Hcor.net Forum Index -> Whiteface, NY -> WF assessment       View previous topic :: View next topic  WF assessment Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:29 pm jimbones Bomber   Joined: Jul 31, 2004 Posts: 65 Location: New York I rode Wf this recently. Wasn't impressed. Trails from the shuttle are too short to be worthwhile. and from the top the trail I took had zero flow. (very tight lots of switchbacks) I had to wait way too long for the shuttle to depart after the bikes were loaded because the driver had to wait for dh Mike before he would leave. The guys are very friendly and helpful but considering the amount of riding time I got in I could do more at Diablo, PK and Killington. Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:49 pm spinteck All-City   Joined: Nov 02, 2004 Posts: 716 Location: Pottstown PA shuttles always suck.. how fast was the lift?? could you ride the lift and ride all day on other trails?? Did you ride the race course?? _________________ Be Kind, Be True, Be Fearless and RIDE! Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 5:22 am downhillmike All-City   Joined: Mar 23, 2005 Posts: 676 Location: Lake PLacid, N.Y Was the lift on a lightning hold? Trails up top are flowy once you know them, especially trail 24 and the race course on 27. I think you must be referring to trail 26 The Ledges with the switchbacks. Super hard trail that has not has a chance to dry out this season. I had trouble on that trail the other day and had to walk most of it. I was way too heavy on my brakes. Sorry you weren't impressed. Whiteface is not for everyone. It's a place to train, get stronger and make you a better rider, so other places seem easier. Lake Placid is a great place to train for most sports. Heikki was going to try to get 40,000 feet of vertical in 1 day. Since we are open only from 10 till 4 that's like 6,666 vertical per hour. You would have to do 6 to 7 runs per hour at Diablo or Plattekill (both great places) to get that much riding in. The gondola does run slower in the summer than the winter. Approx. 12 minutes ride but you can fit 3 bikes and riders all inside. Just curious: What did you think about the Slickrock trail, North East Shore and the stream crossing? _________________ Whiteface Mountain Bike Park www.downhillmike.com Size does matter! Re: WF assessment Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 1:01 pm boogenman Kingpin   Joined: Sep 17, 2003 Posts: 2444 Location: Amherst, NY I always have a blast at White Face but I do agree with mike that it is not for everyone. I do think that it gets old after a 2 days of riding there if you are not racing. On the other side, when it gets old I just ride harder or try new things. If more trails are allowed to be built Whiteface will be a true DH and freeride destination. _________________ Ride a road bike 26" wheels are for gays Re: WF assessment Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 2:21 pm bigron All-City   Joined: Jul 26, 2004 Posts: 884 Location: long island I only made it up the first year they were open. There probably werent nearly as many trails as now and no shuttle. The lift gave me plenty of runs from the top and they were long. I have wanted to get back up there but I havent managed to make it. I would love to see the improvements made and ride something different. Re: WF assessment Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:22 am jimbones Bomber   Joined: Jul 31, 2004 Posts: 65 Location: New York Didn't get a chance to do trail 24. I had ridden the lower mountain earlier in the day and then did ledges. Very wet indeed. Re: WF assessment Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:13 am boogenman Kingpin   Joined: Sep 17, 2003 Posts: 2444 Location: Amherst, NY I love the face, to bad it is such a long drive for me. downhillmike claims he can do it in some insane short amount of time(buffalo to whiteface). I think he has a helicopter _________________ Ride a road bike 26" wheels are for gays Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 7:16 am downhillmike All-City   Joined: Mar 23, 2005 Posts: 676 Location: Lake PLacid, N.Y Buffalo to Lake Placid takes me 5.5. hours and I drive the speed limit. Bfo to Syracuse (2 hours) left to Watertown (black river) 1 hour, then route 342 to 3 to 3a and back to 3 (21/2 hours). To make it in 5.5. hours you can't stop, need a full tank that has a range of 333 miles and it's easy. When I 1st moved here I had to go back to Bflo. once a month for work for my 1st 5 or 6 years. Jimbones, I iwsh I knew you were from Hcor(maybe you told me and I spaced it) as I would of showed you some trails and def, given you better advice for your 1st run off the top. Elias is loving The ledges now but too wet for me. We will need 2 weeks of dry weather for that rail top dry out. Trail 27 Faceshot will be the trail of choice for today. 8:15 and it's sunny outside. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trail 26 The Ledges: I guess when I think about it: I can ride trail 26 but not make it flow. You really need to be at least an upper level expert or semi-pro to make that trail flow. Kind of like Ginger or Kevorkian at Bootleg Canyon. Just a crazy ass trail. I can go on other upper mountain trails at Whiteface much faster and smoothly. Trail 26 to (straight at the tube box) to 27 to 3 RULES. You get a 20 + minute run, killer flowy single-track, slickrock and the stream crossing. See ya the The Face DHM _________________ Whiteface Mountain Bike Park www.downhillmike.com Size does matter! Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:45 pm jimbones Bomber   Joined: Jul 31, 2004 Posts: 65 Location: New York downhillmike wrote: Buffalo to Lake Placid takes me 5.5. hours and I drive the speed limit. Bfo to Syracuse (2 hours) left to Watertown (black river) 1 hour, then route 342 to 3 to 3a and back to 3 (21/2 hours). To make it in 5.5. hours you can't stop, need a full tank that has a range of 333 miles and it's easy. When I 1st moved here I had to go back to Bflo. once a month for work for my 1st 5 or 6 years. Jimbones, I iwsh I knew you were from Hcor(maybe you told me and I spaced it) as I would of showed you some trails and def, given you better advice for your 1st run off the top. Elias is loving The ledges now but too wet for me. We will need 2 weeks of dry weather for that rail top dry out. Trail 27 Faceshot will be the trail of choice for today. 8:15 and it's sunny outside. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trail 26 The Ledges: I guess when I think about it: I can ride trail 26 but not make it flow. You really need to be at least an upper level expert or semi-pro to make that trail flow. Kind of like Ginger or Kevorkian at Bootleg Canyon. Just a crazy ass trail. I can go on other upper mountain trails at Whiteface much faster and smoothly. Trail 26 to (straight at the tube box) to 27 to 3 RULES. You get a 20 + minute run, killer flowy single-track, slickrock and the stream crossing. See ya the The Face DHM OK so sounds like 27 would have been a better choice. Elias said that 27 is steeper and rockier and 26 is tighter and not as steep. Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:12 am downhillmike All-City   Joined: Mar 23, 2005 Posts: 676 Location: Lake PLacid, N.Y 27 is steeper than 26 but it's dry and does not have switch back after switch back. We had a customer from Toronto last week that just rode trail 26 for 3 days straight. The photogragher from Decline said it was his favorite trail. Guess it's a matter of opinion. I am with you though Jimbones. Hard to make that trail flow. Rode trail 23 to 24 from the top on our end of the day run yesterday. Still wet up top but after the 1st 1,000 feet the trails were all pretty dry. If you do come back please let me know ahead of time and we can show you around a bit better. Also, thanks for the kind words for our staff as we really do try. I must get used to criticism. Thanks for being cool and not jumping all over my 1st reply. DHM _________________ Whiteface Mountain Bike Park www.downhillmike.com Size does matter!

Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:31 pm

jimbones Bomber   Joined: Jul 31, 2004 Posts: 65 Location: New York downhillmike wrote: 27 is steeper than 26 but it's dry and does not have switch back after switch back. We had a customer from Toronto last week that just rode trail 26 for 3 days straight. The photogragher from Decline said it was his favorite trail. Guess it's a matter of opinion. I am with you though Jimbones. Hard to make that trail flow. Rode trail 23 to 24 from the top on our end of the day run yesterday. Still wet up top but after the 1st 1,000 feet the trails were all pretty dry. If you do come back please let me know ahead of time and we can show you around a bit better. Also, thanks for the kind words for our staff as we really do try. I must get used to criticism. Thanks for being cool and not jumping all over my 1st reply. DHM Mike everyone was very cool and you were kind enough to walk us to trail heads on the mountain. Running a bike trail system is a lot of work considering the maintenance, trail marking, shuttles and administrative. I certainly applaud you for your hard work. there is a lot of potential considering the sheer size of the mountain. I think it could be a Whistler of the east coast if an all out effort were made but that takes Lots of $ and the ROI may or may not be there. My advice: drop the shuttle and operate the lift that goes 2/3 up the mountain. It makes all the expert intermediate trails accessible. Now you have to consider the $ to operate the shuttle vs a lift. Whiteface probably wouldn't go for it.....

Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 8:49 pm

downhillmike All-City   Joined: Mar 23, 2005 Posts: 676 Location: Lake PLacid, N.Y $270.00 per hour for electricity for a lift. 4 more staff and probably more lift inspections. So not out of the question once we get more customers. We would do that in a second once it's feasible. I am also pushing for longer hours. I think we should be open till at least till 7:00 pm, and the state workers could just switch from five 8 hour work days to 4 ten hour days. Those are things that will definitely happen, just may take a few years. The shuttle bus with gas, driver and other expenses isn't cheap. I would also ditch the bus if we could build an intermediate trail from the top. We do have many tourists form the area hotels that love the area the bus takes you to. Since we are downhillers we will do what is best and possible at the moment. In the mean time see ya at The Face DHM _________________ Whiteface Mountain Bike Park www.downhillmike.com Size does matter!

WF assessment

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