Whiteface Backcountry & Off Piste Skiing
Whiteface’s backcountry skiing is found in an area known as “The Slides.” These rockslide chutes are amongst the toughest skiing in the East and will test the mettle of even the toughest expert skier.
A short hike from the upper terminus of the Summit Quad lie the “The Slides.” Standing atop the Slides skiers face 3,450 continuous feet of vertical to the base. As the resort likes to point out, that’s more than anywhere else in the East and many resorts out West, even big name resorts like Vail.
The Slides get their name from the fact they are rockslide and avalanche paths carved out just below the summit of Whiteface Mountain. Remarkably for the Eastern United States, there are genuine no-fall zones in the Slides. They should not be attempted by anyone who is not confident in their ability to make short radius turns in tight spaces.
Offering 35 acres of in-bounds, off-piste skiing down rockslide chutes replete with ice waterfalls, ledges, and trees, the experience in the Slides varies greatly depending on the weather and conditions. In good conditions, they’re as close to skiing Western backcountry as an Eastern skier can get. In marginal conditions, they are rocky, icy and as much as even a true expert can handle. Conditions can and dovary greatly from one chute to the next depending on sun exposure.
The terrain is patrolled, but not groomed or maintained. They are opened only when avalanche risk is appropriately low and are most likely to be open in the spring season. At times the ski patrol may require avalanche gear, including beacons, probes and shovels to enter the Slides. They should not be skied in groups of less than 3.