typical Ice Coast conditions. Well, we finally got it, although today wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been at Whiteface.

Since it’s Saturday, I got to the mountain in the morning. I parked at the Bear Den Learning Center, although I could’ve parked at the main base, but it would’ve been a longer walk. Fortunately, they had The Notch spinning for the first time this season, which made connecting to the main base from the Bear Den Learning Center a breeze.

It wasn’t a busy day on the mountain per se, but there were some random moments where I’d find myself surrounded by a lot of people. This typically occurred in areas where a lot of trails intersected. There were also plenty of times where I had runs all to myself, so make of that what you will. The singles line for the gondola moved fast. I’d say I only waited about five minutes for each ride up.

Conditions were fast and firm, which was no surprise, but it wasn’t as icy as it could’ve been. You could hold an edge on most of the terrain, and there were only a few times where I felt my skis try and slip out from under me on ice. There were also some really nice pockets of snow on some trails such as the left side of Victoria, the left side of Upper Northway and basically all of Boreen.

Early in the day, I noticed that they had opened Lower Wilderness via Mountain Run. I was a little worried about how the cover would be, but I decided to venture in. Despite all the weeds poking through the snow, coverage on the run was actually really good. I didn’t hit a single rock. Later in the day, I noticed they’d roped the run off.

It may be December 20, but today was likely my last day skiing at Whiteface until 2026. I’m off work this week for the holiday and I’ll probably be skiing around Vermont all week. Plus, after Christmas, I’m blacked out at Whiteface until January 2. I’m not sure where I’ll be skiing this week, but as it stands I plan to at least make it to Jay Peak, Sugarbush and Smuggler’s Notch. I’d also like to make it Killington or Stratton. I’ve never actually skied Stratton, so that would be an extra fun adventure.

Never Quit Skiing,

Lincoln

FAST AND FIRM CONDITIONS AT WHITEFACE

SPRING SKIING IN DECEMBER AT WHITEFACE