Replying to TR: Whiteface 2/6, West 2/8

So I decided to sit down and literally map out the rest of my season so that when April comes around I'm not kicking myself for not skiing everywhere that I want to this winter (within reason). I started off my new season schedule with a trip to Whiteface and West this weekend. Here's a little run-down of what I found on my two trips:

Whiteface has stepped it up this year. The past few season they've been showing improvement but just haven't quite dialed it in. This season, however, I think they've finally got their game on lock. Confronted by a typical gray day with cold temperatures and a pretty decent wind, I wasn't expecting much fun to be had. Fortunately I was mistaken. My buddy James and I finally got on the lift around 1:00 (late start due to some hefty hangovers and a forgotten pass). We immediately started lapping the park, which I was pleased to find, was in good condition. Starting at the top you have an option of a super fun c-box or c-rail. After that there is a nice trap box that could probably be reset since it's deck has turned to ice, but it's still a good time. Then comes the jump line, this part took me a while to get used to. There is a solid 4 jump line, all of which besides the last jump have some serious lip to them. It took me 4 or 5 runs to finally get used to them, but once I did they were a blast. Here are some approximate sizes: 1) Super poppy 20' stepdown with a less poppy small side. 2) 30' stepdown with a smaller option. 3) 30' stepdown with a hip option 4) super smooth 35' stepover. After the jump line there are two nice barrel bonks and a small lift tower/snowmaking pipe rail option to the left that is perfect for learning spins on and switch ups. Next there is a spine with a unique log jib on top and the option of 2 flat boxes (don't remember in which order). To close out the park there are two very well setup rails. On the left is about a 30' flat-down rail and on the right is about a 30' urban down rail. Again, all these sizes are approximate, but they should be fairly close. There is also the halfpipe, mini-park, and another smaller park above the main park that I unfortunately didn't get a chance to see. Anyway, I met some of the locals who I'm sure will be reading this at some point, nice to meet you guys. The vibe in the park was real chill and everyone was super friendly. Props to the Whiteface park crew for delivering a solid park, I'll be stoked to come back in a couple weeks when my sister is racing in Empires.


After shredding Whiteface on Friday, I was planning on going back Saturday morning, but I partied a little too hard Friday night and didn't make it. So I finally headed out the door around noon on my way down to West Mountain to catch my sister's race. I've been hearing a lot about West this season and wanted to check it out. I literally knew nothing about West besides that fact that it's in Glens Falls and it's Rogge's home mountain, so it was a pretty fun trip for me, I love riding new mountains. I got to West at 5 o'clock Saturday night not realizing that they close at 6 PM. Armed with a free pass I didn't hesitate to take a few runs. I checked out the park quick just to see what was up and then took a few runs with my sister before the lifts stopped turning. The next morning I got to the hill, stoked to ride some park, but naturally with my luck the park was closed all day haha. With the warm temps I'm not really surprised, and I was kicking myself for not hitting up any of the West locals on here to check beforehand. Anyway, I have to say that despite the lack of size, everything was put together really well. Dropping in on the left there's a little 15 foot table going down into a real fun looking 25' stepover kind of jump. What's cool about it is that you can probably take it 45' and still be alright since the landing is fairly long. After that there is a deck with 4 options on it. Flat box, small flat-down rail, barrel bonk, and an up rail. All four features on this deck were set up beautifully and perfectly manicured. The park then ended with a small quarterpipe that looked like a lot of fun. On the right side of the park there are some rollers and a smaller table for the youngins. It sucks that I didn't get to shred anything, but it looked dope nonetheless and I would really love to see what they could do given even just twice the amount of space they currently have. I hope you guys at West can snag some more area for next season, that would be so sick to see. Anyway, with the park closed all day I spent the day checking out the mountain. Aside from two of the sketchiest chairlifts I've ever been on (only rivaled by Mt. Baker where they are just as old just without any safety bars), West has some super fun trails. The mountain crew has left a ton of snow piles chilling out that kept me occupied for hours, West has "the most righteout of side booters"- see Chug Life Ep. 1. All in all, bummed that I didn't get a chance to ride the park, but I would definitely recommend swinging by if you're ever in the area. Props to Mark and the park crew for keeping everything perfectly manicured and getting the most out of the space you've been given. I still have another free pass to burn so if I'm in the area again this season I'll be sure to stop by.


So this has gotten very long and I'll stop now. If anyone ends up reading these I'll try to keep the updates coming as I knock off more mountains. Peace...