Little Whiteface Mountain

Ski Runs on Whiteface Mountain

Today we used the last activity on our “see it all” ticket. We rode the Gondola to the top of Little Whiteface Mountain. Whiteface and Little Whiteface are literally a maze of downhill ski runs with chairlifts shooting off in every direction. We climbed aboard and within minutes were deposited on top. The last little bit was pretty steep and Gene had visions of James Bond making a daring ski escape through the trees and around the gondola pylons. My vision was more along the lines of Bond crawling across the top of the gondola as it hung by a thread over the snowy slope hundreds of feet below. It was a slow day at the gondola so we had a car to ourselves. That was fun.

Ski Run map

The view from the top was dramatic. We were below the summit of Whiteface so we didn’t have the big 360 degree view, but the high peaks region still dominated the horizon. From here we were able to see the ski runs on Whiteface mountain that were out of our line of sight from that higher summit. There was a nice wooden deck with picnic tables and a fantastic view of the Lake Placid. If I had known I would have taken a picnic.

Our Ride

Also on the summit was a memorial plaque to the 10th Mountain Division. This specialized unit of the US Army was organized to with the help of the American Alpine Club and the National Ski Association to train soldiers and develop equipment for mountain warfare during World War II.

10th Mountain Division plaque

With our “see it all” ticket we were able to tour all the main Olympic venues—the museum, the ice skating rinks, the ski jumps, the downhill runs of Whiteface, and the luge and bobsled runs. It was well worth the money. We have enjoyed it all.

Whiteface and Little Whiteface