Weekdays at whitetail???
January 28, 2005
Hey i have never been to whitetail on a non-holiday weekday. I was wondering what the crowds would be like on this coming Tuesday (2/1) anyone have a good idea?
Like no crowds. I went up there mid-week a couple seasons ago and skied my arse off - there was basically no one there. With the HS Quad and the experts chair it's easily possible to get 20-30 runs in on a weekday with no lift lines.
Langley,
Like has been said. I know that Fairfax County schools are out Monday and Tuesday (1/31 - 2/1) for Teacher work-days. That will probably mean more folks on the slopes. But still, I can't imagine that it'd be like a holiday weekend
-Warren-
Thanks for the input. I think i am going to be skiing at whitetail on sat, sun night, monday, and tus of this comming weekend and by the looks of it it might be one of the best weekends of the year. I really cant wait to get on the slopes!
Also, a question for any of you who go to whitetail more than i (which is hard to do). When do the normaly groom exhibition? I really want to get a chance to take advantage of some of the nice moguls and was wondering what day of the week they will most likely groom them over?
Langley,
Not ususally too often at all. They tend to leave that bumped up and groom Bold and FarSide. I think they groomed it only a few times last season. Anyone else have a better recollection or insight into the grooming pattern on Exhibition?
-Warren-
I was up there yesterday. Blue skies, no lines all day, fresh man made. Can you say blue bird?
If any of the area schools are out, there will be more people up there.
Exhibition still has a stripe underneath the chair with no snow on it. I'm assuming that whenever they groom it, they will move snow over to cover the stripe. In the mean time the moguls are getting bigger. There is no fixed schedule for grooming Exhibition. It's done on as needed basis depending on the condition of the snow and how snowmaking is doing. With the nice cold weather we've been having, there's a lot of snow piling up on skiers left that is available to "redistribute". As we get towards the end of the season, we'll groom if the moguls get deep enough to unbury the rocks. Sometimes they will groom in anticipation of mogul contests in order to attempt to "reset" bumps that have gone irregular.
BTW - the hill had set up overnight (it was above freezing on wed). In between snowmaking areas there were some "firm" spots and some spots with cookies. Although they should have most of these spots covered over with new man made today, I expect that by late afternoon Saturday, that there will be scraped off spots. Although most of the man made on Thursday was nice and fluffy, there were a couple of guns laying down sticky snow. Let's be careful out there people.
Is whitetail worth checking out if your closer to places like 7springs and Wisp. It sounds like the trails are awesome and that the only real problem with the place is elevation = sloppy or icy conditions. If you hit it on a good conditions day how does it compare to say Timberline or 7 Springs?
I personally wouldn't go to Whitetail if Seven Springs or Wisp was closer. The expert trails at Whitetail are pretty decent for practice (like going to the gym) and the lift system and facilities are modern, but IMHO Whitetail's main draw for DCers is that it's close and it's good enough. And they've been very aggressive in recent years about making snow. But Seven Springs and Wisp are no slouches in that department.
Like I say in my story referenced earlier in thread, Whitetail is pretty cool for high speed ripping on empty days. The runs are short, but sweet and the continuous fall lines are as long or longer than anything at t-line, springs or wisp. Having said that, I'm not sure it's worth 2 hrs extra driving beyond your regular haunts, but maybe 1 hr for a little variety. Optimal on a weekday or weekend in spring when crowds fade. There is nothing super steep at Whitetail, but when they let bumps grow on exhibition or bold decision it can present some challenge, probably more so than goosebumps at springs.
Whitetail is nice. Its close ~90Minutes from DC They have very modern facilities, great snow making, and lots of terrain of pretty good quality. They have ~8 distinct runs that cover 800'+ vertical. They have some of the best cruisers in the area. Actually almost all their trails are in the cruiser mold. Even the mogul run, Exhibition was a cruiser too back when they used to groom it. Bold decision is the most unique trail at WT as it is located in a bit of a canyon and this leads to some nice lines. The trails of to skiers right from the highspeed are also very nice and rolling. Tehy seem to also never have any traffic on the usually great snow. There is some variety, but its more like variations on a theme rather than truly contrasting trails.
When fully opened, WT can ski pretty big. However, its alot of the same and the varriety and ammount of terrain is less than you will find at a lager resort like 7S. And they do not have as many crontrasting and interesting trails as Wisp. People who love Vanilla Ice Cream will love Whitetail. Everyone else will enjoy it too. But After a couple day trips most will be able to stand a change of scenery. Did I mention its in a dry county.
I do have to agree. I go to whitetail 7+ times a year and dont complain but after going there twice in one weekend then the next weekend it can get a little repetitive. However, if you like terrain parks (not saying i have ANY skill at all) and like crusiers and moguls then you can have a great day at whitetail. Also, i love the high speed it is the main reason i go to whitetail over places like roundtp, lib, or mass.
