Whiteface/Lake Placid

Whiteface holds a sweet spot in my heart. When I was a student at Cornell my friends and I would make the drive up to Whiteface a few times a year. We would rent a bunkhouse in the area that was most definitely a youth hostel in 1980 (see 1980 Olympics vibe, both pro and con). It is great for a bunch of college kids, +/- 10 years. We kept the tradition alive post-college when we were all living in NYC.

 

Whiteface is a sizeable mountain for the East Coast. It has enough terrain to keep an advanced skier entertained for a day. Two days is pushing it. It is wonderful for beginning skiers and families. The lodge at the bottom of the mountain is 1980-fabulous and has a great DJ and live bands after the ski day. It is incredibly fun. Whiteface has updated lift equipment and a great high-speed gondola that takes you to the top of the mountain. It has good variation of terrain, with steep groomed, steep ungroomed, backwoods skiing, and easy stuff.

 

The town is also charming. I imagine it would be possible to stay in a nice inn there, and have a sweet ski weekend away with your significant other. That was not my experience in Whiteface, but I can see how it is possible.

 

Definitely a stellar option for those out East.

 

 

I'd say this is my favourite Eastern mountain... nudging past Le Massif when they built the Lookout Mountain pod.

 

If you like cruising LONG runs, there isn't much that comes close on this side of the Mississippi.  The views from the summit are incredible. When I'm up there I feel like I'm on top of the world. I've actually spotted Mount Washington, two states over from the summit.

 

My take is that the snowmaking upgrades over the last 10 years have made the Iceface moniker obsolete.  Its never been icy save for the odd patch here and there.  I'm always able to get a solid edge in on Skyward and Cloudspin, which are some of the steepest longest runs in the East- These runs formed the upper half of the men's and women's downhills at the 1980 Olympics.

 

This might be a con to some, but I really like how Whiteface is in the middle of the wilderness, with almost no development at the base.  The 10-15 drive from Lake Placid every morning is a joy, given the spectacular scenery of the rock cliffs, the Ausable river, and the High Peaks all around.

 

The town of Lake Placid is my family's favourite spot to go (though we usually go in the summer).  The village is great, with all the pubs, shops, and hotels overlooking Mirror Lake, with Whiteface in the distance.  

 

Unfortunately, due to state regulations, Whiteface has pretty much maxed out its trail count.  Thats too bad, because there's a lot of uncut terrain that would be pretty awesome to ski/board.  As is I'd say its perfect for a 2-3 day trip.  Gore Mountain is about an hour down the road, which is an option for extended trips... especially since with tired Whiteface legs, the shorter Gore runs are a welcome break. Though its a subject of great debate, this reviewer finds Whiteface vastly superior to Gore... as I'm all about the vertical!

 

Being advanced level, I'd say the best runs to hit are the above mentioned Skyward and Cloudspin, Parkway, Thruway, and Mountain Run.  For ungroomed, there's Empire, MacKenzie and Lookout Below.  Hoyt's High has never been open when I'm there, but now that it has snowmaking, it looks like that could change this year.  From the lift, it looks incredible.

 

For high-beginners to intermediate the best run is probably Excelsior.  The blue runs off the summit are nice, but could be wind exposed.  As well, the entire lower mountain is an intermediates paradise. For a higher intermediate, the Wilmington Trail is a LONG blue trail that gives you views to the north that no other trail on the mountain does.

 

For true beginners, theres the family section off the Bunny Hutch Triple.  Its pretty short vert, so if you're a true beginner, with no ambition to check out some blues, Whiteface may not be a good fit.  That said, Lake Placid is a great enough town, that the true beginner could be kept busy with offhill activities. 

HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN THE AREA!!!!!!!!! i really enjoyed it! lake placid is beautiful. i would suggest skiing until 2pm and going for a ride around the lake. all chairs run until 3:30pm. there is a chair that goes 3/4 of the way up for easy slopes that closes at 4pm. many lodges are on the mountain, so you can ski, and halfway down, you can stop and have a beer or lunch. there is a fancy restaurant at the highest peak with amazing view. the main lodge has excellent mexican food and a terrasse. there are several sundays for which the resort sells 35$ tickets - such as the superbowl sunday. the only downside would be that you need to take 2 chairs to get to the very top. the gondola only takes you to a shorter peak. that being said, there is no centralized way to the top and many double chairs bring you to cute trails :) hence, there is no big traffic on any particular chair! the snow was amazing and the chairs run fast. the park is nice and there is even a park for begginners. it is not a pretentious resort at all, it has a warm and charming atmosphere. i would definitely suggest the mountain, especially if you take advantage of the 35$ sunday deal!! AWESOME PRICE!!!!!

I'm not sure what draws me back so often, maybe it's the vertical? Maybe it's the atmosphere? Or maybe it's Lake Placid village which has a GREAT small town feel? Whatever it is I have grown very attached to this wonderful place.

If you are planning on going, contact Art Devlin's for very nice rooms.  At $130 per night for an upscale room you get Ritz Carlton quality on a Motel 6 budget!!!  Lake Placid village is a great place to shop, eat and drink...if you are on a budget the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery has good food and good beer at pub prices, make sure to try the UBU ale!  Of course any visit has to include the 1980 olympic venues, try to plan your trip when one of the world cup events is taking place. Not only is the competition great, but the village seems to come alive with people from all over the world.

Now for the not so good things. Iceface...how best to describe her..... if the temp has been above 32* for more than a day, or if it has rained or sleeted, or it's been sunny for a couple days and then the typical single digit days and negative degree nights with 30-40mph winds has come, make sure you bring your iceskates cause that will be the only way you are getting down from the peak. Also those winds play a serious spolier alot of the time as lifts regularly go on wind holds.
The Villages outside of Lake Placid have little if anything to do, so plan on alot of hotel room time. That 1980 Olympic theme seems to strike a wrong cord with some people. I;ve been with friends that just can't stand the place because of the strong 1980 decor.