Whiteface Calling
Thing about being an NYC resident is that you don't really feel like leaving your comfort zone - the subway and the regular coffee and the control freaks and the stores where you don't have to 'come back next week'. Not trying to put NYC on a pedestal. Just pointing out how difficult it is to leave all this and head out for desolate and harsh terrain where you're no longer in charge, and where you cannot get free fries on the side. And so it was with a bit of grumpiness that I ended up in Lake Placid with the family, who wanted to enjoy the slopes of Whiteface Mountain on the last weekend of 2008.
And they wouldn't even leave me alone inside the warm confines of the Golden Arrow, a magnificent flagbearer for all the hotels in Lake Placid. But I have to say that it was darn beautiful. Lots and lots of people, much more than I'd ever seen at Whiteface before. Even the 2 parking lots at the Upper Cascade Lake were full up. The entire area near the skating oval on Main Street was choking with groups of skaters and people just hanging out. Apparently, people don't have the money to travel to the more expensive and popular ski resorts in New England, so they're preferring winter vacations in New York instead. And gas is way cheaper now than earlier in the year. Whatever works...
Anyway, Whiteface looked magnificent from down below, with stripes of white streaking down the face of the mountain, and inspite of my initial distate, I was actually kind of looking forward to some adrenalin pumping skiing. Sadly, they haven't yet opened up the new trails on Lookout Mountain, which tops out at 4,000 ft. Not that I was any kind of expert, but its always nice to try out something new. But it was still a liberating experience on the old intermediate trail, well worth the $74 lift ticket, and felt much better to give the old muscles some much needed stress testing.
One of these days, I'll have to get me a cabin up here. But based on my current wages and the shaky job market, not much chance of tht any time soon. Guess the Golden Arrow will continue to earn from poor schumcks like me, who're stuck between not having enough to buy a vacation home in the Adirondacks, and too snooty to stay in budget accomodations.
