SKIING MORE THAN TWO MILLION VERTICAL FEET IN ONE SEASON
After 51 long days deep in the Adirondack Mountains, wrangling in run after run on his trusty steed, Armada, Wild Bill passed more than two million vertical feet skied this season today. If you were wondering, that’s pretty close to 40,000 ft. of vertical a day. Wild bill was a little upset he didn’t achieve two million feet of vertical on day 50, as that would’ve made his average 40,000 ft. or more a day when he hit two million, instead of ‘pretty close to 40,000 ft. a day’, but it is what it is.
Wild Bill and Armada stare down Essex.
Upper Mackenzie.
You could say it was a perfect day for Wild Bill and Armada to break two million. Wild Bill likes his groomers at Whiteface to be fast and furious, and that’s what he got today for his big day. Whiteface had 69 runs open out of a possible 96. Not much has changed in that regard since yesterday, though it is possible more snow and grooming could re-open some trails. Some of the closed trails include Upper Northway, Hoyt’s High and The Follies. Essex is closed from the top, but you can access it halfway down from the cut on Excelsior.
Lower Thruway.
Mountain Run.
The mountain did receive a couple inches of snow overnight, and it was actively snowing while I was there, but as I hinted, the snow was fast and firm this afternoon. I’d say I enjoyed yesterday’s conditions more than today, as I found the snow to be a bit more icy today. Still, though, considering the weather as of late, with a warm up on Monday, and a freeze on Tuesday, conditions haven’t been bad like I expected them to be these last couple of days.
Upper Mackenzie.
Paron’s Run.
I thought most of the terrain down low skied really nicely today, as well Excelsior, Lower Mackenzie and the lower half of Essex. Everything else off Little Whiteface was in rough shape when I skied it, especially Wilderness and Upper Thruway. Another run that was pretty blah was Paron’s Run. Yes, there was some snow hanging around, but there was also a fair amount of ice in between the snow.
Wild Bill isn’t done chasing vert this season, by the way. Two million is but a milestone. There’s still plenty of season to go, and I suspect he’ll be out there as often as possible with Armada trying to lasso in every foot of vertical possible. After all, they don’t call him the King of Vertical for nothin’.
Never Quit Skiing,
Lincoln