Opening Day at Whiteface Mountain

November 26, 2010 - Wilmington, NY

Opening Day at Whiteface Mountain is always a gamble. This time of year the weather goes back and forth between fall and winter before it settles on winter snow and cold. Today was a good example with temps in the high 30's, rain showers and wind. As the day wore on the rain turned to snow showers and the temperature dropped.

My ski hat is off to the snow makers at Whiteface Mountain. Without modern snow making equipment and their expertise, skiing on the day after Thanksgiving would be impossible. A fantastic job by the staff and management to make opening day a successful one. Only one trail (Excelsior) from the top of Little Whiteface, all the way down to Mid-station and the Base lodge was covered with a ribbon of white snow.

It was a good day to test new gear, old muscles and healed bones. I'm looking forward to the 2010-2011 ski season.

Andrew Weibrecht from Lake Placid, NY places 11th in Beaver Creek

December 5- The "War Horse" was on the hunt again today on the ' "Birds of Prey" downhill course in Beaver Creek, CO. Andrew Weibrecht, racing against the worlds best, placed 11th on the fabled downhill course. His run was rock solid from start to finish and showed confidence in every turn. He is a fan favorite at Vail and every time he steps into the starting gate everyone watches knowing that he can be a spoiler. Even the press stuck around this time.

He was the only American yesterday to survive the combined race (downhill and slalom) placing 19th overall. He had a 5th in the downhill portion. Ted Ligety straddled a gate and Bode Miller fell. Only Andrew survived the day.

Last weekend in Lake Louise, Andrew started 62nd and roared to a 12th place finish. His run was spectacular on an icy and rutted course gaining the respect and applause of Switzerland's Didier Cuche, the eventual winner in the first downhill event of the 2009-2010 World Cup ski season and admiration from the Lake Louise ski race fans. Reporters had all ready filed their stories thinking that all the best racers had tested the course. They missed one of the best downhill runs of the day. The icy course was rutted and frequent snow squalls made visibility poor for all racers. Many of the top racers had great difficulty with the downhill course including Andrew's friend and fellow racer TJ Lanning who was severely injured and had to be evacuated by helicopter from the slope. Starting late in 62nd position is a daunting prospect for any racer. Andrew had even bested Cuche's time in one interval but finished at more than a second off Cuche's pace. Didier recognized the superb run of Andrew Weibrecht with enthusiastic applause. Andrew also scored a 12th the following day in Lake Louise in the Super G. A pretty good weekend for the 23 year-old from Lake Placid, NY.

This is not the first time Andrew has electrified the spectators and the ski racing world. His run 2 years ago on the "Birds of Prey" downhill in Beaver Creek, CO (See video) got Franz Klammer's attention. Yes, the great Klammer compared Andrews' run with one of his own spectacular downhill races.

There are many difficult races to come before the official Olympic ski team selection in January including the famed Lauberhorn in Wengen, Switzerland and the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbuhel, Austria. His coaches and teammates are enthusiatic about Weibrecht's steady improvement over the last few years. He definitely has the "right stuff" and is one to watch. He's fighting for one of 4 spots for the Olympic downhill team and so far, he has had an exceptional season. But, he has some stiff competition from Bode Miller, Marco Sullivan, Steven Nyman, Scott McCartney and Erik Fisher.

Late last March at Whiteface Mountain, Andrew Weibrecht and friends were soaking up the sun at the mid-station lodge. What better way to relax after traveling the world skiing on some of the world's most celebrated and dangerous downhill courses. His love of the sport is evident with sharing skiing, sun and friends on a fantastic spring skiing day in the Adirondacks. Here is where Andrew grew up and started his racing career at Whiteface Mountain under the coaching of the NYSEF staff (NY State Ski Education Foundation). His family owns and operates the prestigious Mirror Lake Inn in the heart of Lake Placid.
Keep an eye on Andrew Weibrecht from Lake Placid, NY. He has the "right stuff"

Today's downhill race results from Beaver Creek, CO
1.) Carlo Janka (SUI)
2). Didier Cuche (SUI)
3.) Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)
4.) Bode Miller (USA)

Bio: Making Team USA: Meet Andrew Wiebercht

Support Your Local Ski Area

Ski More and Spend Less

If you have skied as long as I have you can probably easily name 5 or 6 ski areas that have disappeared over the years. Those family friendly and fun little ski areas that didn't cost a small fortune for a lift ticket or a hotdog. They are still around but their numbers are dwindling.

If you are lucky enough to have a small, family-friendly ski area close by, pay them a visit and support them. Yes, the skiing may not be demanding as the big ski resorts but the fun, excitement and atmosphere is still there. Believe me, they work just as hard and in most cases much harder, to make your skiing experience as good as the mega ski -resort. It's just not as fancy or "glitzy". The lift tickets are typically half the price as the BIG mountain resorts but children and beginning adult skiers are not as intimdated as they would be at a large resort with very crowded slopes.

Ski Areas of New York, Inc.

I grew up in the Albany area and in a previous blog I mentioned one area that is no longer around and that was Ski Land at East Berne, NY. I can remember skiing at Fawn Ridge, Scotts Coble and Mt Whitney in Lake Placid , NY. They are all closed and largley forgotten. Alpine Meadows near Saratoga Springs was another place that I liked to ski but, that too has closed. The State of New York at one time and perhaps still does, has more ski areas than any other state. Most of them are very small family ski areas. They are still surviving but with the lack of finances, the lack of snow or cold temps to make snow, they are struggling to stay in business. Your support this winter will keep them open in the future.

There are a few that have survived and have done well because they know who and what they are. To survive they've added snow making, night skiing, concentrated on excellent grooming, added tubing slides, catered to families and children, provide ski and snowboarding instruction and other family friendly amenities.

Check out some of the smaller areas near Albany, NY

Bousuets in Pittsfield, MA

West Mountain in Queenbsury,NY

Willard Mountain in Easton, NY

Oak Mountain in Speculator, NY

Maple Ski Ridge in Schenectady, NY

The price of gas and the state of the economy makes it the perfect time to check out the small ski areas near you this season.

Ski more, save gas and money too!

The Ski Traveler