Whiteface Mountain Bike Park opens for the season on 6-19-09

[downhillmike]

I know this is a ski forum but it is obvious everyone here loves Whiteface Mountain and the Lake Placid/Wilmington experience. It also seems for good reasons many are sad the ski season has come to a close. No need to wait till November to visit Whiteface. The woods between your favorite ski trails have been maintained and manicured as world class mtn. bike trails.

We (High Peaks Cyclery) operate the mountain bike park during Whiteface's summer months. With your summer lift ticket you get 2 choices of uphill transport, the gondola for experts trails, and our shuttle bus that only goes to the beginner/intermediate trails (bottom of tower 10 hill). We also have an entire network of world class x-c trails that traverse back and forth below tower 10 hill, all the way to the Flume and beyond.

Open for the mountain biking season on 6-19-09 for 7 days a week.

Here are a few pictures from last season:

Please note most of the above pictures were taken on the expert trails of pro downhill mountain bikers.


For all Whiteface Mountain Bike Park info please visit:
www.downhillmike.com

 

[downhillmike]

Whiteface Mountain Bike Park Early Season Pass

This is our pump track. Fairly new to bike parks. A pump track can be ridden in either direction without pedaling. This can also be ridden on any type of bike by any type of rider. Pump tracks teach you great skills and are an amazing cardio work out. These new skills help you ride x-c or dh trails longer and with more energy. I figured you may have seen this from the gondola and wasn't exactly sure what is was.

 

[Snowballs]

thanks Mike. it's cool we have a top notch bike area! great job.

i may have to ride those x-c trails this summer.

 

[NPN]

Nice, but way beyond my skill level.

That Flume ride sounds interesting though.

 

[downhillmike]

Maybe those were the wrong pictures to post. Here are some from our lower trails that the shuttle bus accesses.

Our shuttle bus:

Local grom getting ready:

Family fun at The Face summer style:

Classic lower mountain single-track taken on trail # 11 (Whitetail):

Crossing the Stag Brook is a little more challenging, but not too bad & big fun:

I think that's just one of the things that makes Whiteface so great winter or summer. It can be a super challenging mountain that can be intimidating. It's just that much better once you get the confidence and over that fear. Talk about getting stoked! It took me a couple of years before I was comfortable on the upper trails. Now I am more scared while snowboarding than biking. Serious. Just like skiing it's important to progress at a safe pace with the proper equipment. Many locals in the past came here in the summer with their x-c rigs and headed right up top. That's crazy and like taking your x-c skis on the gondola and skiing down the slides, when you've only skiied x-c prior. Crazy.

 

[nyspnypd]

Now those easier trails especially lower valley looks like something I could give a try.

 

[downhillmike]

Now those easier trails especially lower valley looks like something I could give a try.

I circled the shuttle bus drop off location. All trails below the red line are considered beginner/intermediate terrain.

 

[nyspnypd]

Now those easier trails especially lower valley looks like something I could give a try.

I circled the shuttle bus drop off location. All trails below the red line are considered beginner/intermediate terrain.

That is a good amount of beginner trails i may have to give it a try this summer.

 

[Snowballs]

can't get the trail map to open-adobe says document damaged.

i read the Decline Magazine article. nice read. at the end he states........when you link the top and bottom runs you have an eight minute ride...........
that's gotta be a typo. lil whiteface summit to the bottom in eight minutes? on a mtn bike?

what the heck is a grom?

any bikers start pedaling yet? i got 25 miles on. hey it's a start!


are there any ADK biking or atving forums? maybe we should add a board?

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

can't get the trail map to open-adobe says document damaged.

i read the Decline Magazine article. nice read. at the end he states........when you link the top and bottom runs you have an eight minute ride...........
that's gotta be a typo. lil whiteface summit to the bottom in eight minutes? on a mtn bike?

what the heck is a grom?

any bikers start pedaling yet? i got 25 miles on. hey it's a start!


are there any ADK biking or atving forums? maybe we should add a board?

I got out once so far on my road bike. It felt good.

I love the pic of the biker coming down Stag Brook. Great shot. I might have to pony up the money for a mountain bike this year.

 

[Snowballs]

here's alink to a couple of videos from high peaks cyclery that show bike riding at Face. looks fun!!! it would be really cool riding around the mtn in the summer. wonder if we could hit HPD's for bbq and beers afterward? JUST KIDDING! surely a swim in the Ausable would be warranted.

http://highpeakscyclery.com/page.cfm?pageID=161

well, time to shift gears. i'm putting up the boards and picking up the mtn bike/quad/lawnmower/canoe/hedgetimmer/fishing pole/pressure washer/Great Escape pass/rake/beach chairs/sunscreen/ babe watching glasses!!!

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

here's alink to a couple of videos from high peaks cyclery that show bike riding at Face. looks fun!!! it would be really cool riding around the mtn in the summer. wonder if we could hit HPD's for bbq and beers afterward? JUST KIDDING! surely a swim in the Ausable would be warranted.

http://highpeakscyclery.com/page.cfm?pageID=161

well, time to shift gears. i'm putting up the boards and picking up the mtn bike/quad/lawnmower/canoe/hedgetimmer/fishing pole/pressure washer/Great Escape pass/rake/beach chairs/sunscreen/ babe watching glasses!!!

Maybe

 

[downhillmike]

can't get the trail map to open-adobe says document damaged.

i read the Decline Magazine article. nice read. at the end he states........when you link the top and bottom runs you have an eight minute ride...........
that's gotta be a typo. lil whiteface summit to the bottom in eight minutes? on a mtn bike?

what the heck is a grom?

any bikers start pedaling yet? i got 25 miles on. hey it's a start!


are there any ADK biking or atving forums? maybe we should add a board?

The pro winning time on our race course for our 5 K DH was 7:24.3. The top riders in the states can usually break 8 minutes. Since we put up a $5,000.00 pro cash purse we do get the top riders in the country and beyond. All other dh courses at other mountains (including world cup events) are 3 to 5 minute tracks. Whiteface is just huge vertical for biking. Just huge. Most riders take 15 to 25 minutes for 1 run from the top of Little Whiteface. I went from over an hour to under 10 minutes once I got a big bike and had the confidence to just let 'er roll.

A grom is a little dude. Mountain bikers call kids "groms"

Did the trail map not open from the Whiteface site? I can look into that.

There are many biking forums. None specifically for the Adirondacks. If one was started here I would be happy to help administer, field questions, etc. I do love talking about Whiteface and I can't think of a better place than here.

Also thanks for your interest and the great questions.

 

[Snowballs]

GREAT QUESTIONS! He said I ask GREAT QUESTIONS! I ROCK! I'll have to go tell my lil grom.

Here's another.

what's a big bike? and has anyone tried it on a Big Wheel? the snow tribe rips it on snow shovels. i always wanted to try that! guess i'm a bit of a grom myself.

whacha think HPD? you gonna hook a downhill Mike up? they seem to have a topnotch thing going. $5000.00 purse. top pro riders. top rated course. i've read about Face's DH course at other sites.....it's gaininng fame. alot of people could be interested. meebe we should have a hiker/biker/stoner etc boards for the off season. many of our members do these things. would there be any additional costs?

the map i could not open was from your site,dhm. maybe it's my adobe, although it's an up to date version. i'll check the Face page for a link so i can scope out the trails..................I WANNA RIDE IT!

btw, i have a Gary Fisher Cake. no you can't ride it. jk. is it a big bike?

 

[downhillmike]

The Gary Fisher Cake is a great bike but it's a "little bike"

A little bike just means it's a trail bike and not a big bike (downhill bike). Trail bikes weigh between 25 and 30 pounds and have 4 to 5 inches of front and rear wheel travel. perfect for the lower mountain trails at Whiteface.

I have been riding a Specialized demo 9 which is a pretty big bike. 50+ pounds and 9 inches of travel. That means the front and rear shocks compress and rebound a full 9 inches. This bike is perfect for the upper mountain.

To answer another question: No one has ridden a Big Wheel that I know of, but we do have a local that rides the upper mountain single-track on his mountain unicycle. He's from Wilmington and actually traveled with a circus the last few years. The dudes amazing! He could probably ride Whiteface on a Big Wheel.
http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/500716.html?nav=5008

 

[highpeaksdrifter]

GREAT QUESTIONS! He said I ask GREAT QUESTIONS! I ROCK! I'll have to go tell my lil grom.


whacha think HPD? you gonna hook a downhill Mike up? they seem to have a topnotch thing going.

They do have a topnotch thing going, I've heard that for years, but I'm not sure what you mean by hooking Mike up.

We can post all the mountain bike stuff you want here if that's what you mean. As far as that goes, the same for road biking, hiking, kaycking or any other ADK activity.

 

[downhillmike]

can't get the trail map to open-adobe says document damaged.

Try this link for the trail map:
http://www.orda.org/newsite/todo/summer/wf_mtnbike_map.pdf

 

[Snowballs]

Ok that's great info DHM. i'm glad you posted here. your enthusiasm for the sport and affection for Face are obvious. i bet you have a fantastic time rippin it. you guys are doing a great job!

i'm definitely coming up and riding the lower hill this summer. for me, it always wierd being on a ski mtn off season. seeing the empty chairs, the grass, the contour of the ground that's usually buried in snow is different. but just being on the mtn is always cool. can't wait to ride the trails.

the times they're turning in down that hill are impressive, haulin butt! the videos were cool and show some real speed. the guy on a unicycle-are you kidding me! those things don't even have brakes. imagine struggling to ride down the hill and some guy shows up on a freegin unicycle. hehehe. impressive.

seriously, this is a really cool thing. i don't suppose it will be long till we see X games or mtn dew like bike competions at Face with national/worldwide coverage. das good.

what's next? a skier cross type course for mtn bikes? ripping the bobsled run with studded tires? ascending the 90 meter ski jump for big air? Lord only knows. He certainly has endowed us potential. gracias.

thanks for the info DHM. and thanks for all you do. you too, HPD. people like you guys go a long way towards getting things done so that others may benefit. i'll beep the horn as i ride past your house. 8)

shave and a haircut........two bits.

 

[SKIdds]

HPD - given how serious the WF MTB terrain is, maybe you should go over and harass the CT guys about the comparatively piddly trails they ride .

 

[campgottagopee]

HPD - given how serious the WF MTB terrain is, maybe you should go over and harass the CT guys about the comparatively piddly trails they ride .

They couldn't take it :evil: