Jump To:

Follow DCSki on Twitter!

Firsthand Report: Whitetail’s Opening Day
By M. Scott Smith, DCSki Editor

December 11, 2005 —

It was a beautiful bluebird day on Whitetail’s opening day. Photo by M. Scott Smith.

It’s Friday morning, December 9. I slumber out of bed. I stagger over to the window and peer out between the mini blinds. My eyes take a few moments to adjust to the light, but as the picture comes into focus, I see white snow covering everything, like white gift paper wrapped around the landscape. The first major winter storm to hit the Baltimore region is well on its way north, but it has left behind snow — beautiful snow — along with work and school closings. This presents a delicious dilemma: do I go back to bed? Or do I head to the slopes?

It’s opening day at Whitetail Resort, and a check of Whitetail’s web cams helps make the decision. Whitetail had received 8-10 inches of fresh snow overnight, and had been blowing snow around the clock for the past week. In the mid-Atlantic region, resort openings usually consist of a thin layer of manmade snow on a small handful of beginner trails. Not this year; Whitetail was opening with 8 trails, packed powder, and snow depths that hid away bare ground deep beneath the surface. Ideal mid-winter conditions in the mid-Atlantic on December 9 — that’s not your average year. I’ll take it.

A few phone calls to friends rounded up one other person willing to make a last-minute trip to Whitetail. After a frantic search for gloves, helmet, poles and — oh yeah! — skis, by noon we were on the road. With cleared roads and dry pavement, we wondered why we had off work. But we weren’t complaining.

All of the roads to Whitetail were in good shape. Exiting I-70, there was some drifting snow on the road leading to Whitetail, but careful driving was all that was necessary to cross that hurdle. By early afternoon, bright sunshine was smiling down on Whitetail, with some wisps of fast-moving clouds blowing past the mountaintop, appearing to reach out and touch the tips of the mountain as they passed by. The wind was strong, but it was beautiful — piles of snow everywhere, happy people, and a deep blue sky. On December 9. Does life get better than this?

On Whitetail’s opening day, a healthy selection of trails was open: all of the beginner terrain, along with Angel Drop off the top of the Whitetail Express quad. Conditions were packed powder throughout the day, with some stashes of untracked surviving a brief time. My friend was on his fourth ski trip after trying out the sport last year, so we began on the bunny slopes, eventually migrating over to Snow Park, which had the best snow. The Easy Rider quad was stop-and-go throughout the day, with frequent wipeouts at the top causing the lift to grind to a halt. Why so many wipeouts? Undoubtedly, nearly everyone on the slopes was skiing or boarding for their first day of the season. Hopefully, a number of skiers and boarders were visiting the slopes for their first time, expanding interest in the sport. Alert lift attendants kept an eye on the loading and unloading, with their hand on the “stop” button.

There were hundreds of guests at Whitetail on its opening day, including many teenagers, who had the day off from school. The four operating lifts swallowed the crowds with no lift lines. Limelight, the intermediate trail directly under the high-speed quad, was the recipient of a massive amount of snowmaking. Tower-mounted blowers and nozzles on the ground pumped out an enormous amount of fine, white snow, which drifted through the air. This made a ride on the Whitetail Express rather surreal, as the chairs drifted through clouds of manmade snow and the sound of compressed air passed by. Aggressive snowmaking was also underway on the expert terrain, including Drop In, Ridge Runner, Expedition and Bold Decision.

The only crowding problem was on Angel Drop. With only one run available from the top of the high-speed quad on Friday, a large number of people crowded onto Angel Drop — including a ton of snowboarders who would fly down the mountain in batches, often coming within inches of me and clearly not giving any preference to style or control over speed.

This did not present the best learning conditions for my friend, so we quickly navigated back over to Snow Park, which was empty by comparison. On Saturday, Whitetail opened two additional trails off of the high-speed quad, which should go a long way towards reducing the people funnel that was Angel Drop.

The Jib Junction Terrain Park, located on the lower part of Angel Drop, was beginning to grow some small features. The most substantial was a jump at the bottom.

As the sun set and the lights began to glow, the temperature began to dip — from the low-30’s to the mid-20’s — and the cold, blowing wind became much more noticeable. I was a bit underdressed, so the lift rides became chilly. With the periodic gusts of strong wind and heavy use throughout the day, some bare spots appeared here and there, but they were rare and easy to navigate or avoid.

For its first day of the season, Whitetail was operating smoothly. The resort had a new toy to show off — a newly-expanded rental building, double the size of the old one. The 12,500 square feet of additional space has been put to good use, creating a new workflow that will quickly swallow and move along large packs of ski- or snowboard-renting visitors. Skis and snowboards are now housed in the same location; in past years, snowboards were rented in the lower level of the main lodge. Inside, the rental building has cheerful colors and tall ceilings with skylights. Lockers (requiring four quarters) have been moved inside of the rental building, but they’re not quite as convenient to get to as when they were located outside. The Ski School desk is now inside the rental building, along with additional restrooms — but the restrooms are located in the far back of the building, some distance from the slopes. If you’re out on the slopes, the quickest trip to the restroom is still to check your gear at the free ski check and use the restrooms in the main lodge.

The lift buildings at the base of the Easy Rider and Whitetail Express quads have been replaced, and a new LED-board displays messages at the base of the Whitetail Express. It appears that the lift towers have also received a fresh coat of green paint. Starbucks has switched sides in the base lodge. Whitetail now provides a plastic loop to connect lift tickets instead of the traditional metal sprocket; this makes applying lift tickets a bit easier. The lift ticket also includes a tear-off receipt which can presumably be used to replace the ticket, should it be lost.

As of Sunday, December 11, Whitetail has 10 slopes open, with a base depth of 14-24 inches and packed powder conditions. Tubing has not yet opened for the season, but Whitetail has begun grooming the lanes. Temperatures throughout the week should be favorable for snowmaking, especially at night, when they could dip down into the teens. This could allow Whitetail to open its expert terrain by next weekend. It is very possible that Whitetail will be 100% open before Christmas — a goal that normally isn’t reached until January. Unquestionably, the mid-Atlantic ski season is off to a roaring start.

Related Links:

• Whitetail Resort

Related DCSki Stories:

Firsthand Report: Whitetail Resort (January 4)
A midweek escape to Pennsylvania’s Whitetail Resort on Thursday revealed the perfect skiing trifecta: plenty of sun, plenty of snow, and no crowds. DCSki’s Editor provides this Firsthand Report from his first turns of the season.
(3 reader comments)

Mid-Atlantic Ski Season Gains Momentum (December 27, 2012)
A shot of cold air and some natural snow has helped launch the 2012-2013 winter season in a big way. Find out the status of Mid-Atlantic ski areas.

The Weekly Altitude (November 18, 2012)
The Weekly Altitude provides a look at what’s happening in the Mid-Atlantic ski and snowboard scene. In this week’s issue: Wisp Resort to change hands; Wintergreen’s “Snow License Program” offers free skiing to 5th and 6th graders; Thanksgiving Eve Pub Crawl at Bear Creek; and Whitetail pledges $10,000 to the MPMC Project.

Firsthand Report: Liberty and Whitetail (February 5, 2012)
In recent days, Connie Lawn and Charles Sneiderman visited Pennsylvania’s Liberty and Whitetail Mountain Resorts. On Saturday, they experienced a snow squall at Liberty, which added a layer of snow across the resort. They provide this Firsthand Report.

Firsthand Report: New Ski Technology for Whitetail Rentals (January 28, 2012)
Connie Lawn and Charles Sneiderman visited Pennsylvania’s Whitetail Resort this past week, where they tried out new ski technology available across Whitetail’s rental fleet.
(2 reader comments)

Whitetail’s Buddy Hauk Passes Away (January 17, 2012)
On Sunday, January 15, 2012, long-time Whitetail Ski Resort mountain host Buddy Hauk passed away. Buddy was 63.
(1 reader comment)

AT&T Expands Cell Service at Whitetail Resort (January 14, 2012)
A recent tower upgrade at Whitetail should deliver solid 3G cell coverage to AT&T cell phone subscribers visiting the Pennsylvania resort.

Firsthand Report: Whitetail Great Outdoors Festival (October 23, 2011)
Connie Lawn filed this report from the first day of Whitetail’s 11th Annual Great Outdoors Festival.

What’s New for 2011: Whitetail Resort (August 13, 2011)
The Fanciful trail is getting some love for the upcoming season at Whitetail Resort. $2.8 million in capital enhancements will see lighting added to the intermediate trail, as well as snowmaking improvements, a new deck area, and a loading carpet on the EZ Rider Quad.
(2 reader comments)

Firsthand Report: Special Times at Whitetail (February 19, 2011)
Connie Lawn recently made two visits to Pennsylvania’s Whitetail Mountain Resort. She provides this combined Firsthand Report.

Lodging Near Whitetail (extracted from the DCSki Lodging Finder):

• Buck Valley Ranch
• Slopeside Town Home at Whitetail Resort

About the Author

M. Scott Smith is the founder and Editor of DCSki. Scott loves outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, kayaking, skiing, and mountain biking. He is an avid photographer and writer. To read other articles by Scott, click here.

Track new stories on DCSki by following DCSki through Twitter, Facebook, or RSS:

There are 2 reader comments about this article. To read them, or add your own, scroll below or click here.

Copyright © 1994-2013 DCSki, LLC. All rights reserved. You may not reproduce any portion of DCSki, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of DCSki's Editor. Comments posted on these pages do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of DCSki, LLC or its Editor. Although DCSki, LLC attempts to verify the accuracy of the information it publishes, DCSki, LLC cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. Verify current conditions, operating schedule, and events directly with a resort prior to making a visit. You may view DCSki's Privacy Policy here.