Weather

Guest Contributor

This is an alert for the hardcore among us. The Slides at Whiteface have solid potential of opening up sometime soon, and possibly as early as Tuesday. Whiteface's ski patrol is in charge of making the call and no one knows for sure when they will drop the ropes or even if they will until it's about to happen, and trust me, I've asked 😄 They did however include a note in this morning's snow report indicating the potential and what people needed to do to prepare.

The Slides are Northeast sidecountry at its finest and a special treat that doesn't happen often, though Whiteface's ski patrol has made it a point in the last couple of seasons to open them as often as they feel it is safe and coverage is deep enough.

The Slides are very steep and rugged with a pitch of more than 35 degrees, and they are avalanche terrain of course. They have plenty of rocks and ledges along with ice waterfalls to navigate around. Some areas will be super deep while others wind scoured with scrub pines and other overgrowth. There are 5 slides in total, though the first two slides are the ones most often skied/ridden and they might not all be open.

The way you access the slides is through a gate off of the Summit Quad. Ski patrol mans the gate and they are serious about the need for a helmet, beacon, probe, shovel. They have opened The Slides only to shut them down half way into the day because of a slide being triggered, so if extreme terrain isn't your thing, The Slides aren't for you. It is very difficult to transport people out of The Slides on a sled, so don't get in over your head or bring intermediates into this area.

Ski patrol inspecting the slides and cutting tracks across the fall line to check for instability. 📷 Bill Brudvig

Ski patrol was spotted digging pits this last weekend in order to check the faceting of the snowpack and they have now started inspecting further down in the slides. We don't know what they have found, but it is clear that they are preparing to open them if they can.

I wish I could give everyone a more determinative heads up than this so that you could go there prepared to catch them at open for first tracks, but that's not the way it works. Typically the first day includes only those who pack the necessary gear with them when they are there to ski anyway, and then the word gets out and they will typically stay open until snow conditions change notably. New snow, changes in temperature, and visibility all can close The Slides. Whiteface is otherwise skiing about as good as it ever gets with only a handful of glades not open and packed powder conditions all over.

This would be the first time they would be open this season and I not only hope everyone who is capable and wants to experience The Slides will have an opportunity to do so, I want to remind you that if you are a Snowology subscriber, don't forget that Whiteface is part of the Snowology Club and you can get a ticket at half off this season on Sunday through Friday except the 16th through the 21st during Presidents' Week.