Whiteface 10-30. Successful attempt!

Neil · Nov 1, 2005

After such a rough day on Saturday I was looking for an easy, sure thing and the road up Whiteface seemed to fit the bill. So after a lousy breakfast at the Noonmark Diner I waited for the Mountaineer to open only to learn they had no skis for rent. It was a gorgeous day so I grabbed my snowshoes and crampons and barebooted up the first mile of frozen road. Once the snow depth increased it was better to wear snowshoes. In spite of the wind a light t-shirt kept me warm. Gradually though, the wind picked up and the temperature dropped so after the Placid turn my companion, who I met en route and had friends in common with - small ADK world!, and I put our jackets on. At one point the mountain became enclosed in a thick cloud and my companion turned around. I continued on alone in strong winds with no visibility for about 10 minutes. Then the cloud lifted and the eerie and ominous feel disappeared. The last stretch up to the stone building was a bit of a battle against the wind. Once at the stairs I decided to keep my snowshoes on but could have barebooted to the top. The wind was pretty crazy and there were no views at all thanks to constant cloud formation over the summit. I hung out for a little while hoping for some views and then went back down into the sunshine which was to be found a mere 50 vertical feet below the top. Once back on the road I was wishing I had skis but it didn’t matter all that much. The weather was so fine! Going down I met up with all kinds of people who were heading up. Snowboarders, downhill skiers and cross country skiers were all out for a ride.

In spite of the hot sun which had the trees literally pouring water and wet snow the road held up very well. Right down to the toll gate.

On the way down I was thinking it would be quite a treat to do this same route on skis under a moon.

Pictures!

MichaelJ · Nov 1, 2005

Beautiful!
The Whiteface auto road is certainly a gem of a climb - I love hearing of such great trips like yours.

But how did you manage getting up the stairs and the upper reach of trail with snowshoes on? I was nervous barebooting it due to the slip factor but can't imagine trying to negotiate big, flappy snowshoes on that section.

Neil · Nov 1, 2005

MichaelJ said:
But how did you manage getting up the stairs and the upper reach of trail with snowshoes on?

25 inch shoes, careful placement, plenty of snow making most of the steps into ramps.

Tom Rankin · Nov 1, 2005

Neil said:
25 inch shoes, careful placement, plenty of snow making most of the steps into ramps.

It can be done, I did it last Winter in similar conditions. The railing can be useful for hanging on at times!

slamdog · Nov 1, 2005

Nice...

Great trip report and photos. Can't wait to get up with the snowshoes! L

Pete_Hickey · Nov 1, 2005

MichaelJ said:
Beautiful!But how did you manage getting up the stairs and the upper reach of trail with snowshoes on? I was nervous barebooting it due to the slip factor but can't imagine trying to negotiate big, flappy snowshoes on that section.

The conditions of the snow/ice along the stairs can vary considerably. There are times, when it is virtually impossible with snowshoes, yet other times, it can be fairly easy. I must have done that ski trip 10 times, and I've seen all kinds of snow there.