Skiing the Whiteface Slides

by Highpeaksdrifter

photo by Mike White

The Slides at Whiteface offer some of the best and most unique slack-country skiing in the East. I don't pretend to know everything about them, but I'll share what I know and what I've learned. I hope others will comment on their experiences.

Slide 1

After the traverse, hang a quick right and you’re in Slide 1. The first half is like an ungroomed Skyward: relatively steep and wide open. Then you come to the waterfall, which is where you'll have to make some decisions.

If the snow is right, you can ski right down the waterfall, hop-turning from one level to the next. A few of the hardcores huck the entire thing or parts of it. Not me, I like to ski down it when conditions are right, but when it’s solid ice, I go around.

Many people traverse to the skier’s far right to go around it. The trip around this way can be tricky. It's loaded with bushes, small trees, ice and rocks. I don't want to overstate it. It's easier then the waterfall, but it sure isn't groomed. Others go left into Slides 2 and 3 to get around the waterfall.

Slide 2

Slide 2 looks short in the photo and many ski it short. The top part is open, fun, and relatively easy. When skiers come to the trees, they either turn right into Slide 1 or left into Slide 3. In my experience, you get the most out of Slide 2 by going through the trees in front of you. They're tight at first, but then they open up and the terrain gets steep. The trees in this section ski really nicely and are, to me, the best part of this slide.

Slide 3

The top of Slide 3 is pretty tight in spots. Because of vegetation, there are a couple of mostly blind turns that you should be careful of. I once had a double release in one of them, and have paid extra attention there ever since. After the initial tight spots, it opens up quite a bit. As the snow starts to melt, rock slabs with drops start to appear where it turns back to the bottom of Slide 1, which makes the skiing more technical. Slide 3 is my favorite.

Slide 4

It's a long traverse over to Slide 4. It’s always the first slide to close because melting snow exposes rock slabs in the traverse’s path which makes access difficult or impossible. The first two-thirds of Slide 4 is relatively easy skiing, then it gets very narrow with tight trees and a mandatory drop. When there's a lot of snow, it’s no problem, but if it’s icy, good luck.

You can get around the ice, but that's not easy due to the terrain and tight trees. At the bottom, you have to be careful not to miss the right turn that brings you to Slide Out. If there are tracks, you can follow them; if not, look for a red ribbon on a tree. Actually there might be a sign marking it now. If you miss the turn, you're forced to go through some very tight trees that take you to the bottom of Blazer’s Bluff. I know people who have gone this way, both by accident and on purpose. All have said that they won’t do it again.

Slide Out

Slides 1-4 all converge into Slide Out. You can see from the photo that it descends into a gully, then goes up sharply. Many people, myself included, have decided that they need to carry some speed to make it back up. Unfortunately, the faster you go, the more it's like skiing into a wall. However, if you make turns down to it, you’ll go right back up painlessly. Slide Out has just enough pitch that you don’t have to skate or even pole to get back to Lower Skyward. You just point them straight and pick up speed all the way out.

Check out our look at Slides 5, 6 and 7 in Part 2.