Whiteface Memorial Highway - Ski Conditions

[Puma concolor]

Anyone here been up it this season or have good intel on conditions? Snow conditions at Whiteface Mountain ski resort suggest the road is probably not yet good skiing.

Got my first pair of Alpine Touring skis for XMas and the boots are arriving today. For my ultimate planned use, some of the various summit roads around NY and New England are the way to go. Or at least to start until I get competent at it.

 

[TCD]

Useful link:

https://www.betatrails.org/conditions

Although you are probably already familiar with that report. I have no first hand info...

 

[Puma concolor]

Thanks TCD! Was unfamiliar with that website but now have it bookmarked.

 

[David Metsky]

Keep in mind that the Whiteface Toll Road doesn't require AT gear, or even metal edges. It's a pretty boring descent that might be better on tele or backcountry XC gear.

 

[skiguy]

It's a pretty boring descent that might be better on tele or backcountry XC gear.

Why not go for it then on Skate Skis? All kidding aside I agree with you although not boring from an aesthetic standpoint it's worth doing. I've done it on double cambered metal edge skis with low leathers and it has been quite fun. Conditions can be very variable from top to bottom like a lot of BC skiing and of course best in low winds after not too much fresh Snow. OK call me an idealist. Good luck Puma. Hope you get the goods!

 

[Puma concolor]

Thanks guys. I’m pretty stoked about trying them out (not sure if saying “stoked” is allowable after 50, but whatever ). Anyway, I’m a very solid downhill resort skier but have never done cross country or backcountry skiing. So for this season, I just want to get the hang of uphill skiing and skins and switching back and forth between uphill and downhill modes. So boring is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[bignslow]

Speeding up your transitions is one of the biggest ways to have a more enjoyable day in the backcountry. Lots of really good videos online.

A few thoughts:
* My buddies showed me how to get my skins off without taking off my skis - Big time saver, especially in deep snow. Requires less balance/dexterity than I expected.

* Doing multiple laps? Keep your skins in your jacket on the descent to keep them warm/dry.

* Build up a checklist/system for your transitions - At the top, I work "top to bottom" for every transition:
1) Changeover jacket for the descent, change handwear if needed, put on helmet, put pack back on
2) Convert skis from touring to downhill
3) Skins off, tuck into jacket (they stay in place because I have my pack on with the waist belt shut)
4) Convert boots to downhill

* You're not going to be in avy terrain, but I'm a really big fan of BC ski specific packs (hey, it's an excuse to buy another pack...) because they keep the weight near your center of gravity for where it needs to be for skiing and they have a specific pouch for your avy gear. I like the Osprey Kamber series.

 

[Puma concolor]

Solid advice, bignslow. Thanks for that. Had already been thinking about a more suitable backpack than the massive ones I normally carry for hiking/mountaineering (75 L is my small pack lol), but am probably geared out at this point for the year after spending a small fortune on the skis/boots.

Will definitely develop a checklist similar to that.

 

[TCD]

Went up and down the Whiteface highway today (for the first time). A friend had just gotten his new skis with AT bindings and skins, and wanted to try them out in a benign setting. So we used our skin skis (K2 Wayback; Voile Switchback binding).

>Very easy grade; not really a ski trip; more of a walking trip. If I were to do it again, I would use the XCD Guides with the fish scales and not the skins.

>We went slowly; round trip car to car from the tollhouse was under 5 hours; it's a half day trip at best.

>Currently lots of snow. On the flatter parts, we had to push to keep going on the way down. Only made a few turns on the way down; after 2-3 turns you were stopped and had to run straight in the track again to get going.

>The buildings at the top are closed; but the passages through them offer some wind shelter.

>IMO the reason to do this route is the views. Go on a bluebird day.

 

[Puma concolor]

Thanks again, TCD, for that perfectly-timed report. Glad you and your friend had a good day, even if unexciting.

All set to give it a whirl on Monday. Gonna make my way up north after dropping off my daughter at school, so it’ll be a later start. Mentioned to my wife about possibly being somewhere on the highway for sunset but she wasn’t super-thrilled with that idea. LOL.

Figured conditions are great right now after last weekend’s storm. Was looking at this past Wednesday at first before deciding instead to ski at Gore with my daughter (also excellent conditions) that day. Good times.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ll have something to say about it all Monday night or Tuesday.

 

[Puma concolor]

So pretty much as advertised by TCD. Maybe about four or five other cars at the tollhouse when I arrived and one snowmobiler was also part of the day. Forecast had called for clear conditions, but it was mostly soupy during the ascent and then suddenly cleared as I neared the Castle ... so there were some good above the clouds views from the end of the road and excellent views on the way down.

Biggest surprise for me was that the ascent was much easier than anticipated whereas the descent was kinda awkward as this is the first new pair of skis/boots I’ve downhilled on since the late 90s. Dynafit Seven Summits skis with Dynafit TLT8 boots, BTW.

Bottom line ... got a lot of good pictures which made for a really good FB post. LOL. About 3 hours and 40 minutes round trip. Legs may or may not be sore tomorrow. Feeling pretty good at the moment.

 

[skiguy]

Way to get at it....it really is all about “TheViews”!