THE ICE COAST IS BACK, BABY!
We are so back! After a cold and snowy winter, followed by a week or so of spring skiing, classic Ice Coast conditions returned today to the East. Nothing says East Coast skiing like the loud sound of skis scraping down an icy slope, and I listened to that beautiful sound for hours today while skiing at Whiteface.
The last week or so has been warm and, yesterday, it even rained. This morning, a rapid freeze began right around the time ski resorts were set to open, which set the stage for a classic Ice Coast day. Fortunately, Whiteface opted to open late and re-groom some terrain, which helped a lot in making conditions on the open terrain manageable.
The view from Little Whiteface.
Lower Northway.
Ice along Wild Bill’s ski.
I skied with Wild Bill today. He was on his trusty steed, Armada, fresh off a groom with sharp shoes. Together they tore the place up. Wild Bill loves fast and firm conditions, and today delivered on that. Wild Bill doesn’t fear ice, the ice fears Wild Bill. At one point, Wild Bill was blazing down the mountain so fast that the snow was melting and then rapidly freezing to his skis. The ice never stood a chance. What. An. Animal.
The mountain opened around 9:30. I got there at 9:45, and at that time they were just spinning some beginner lifts. Around 10:30 the gondola opened, and I headed out on to the snow. With the conditions the way they were, most of the mountain was off limits. The summit? Closed. Loookout Mountain? Closed. All the black diamond terrain off the gondola and Little Whiteface? Closed. There were other runs closed as well, such as Victoria.
All that being closed left you with two options to get down the mountain: Excelsior and Lower Northway. Below those runs, most of the mountain was open, though Lower Valley was partly closed for racing. Overall, I’d say it felt like an early December day with all the limited terrain and firm conditions.
Easy Street.
The top of Summit Express.
Brookside.
Essex.
Let’s talk about the snow itself, though. Like I said, it was fast and firm. There were little cookies on a lot of the runs, and you could also find some pretty nice-sized patches of ice. Despite that, you could hold an edge on most of the open terrain. Conditions weren’t amazing, but it wasn’t terrible. This was my first day skiing at Whiteface since last Friday, and, unfortunately, I have to report that the early taste of spring did impact the snowpack. Some runs are starting to develop thin spots, especially Essex, but, overall, coverage is still pretty good where they’ve made snow.
Despite the conditions and limited terrain offering, the King of Vertical, Wild Bill himself, was determined to reach 40,000 ft. of vertical, and he accomplished that late in the day. The man will reach 2 million feet of vertical within the next two ski days. He’s only skied around 50 days this season. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no one stacks vert like Wild Bill.
Never Quit Skiing,
Lincoln