Whiteface Ranked 4th in Eastern U.S. by Readers of Ski Magazine
LAKE PLACID, New York — Whiteface Mountain continues to ride a wave of consistency in recent years as it, once again, received high marks from SKI Magazine readers in the publication’s annual survey.
The ski and ride area located in Wilmington, N.Y. was ranked fourth in the eastern United States by SKI’s 6,000 respondents, and fifth in eastern North America. The information was collected by an independent research firm and will appear in SKI’s October issue.
Mont Tremblant, Quebec was voted the top spot, followed by Stowe, Vt., Sugarbush, Vt., Sugarloaf, Maine and Whiteface.
“Year after year, our loyal skiers and riders at Whiteface have placed us at or near the top of the SKI Magazine ratings,” said Ted Blazer, President and CEO of the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), which manages the 1980 Winter Olympic venues in and around Lake Placid, including Whiteface Mountain. “This is a resounding testimonial from our guests and passholders, and one which we greatly appreciate. In recent years, ORDA, through the support of New York State, has spent nearly $22 million in the continuing modernization of Whiteface. Thank you to the survey participants for rewarding us for that effort with another top five ranking.”
The Whiteface / Lake Placid region, which hosted the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Winter Games, Winter Goodwill Games, and continues to conduct many World Cup and national and regional competitions, is among the highlighted resorts in the October issue of the publication.
Whiteface upgrades are moving forward. Last season, visitors and residents saw improvements in snowmaking capacity and grooming. Air compressors and snow guns were changed over to incorporate environmental sustainability with eco-friendly, low-energy, high-output equipment.
Mountain management has also succeeded in recent years in bringing more water to the snowmaking intake, thus running more guns at one time. In addition, the grooming fleet has increased over the past several seasons with four new cats thus enabling the mountain staff to better farm this new-found, additional snow.
Whiteface is currently moving into its next frontier, that being Lookout Mountain. Located to the northeast of The Slides, Lookout Mountain will open in December 2008. The mountain’s goal, weather permitting, is to offer an expert trail, an intermediate run, a new triple chair starting just below the first pitch on Easy Street, some glade skiing and snowmaking. The vertical for Lookout Mountain alone is 2,200 vertical feet, more than the entire vertical of many resorts. The build-out of Lookout Mountain will nearly maximize the skiable terrain from 18 miles to the state-mandated ceiling of 25 miles.
Upcoming premier winter events include World Cup ski cross on January 19. The North American Alpine Series Finals will return from March 12-16.
For the 16th consecutive year, the Whiteface / Lake Placid area graded tops in off-hill activities in North America thanks to its menu of Olympic-style sports available to the public. Bobsled and luge rides, ice skating, cross country skiing, ski jumping, World Cup and World Championship events, hockey, figure skating, shows and concerts complement the skiing and snowboarding.
February will be “major” championship month in the two-time Winter Olympic village as Lake Placid will host the luge, bobsled and skeleton World Championships.
If you would like to enjoy the Olympic Region experience, complete with on and off snow activities, web cams from five locations and up-to-date weather, please log on to www.whitefacelakeplacid.com.
The top 10 resorts in Eastern North America according to SKI Magazine’s readers:
Mont Tremblant
Stowe, Vt.
Sugarbush, Vt.
Sugarloaf, Maine
Whiteface, N.Y.
Sunday River, Maine
Smugglers Notch, Vt.
Okemo, Vt.
Holiday Valley, N.Y.
Seven Springs, Pa.
For a complete look at the “Top 50 Resort Guide,” pick up the October issue of SKI Magazine or visit www.skinet.com.