The Early November Whiteface Mountain Ski Touring Adventure

Whiteface Mountain Ski-Touring

Cross Country Skiing - November 2019

It is only November 9th, but the Whiteface Memorial Highway in Wilmington, NY is open for caressing. At the bottom you will find an empty toll booth (Fo’ Free?), surrounded by skiiers, showshoers, split-boarders, and folks with no strategy, except to summit the Fifth (5th) highest peak in New York State.

The 5.5 mile “out-and-back” road/trail starts off at a relatively shallow pith, and gradually steepens as the trail progresses. At 3.2 miles the highway crosses the base of a slide and begins the first hairpin turn, known as “Lake Placid Turn” , at 3.5 miles. With a view of Lake Placid (surprise!) and the steep, sinous ridge above leading to the castle and summit, this makes a good destination to assess if the weather is too inclement to continue. The next turn is known as the Wilmington Turn, and is reached at 4.5 miles, and from here conditions can range from deep drifts to glare ice to the summit.

There is a castle adjacent to the summit, at 5.3 miles. From the castle a frozen summer walkway with ice-covered railings and frozen stairs leads to the summit at 5.5 miles. **Use Caution - Carry Microspikes / Traction aids**. The summit is beautiful, and offers stupendous views of lake placid and the greater Adirondack highpeaks region. A sharp whiskey bourbon from https://www.yankeedistillers.com/products is recommended for consumption (with caution 21+) at the summit for the ultimate viewing experience.

As for recovery after the ski/hike, I recommend your food of choice to be “Chicken Tikka-Masala” (requesting a little extra heat & spice, of course) from your local Indian family restaurant, http://www.karavallisaratoga.com/ . I am not sure why.

Continue to check out the below photos, or continue on to browse my blog!