RETURNING TO MY HOME SKI MOUNTAIN
For the first time in a while, I skied Whiteface after work today. I was blacked out for nine days due to a holiday period, and then yesterday I skied Stowe, so today was my first day at the mountain in 10 days. Though I was blacked out last week at Whiteface, I still skied at a bunch of spots including Jay Peak, Sugarbush, Middlebury Snowbowl, Smuggler’s Notch, Beartown Ski Area, and Dynamite Hill Recreation Area, which is the smallest vertical ski area I’ve ever skied at 65 ft. of vertical. It was a fun week, but it was nice to be back at the mountain I call home.
The view from the access road.
Hoyt’s High.
Aside from The Slides, and maybe a glade or two, the mountain was essentially fully open, and they had all of the lifts spinning. With it being a Tuesday, it wasn’t crowded at all and there were no real lines to speak of at the lifts. Weather wise it was a pretty nice afternoon. It was a little colder than it was over the weekend, but overall it wasn’t too bad. The sun was out at times, though it did get a bit cloudier later in the afternoon.
Upper Mackenzie.
Draper’s Drop.
Hoyt’s High.
Conditions were fast and firm on the steeper terrain. There were a couple of very firm trails, such as Upper Northway and Victoria, which were both firm down the middle, but in those instances the sides usually had some snow. I skied Hoyt’s High and it was in the best shape it’s been for me this season, which was really nice. Upper Mackenzie was interesting. The top part of it was powder, while the middle section, where the cliff area is, was scraped off, and then there was more powder below that.
Upper Skyward.
Lower Skyward.
Bumps on the left side of Victoria.
Off the summit, I got a run in on Upper Skyward, and aside from the headwall, which was pretty firm, it was pretty good. I skied Lower Skyward via Yellow Dot. It was firm, but not too bad, especially along the edges. It snowed a good amount over the weekend, and there were quite a few trails where one side of the run had been groomed and the other was left bumped up. Bumps are kind of a rarity at Whiteface, so this was cool to see. I didn’t get in them much today, but the ones I did were fun.
Never Quit Skiing,
Lincoln