Mid-Atlantic School me on eastern NY areas

[Dave Marshak]

...10-15 degrees can make a big difference in melt off.

Not when the difference is between 10 and -5. Whiteface holds up better in the spring, but mid-winter temps are often brutal.

dm

 

[Ogg]

Not when the difference is between 10 and -5. Whiteface holds up better in the spring, but mid-winter temps are often brutal.

dm

I'm usually ok down to single digits if the snow is good but this season I will likely be aiming for warmer days since warming up in the lodge may not really be an option. Another issue that I never concerned myself with in the past is which mountain has closer parking for booting up at the car?

 

[Jim Kenney]

I’ve been scoping out my in state options for this season and I’d like to hear some opinions and experiences with Gore and Whiteface. I always thought whiteface was a better mountain but looking at the trail maps and pictures I’m now wondering if that’s true. Any thoughts and experiences would be appreciated.

My memories of Gore are pretty faded, was there back in the 80s. I think both mtns are large enough for a fun visit. You should ski both! Here are some comments and photos from a visit I made to Whiteface about seven years ago:
Whiteface Mountain, NY - A Pictorial

By: Jamesj
Posted 10/4/14 • Last updated 10/5/14 • 3,266 views • 5 comments

Whiteface Mountain, NY - A Pictorial

By Jim Kenney, aka JamesJ
EpicSki Travel Correspondent

How is Whiteface ski area like super model Gisele Bündchen? They are both a tall, cool glass of water with beautiful curves, nice moguls, and a friendly forest.

All joking aside, my son and I made a visit to Whiteface in late March 2014 and found it to be a spectacularly unique ski destination featuring the highest lift served terrain in the Northeastern US (elevation 4,386'). No Eastern snowrider's resume is complete without checking this one off the list...and maybe going back for a double check. Whiteface has a bodacious diversity of terrain from long beginner-intermediate groomers to steep glades and extreme off-piste. The trail layout has a genuine Olympic pedigree and is just ten easy miles from the outstanding après ski opportunities of the elegant, year-round resort town of Lake Placid.

To paraphrase French philosopher Voltaire, with great prominence comes great exposure, and to best enjoy the big mountain feel of Whiteface a visitor must be ready to embrace its variability. Howling snow, cold temps, mixed conditions, and yes, a little ice may all be implicit with the Whiteface experience, but so is the greatest vertical drop in the East (3,166'), stupendous Adirondack High Peaks scenery, and thrilling advanced skiing across approximately 85 trails and 300 acres. Whiteface is a state-run ski area operated in a no frills manner, but the lift network and base infrastructure are Olympic caliber and highly capable of facilitating an epic day on snow.

I had skied Whiteface twice before in 1971 and 2000, but it wasn't until this trip that I finally got to see the town of Lake Placid, host of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. We stayed on the edge of town in TMax-N-Topo's Hostel for $20something per night and dined in the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery beside scenic Mirror Lake. The town was hopping for a weekday in late March and we took a quick spin down Main Street and past the Olympic skating venue. It was the eve of the ECAC college hockey league tourney and team buses and fans were pouring into town. Union College, NY won the ECAC title and a few weeks later captured the school's first NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship. At Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain winter sports greatness just seems to come with the territory!

Please click on the photos for expanded views. All photos are by Jim Kenney.

Arriving from the south on March 20, 2014, we went from springtime back into winter weather and winter sports. This is Mirror Lake with the town of Lake Placid in the background.


Little Whiteface Peak (elev 3676') to the left is served by the 8-person Cloudsplitter Gondola (2,432' vertical). The true Whiteface Summit (elev 4867') can be seen in the background right.


At the top of the gondola is a terrific view of Lake Placid and the Adirondack High Peaks.


There is excellent glade skiing off Little Whiteface including lower angle terrain. We spotted this glade skiing class in what I believe was 10th Mtn Div Glade.


Things get a little steeper and tighter in nearby Cloudsplitter Glades.


About five years ago Whiteface made a significant new terrain expansion with the addition of the Lookout Mountain triple chair (1,560' vertical). This is a long groomer on Lookout Mountain called The Wilmington Trail. It connects with a lower mountain run called Boreen for nearly 2800 continuous vertical feet of scenic intermediate cruising. Lake Champlain can be seen in the distant left.


Lookout Mountain also features some expert glades and this fine mogul run, Lookout Below. The brown bump ninja is my son Vince.

The Whiteface Summit Quad Chair (1,830' vertical) takes you to the highest lift served terrain in the Northeast US, elevation 4,386'. This is a shot of the extreme terrain adjacent to the lift called The Slides. We didn't get in there because avalanche gear was required on the day of our visit.


Even from the highest points at Whiteface there are manageable intermediate runs with great views like this from The Follies trail.


Shred the Daks!

 

[Crank]

My impressions of Whiteface & Gore

I have skied WF 3 or 4 times over the years but not since maybe 2004.

Tall and steepish. By steepish I mean everything was kind of steep in an unrelenting way, but nothing was super challenging steep. I have never been lucky enough to be there when the slides were open so have not skied them but would love to.

Tilted ironing board is how one old Epicski poster described WF: It is tall and narrow and every trail is, or was, groomed flat. In effect every trail skied the same. Back then there were no moguls, no glades. I think and hope that is different now. It was a mountain made for racers and there seemed to be a lot of 'em there. We got into it, lapping the NASTAR course because the place both bored us and wore us out at the same time. Probably a great hill for technical skiers working on their technique. Anyone who has skied with me knows that's not me.

Lake Placed is awesome and is a good 10 miles from WF. This is probably not the year for having après ski fun but if you want to ice skate of take a bobsled ride...


Gore is quite cut up and disjointed but the terrain is much more varied than WF and it does have some very fun glades. My favorite is the Cirque which is more like a little adventure tour in the woods than a standard glade.

There is nothing around there. Town of Lake George is not too far but is like a ghost town in the winter.

 

[Jersey Skier]

My impressions of Whiteface & Gore

I have skied WF 3 or 4 times over the years but not since maybe 2004.

Tall and steepish. By steepish I mean everything was kind of steep in an unrelenting way, but nothing was super challenging steep. I have never been lucky enough to be there when the slides were open so have not skied them but would love to.

Tilted ironing board is how one old Epicski poster described WF: It is tall and narrow and every trail is, or was, groomed flat. In effect every trail skied the same. Back then there were no moguls, no glades. I think and hope that is different now. It was a mountain made for racers and there seemed to be a lot of 'em there. We got into it, lapping the NASTAR course because the place both bored us and wore us out at the same time. Probably a great hill for technical skiers working on their technique. Anyone who has skied with me knows that's not me.

Lake Placed is awesome and is a good 10 miles from WF. This is probably not the year for having aprés ski fun but if you want to ice skate of take a bobsled ride...


Gore is quite cut up and disjointed but the terrain is much more varied than WF and it does have some very fun glades. My favorite is the Cirque which is more like a little adventure tour in the woods than a standard glade.

There is nothing around there. Town of Lake George is not too far but is like a ghost town in the winter.

The Lake George ghost town makes for some really cheap lodging in the Winter.

 

[Crank]

The Lake George ghost town makes for some really cheap lodging in the Winter.

Yeah it does.

My ski club has stayed there quite a few times over the years. I mostly day trip Gore from Saratoga where I have sisters both with big houses. Have had some very fun days at Gore over the years.