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Mike
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Apr 1, 2008 |
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Overall Rating: 5.0   |
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Big mountain with great skiing. The perfect mountain for the intermediate to expert skier. Not many greens, so if you ski to greens primarily, you may be a bit disappointed, or atleast forced to more blues.
Went to Whiteface for a two day ski trip. First day, snowed all day. The cloud cover was low and very difficult to see, but still great conditions. The second day was perfect, crystal clear conditions, and the snow was soft and fast. The groomers did a great job getting breaking up any ice and the bumps that had accumulated from skiing during the big snow from friday.
As far as trails go, its mostly a black diamond mountain, with some nice blues, and not many greens. A few of the blues should be blacks (specifically Lower Cloudspin). The upper mountain blacks (Skyward and Upper Cloudspin) are as big of a challenge as you'll find for a black diamond on the East Coast. Upper mountain blues are all great cruisers with an unbelievable view.
The little Whiteface blacks are fantastic, with Upper and Lower Wilderness, Upper and Lower Parkway, and Mountain Run as the highlights. Excelsior is great blue cruiser.
All in all, it was an unbelievable two days of skiing. The mountain is a great challenge. Pretty cold and well maintained. Small crowd on friday, more crowded on saturday, but still less than a 2 minute lift line wait. The service was great, the food was good, and the lounge was fun (a bit understaffed).
Will definitely be back in 2009, especially with a new mountain and trails opening up.
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Justin Garcia
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Mar 11, 2008 |
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| Overall Rating: 2.0 |
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I would not consider going to whiteface unless you can do black diamonds, because this mountain is 95% hard terrain, and their black diamonds are like double blacks where i live (jiminy peak, windham mountain). i personally can ski black diamonds very well, but i also enjoy blues and greens. Lower Cloudspin is certainly not the place you want to be if your in the mood for a blue. Lower cloudspin isnt that all steep, but its extremley bumpy to the point that it would be a black. Most trails at whiteface are rediciously icy, windy, hard(like mentioned) and the signs that point out the trails (ones that you find on a nearby tree) are labled weird. Service is great! i have came across nice people while buying my lift ticket, and renting my helmet. it was crowded, however they are able to keep the lines at the lifts moving very fast. I personally will never go back to whiteface, Not worth the long ride, and Not worth spending $70 on a lift ticket.
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Helen R
from ENGLAND
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Feb 18, 2008 |
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| Overall Rating: 5.0 |
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Just got back from a holiday skiing at Whiteface and I was very impressed!
It was my first time skiing in America and Whiteface was a really great place to ski for a beginner and intermediate skiier - even though it has a good rep for more advanced skiiers too. I felt like there was more than enough to keep me occupied on blues and greens for a week, whilst my boyfriend was occupied on the harder trails. The trails can be tough at times - but the challenge is half the fun.
I did not experience any ice patches and felt that the mountain was kept in great shape with snow machines and grooming.
The staff were really friendly too - they were really patient and helpful with my tons of questions. And I had 3 private ski classes that were worth their weight in gold. My confidence and skill really improved - thanks Kevin B!
Another added bonus was that there were no crowds so you almost had the slopes to yourself and not too expensive, especially in comparison to Europe. Lake Placid and the surrounding areas have lots on offer: the olympic sites, ice skating, bob-sleding (which are included free in the 3 day ski pass), lots of restaurants, gift shops etc.
Whilst we were in America we decided to do a day at Camel Back in the Poconos too (en route to NYC). My advice would be to stay away! The skiiers were so rude there, it was stupid busy, the trails were boring and very icy-not well kept at all! I would be disappointed if I had booked a weeks holiday there but it could be ok for a day out.
Whiteface was amazing and I would love to go back again - its views were stunning, staff friendly, and I would definitly recommend it!
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Joe
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Dec 28, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.4 |
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Its mainly focused on the Black Diamonds. This is good for me. These are some of the best black diamonds I have ever skied on. Mountain Run is awesome, and I am going to do Wilderness one of these days. Of course, it is not just black diamonds. Does the terrain here have downsides? Well, yes it does. The trail rating system is not the best trail rating system ever. Some of the greens should be blues, and there are certain blues (Draper's Drop and Lower Cloudspin in particular) that should be blacks. Some people say that Whiteface should also be called "Iceface". I disagree. The conditions here are just like conditions and any mountain. This mountain also has good service. The crowds are OK. I've seen days when the gondola is the least crowded lift, while on other days it is a 10 minute wait. There are great activities besides skiing, including Ice Skating, Bobsledding, and other stuff. Overall, this good mountain should not be missed by any advanced skier.
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Greg K.
from Cleveland
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Mar 25, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.4 |
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Since my forty years of skiing experience has been mostly out west, I decided to set out to Whiteface and Gore to explore some eastern mountains. Who would have thought that a western ski experience could be found within a manageable driving distance of Cleveland Ohio!
Terrain: 4
With a published vertical of over 3400 and most of it usable, Whiteface is a tall mountain that has even more vertical drop than Aspen Mountain. It's terrain is quite impressive. Both the gondola and summit require a minimum of strong intermediate skiing skills. On this mountain, black truly means expert and blue means strong intermediate. There is a reason for it being the site of two winter Olympics. This does not mean that there are not places for advanced beginners or young children. The Facelift chair offers some pretty nice cruising runs for the advanced beginner or expert who wants to cruise. But, there is the risk of getting bored because there are only three or four paths down. The bunny hutch triple appropriately describes the terrain it services. This is perfectly acceptable for first timers and small children.
Unfortunately, Whitefaces nick name of Iceface is deserved and there is not very much the poor ground crews can do to stop it. This is because of the wind. The gondola had to shut down one afternoon due to 50 mph winds. Furthermore, the mountain sticks up all alone and nothing shelters it. The summit and gondola runs were very hard packed snow with too much crust and occasional ice patches. The lower Facelift runs were substantially better with no ice but there was still a fair amount of crust under the blasting snow guns. Also, I am not wild about skiing under snow guns but given the 06-07 seasons miserable snow start the crews can be forgiven. If there is nothing the management can do about the snow and wind, they certainly can fix the abysmal trail signage. I have never seen such a poorly marked mountain!
(Note: The terrain would be a 5 but I always include snow conditions under this heading, hence the 4)
Service: 4
The service seemed good. The lift operators were almost heroic handling the chairs in 0 degree weather (-30 with wind chill) and winds gusting to 40 mph. The equipment was modern and appeared well maintained. The inside staff was courteous. The main lodge was quite large and clean and it is doubtful that it would be overwhelmed even during holiday seasons. The food was typical ski affair, ok in taste and typically ski food expensive. There were lockers and a nice ski shop. There is also a midway mountain lodge as well as one by the bunny hutch lift, but I did not get a chance to check these out.
Crowds: 5
Skiing on a Monday and Tuesday during a non-holiday period is a great blessing for a skier but does not give one a very realistic feeling about crowds. We had the whole mountain to ourselves with zero lines. Nonetheless, based on comments from locals and my gut feeling, it is dubious that Whiteface ever gets crowded. I cannot image that the gondola ever has more than a 5 minute wait even during the peak holidays.
Activities: 5
Lake Placid is a charming town. It is about a third the size of Aspen. The main street is anchored by a very nice Hilton at one end and the less plush but perfectly pleasant Golden Arrow Inn at the other. Being on a budget, we stayed at the Golden Arrow and found the service and facilities to be affordable and fine. It was on par with a Comfort Inn or Courtyard Marriott. If you are looking for the highest elegance and service, the Mirror Lake Inn is the place to stay and is within walking distance of downtown. The other contender for elegance is the Whiteface Lodge. Unfortunately, even though the facilities seemed top notch, The Whiteface Lodge has the disadvantage of not being within walking distance of the town and unlike the persons at the Mirror Lake Inn, who were warm and professional, the staff at Whiteface Lodge came across as pretentious and rude.
Lake Placid's Main Street is about a 10 to 15 minute walk from one end to the other. There are at least a dozen different restaurants along the downtown ranging from pizza and burgers to upscale specialty houses. There is also a movie theater and numerous boutique shops. However, I was surprised by the quite tone of the town. The restaurants were only 15 to 20 percent full each night that we ate out. Since my expectations had been set by the moniker that Lake Placid is the Aspen of the east, I expected the town to be a little larger and busier. Aspen is abuzz seven days a week during the ski season. After questioning the locals, I was surprised find out that a better way of thinking about Lake Placid is that it is a summer destination that has skiing to get it through the winter. It gets abuzz in the winter only during holiday or special event periods. Otherwise, it is quieter than one might expect. This further suggests that Whiteface is never particularly crowded. Besides the shopping and restaurants the Olympic facilities make Lake Placid very interesting with plenty of things to see and do.
Value; 4
Whiteface is a serious mountain that is versatile enough to handle a mixed ski crowd but definitely favors the strong intermediate to expert skier. Even though Lake Placid is a lovely town, I emphasize the skiing experience over the après activities when considering the value. With that in mind, Gore is a better mountain than Whiteface because the snow conditions are markedly superior while Gore offers a respectable range of expert, intermediate and beginning trails (See my review for more information on Gore). It does not matter that Whiteface has a fantastic vertical with spectacular views. If the snow conditions are average to poor most of the time, then the skiing experience is greatly reduced. Even though this review sounds grim for Whiteface, I still would recommend going at least once. Yah, the snow was mediocre but the mountain is quite a sight and the Olympic facilities of the town are worth seeing. If you do not live close enough to time your visit following a big snow dump and have to plan your vacation far in advance, Whiteface might be better for spring skiing around mid to late March. This could be the anecdote for eliminating the risk of crust and ice while mitigating the rain risk of spring skiing by offering a nice town with things to do in case it does rain. All in all I am glad I went and hope this review has been of some help to the reader. Happy skiing!
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Darryl K. Lewis
from Jamaica, New York
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Mar 2, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.2 |
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Skitown Review
Ski resort reviews can be helpful only if you know the skill level and skiing perspective of the person authoring the review. My perspective is focused on the actual skiing experience (Terrain/Crowd/snow/factors), and not so much on the ancillary aspects surrounding skiing. I am a middle-age advanced skier with no interest in jumping off cornices or cliffs. I will often at high speeds hit a small lip in the terrain and get a little air, but thats about the extent of it. I venture in and out of moderate mogul fields in an attempt to become a better all-around skier, but I tend not to spend a majority of my ski day dealing with the bumps. If I had to describe the type of skier with which I most closely identify, it would be a high speed cruiser who enjoys medium to giant slalom turns. With grandkids in tow during the Presidents Day week, we spent two days skiing Gore Mountain (Gore) and two days skiing Whiteface Mountain (Whiteface). With that said, here are my impressions of Whiteface.
Terrain Rated 5.0:
There are not many bad things you can say about a vertical drop greater than any ski resort east of the Mississippi. Whitefaces so-called intermediate trails (blue squares) would often be labeled as black diamonds at other resorts. I had arrived at Whiteface a week behind a 40" plus snowfall. After skiing at Gore, I was quite surprised to encounter some sporadic ice spots. They were sparse and quite manageable to handle, but I was just surprised to see them in view of all the recent snow. It could have been the steepness of the trails, wind conditions, or the greater degree of skier traffic; but once in a while you would hear that scraping sound of ice under your skis.
I am usually quite hesitant to give a perfect score regarding terrain, unless the mountain exhibits all the various terrain options. Whiteface is missing above tree line skiing territory, but as a substitute it has The Slides area. This is a summit area somewhat devoid of heavy forest growth, presenting a rare but inbounds backcountry region for expert skiers. Skiers have to register with the ski patrol prior to entering The Slides. My granddaughter, who can ski almost all intermediate trails, had some trouble with Whitefaces blue square trails. Kudos to Whiteface! These trails were very interesting and kept you on your toes. Whiteface has a tremendous half-pipe which my grandkids enjoyed. I am not a half-pipe skier, but I tried it anyway. I have to admit it was a little spooky but fun. I couldnt keep the grandkids out of the glades, but as quiet as it was kept, I was the one who suggested that they try them. And then of course there were the cruising trails. Whiteface gives the skier almost unlimited terrain choices, and with that 3,430 foot vertical, the trails go on, and on, and on, and on.
Service Rated 4.0:
I see a growing movement of ski resorts posting a concierge at strategic points in the main lodge (Windham Mountain has one). As soon as you enter the mid-level of Whiteface's main lodge there is a concierge who readily answers questions and addresses any concerns. This is an extremely good move on the resort's behalf. Once again I was surprised to see that Whiteface's staff members and food services personnel were extremely pleasant and courteous. Whitefaces food services were promoting Marilyns Whiteface Mountain chili. If you are promoting something, it had better be good. And it was darned good!! I even met little old Marilyn behind the food counter. She explained the origin of the chili, but certainly wouldnt give up the recipe. The chili had a slight spicy kick to it, with not just bits but chunks of meat, plenty of shredded cheese, and then served with some delicious cornbread.
Crowds Rating 3.0:
Surprisingly so, the crowds weren't bad for a holiday week. Even at lunchtime you could still manage to find seats in the main lodge cafeteria. The longest lift line was naturally at Whiteface's gondola, and that was maybe two to three minutes long at the most during mid-day. When coming off the gondola and skiing down where several trails merged, there was some congestion. But once the skiers chose their various routes, there wasn't a great deal of traffic after that.
Activities Rating 5.0:
The town of Lake Placid is only about 9 miles from Whiteface. There you will find restaurants of various cuisines, ice skating rinks, the Olympic Center, shopping galore, luge/bobsled rides, ski jumping facilities, and almost anything else related to winter sports and tourism. And with all this activity, what did my grandkids want to do? They wanted to play those ridiculous video games! Believe it or not, in the heart of Lake Placid we found this place called "Bowlwinkles." It's a combination bowling alley and video game arcade. The grandkids found their hog heaven!
Value: - Rating 4.0:
An off-the-street walk-up purchase of a Whiteface lift ticket during the holidays will run you close to $70. We received a substantial discount (more than 33%) by purchasing multi-day Gore tickets which were honored at Whiteface. This was arranged through our lodging hosts (Adirondack Pines Bed & Breakfast and Vacation Rentals, who I highly recommend. Their website may be googled). We received two great ski hills for the discounted price of one.
Main lodge ski food is always too expensive. Whiteface's food prices are on par with other large ski resorts.
In summary, a skier/rider would be foolish to be in the Adirondack vicinity and not visit Whiteface. If you like tough challenging skiing then this is the place to go, but pray for a decent snowfall. If you don't receive it, then bring your ice skates. I was lucky and the benefactor of 40 + inches of snow. Heaven help this place during lean snow conditions. As a native New Yorker, I did not realize what ski gems we have in our own backyard. Whiteface (with a decent snow fall) and Gore can hold their own with any of the major resorts in the east. Skiing these two wonderful mountains really put me in a "New York state of mind." With that in mind, I tend to favor Gore over Whiteface, especially if the snow coverage has been sketchy. Whiteface is a bigger mountain, and skis tougher than Gore (notice I said tougher, and not more challenging). The more challenging aspect of Whiteface applies only to the intermediate trails and The Slides area. Whiteface's intermediate terrain is more challenging than that of Gore's, but it cant top Gore's with respect to cruisability. If it strikes your fancy, take a look at my review of Gore.
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maxgreene
from New York
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Feb 16, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.8 |
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Amazing mountain...certainly a bit of challenge but well worth it. Be sure to go to the summit. The views are out of this world. Both black runs from the top are less icey than the blues - they are steep, but usually in good condition. The gondola is great for the cold days, of which there are many.
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Deb C.
from South Jersey
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Jan 30, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.2 |
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Whiteface is a very challenging mountain. I'm an intermediate who can ski blacks if the conditions are good but I wouldn't touch one of the blacks at Whiteface! The conditions seemed to deteriorate very quickly, by 11am, but this year has been so difficult for the resorts with all of the rain so not sure if that is common. Very steep mountain with varied terrain, if you're into that. I personally prefer blue cruisers so it was not my style.
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andrew
from Lake Placid
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Jan 22, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.4 |
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In one sense, Whiteface has terrible terrain. Icy is common, trails become windblown, and even on good days the terrain can become unpredictable. If you're looking for guaranteed freshly groomed cruisers, go west. But if you want to push the limits and absolutely fly, Whiteface is among the nation's very best. Park aside, which is often unforgiving and demands talent, you can greatly challenge yourself all over. Test your handling and agility on Excelsior, or scream down steep trails like Lower Cloud, Skyward, or Mountain Run, or get lucky enough to hit The Slides, likely the most daunting and challenging run on the east coast.
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Quinn
from albany
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Feb 21, 2006 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.6 |
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this mountain is for skiing, sometimes it's windy and icy.
but it's the best!
if your looking for a challenge, especially if you wanna ski fast down pretty difficult terrain, this is the place to go. the lift lines are small, the lifts are fast, the vertical is great. the blue trails(not to many) get crowed. so I highly recommend this mountain if you like skiing a lot. the scenery is breathtaking. not to much to rival this mountain in the east. personally i like this mountain just as much as Breckenridge or Vail. it has very steep long fast runs
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Anna Cascio
from Philadelphia, PA
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Jan 5, 2006 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.6 |
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We brought our teenage daughters over the Christmas break and enjoyed the varied terrain(plowed,unplowed, moguls, jumps etc. We stayed on the blues, since some areas were a bit bare- I thought the price should have been lower to reflect the number of bare spots and closed runs. Since we were using Saratoga Springs as a base, we wanted to ski a mountain more challenging than Gore (very, very icy), but close enough for day trips. It was well worth the 2 hour drive- uncrowded, minimal lift lines and a great gondola to take you up to the connecting lift for higher blues and blacks. We enjoyed the very long runs and the very pleasant service with great chili and tomato/mozarella sandwiches at their restaurant half way up. We will venture back up over the Martin Luther King weekend. I was impressed with the lack of crazy skiiers and snowboarders- most people were in control(unlike the terrifying skiing in the Poconos where someone actually skiied OVER my head on a run!!) Check the weather to make sure they have a good base and recent snow, and you will be very happy with Whiteface. Great shopping & atmosphere 15 minutes away at the lake Placid village where you can drop off non skiiers/snowboarders.
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Sean Davis
from Cherry Hill, NJ
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Nov 27, 2005 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.0 |
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Went to whiteface in january and it was freezing.-20 to -35 but we had a great time. Cheap lodging and lift tickets wern't too bad.. The slides is crazy and more chanllenging than anything in the east and at steamboat. Icy so be careful but what place on the easy cost isn't.
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Emily Kosmala
from Denver, NC
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Nov 14, 2005 |
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| Overall Rating: 3.8 |
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Whiteface is definately the best in the East for terrain. The slopes rival the ones I've skiied at in the West. Whiteface hasn't co-hosted the Olympics twice without good reason! Whiteface is definately a skier's mountain. Not what I'd reccomend first for beginners, more for serious skiers that don't have access to the Rockies without a plane ticket. Whiteface is also a good family resort, with fun for kids. My family, (I'm 13 years old, and oldest of four children) enjoyed it tremendously and we are planning to come back next year.
Lake Placid, an Olympic Village, is awesome. Great food, (I'd reccomend Mr. Mike's if you are looking for great Italian food) and cool history. The 1980 rink (Herb Brooks Arena) is a cool place to visit.
