Whaleback 12/17/2017
There was plenty of leftover powder today at Whaleback! Today was the second day of the T-bar's operation and they were still working out the kinks. The lift deroped twice, once for an hour in the morning and again around 2:00. The second time they decided to shut it down for the day. However, these deropements gave plenty of time for a few hikes to the upper mountain trails. The T-bar was an excellent ride and was smoother than many I've ridden. I also took a few rides on the new beginner tow which was interesting because it was like a handle tow combined with a platter pull. It seemed like a good lift for those just starting out and I could figure out four basic ways to ride it. Everything was open off the T-bar, including glades which had untracked powder well into the afternoon. Lower Face had some ungroomed manmade snow of excellent condition which made for some fun turns. The upper mountain trails had enough snow to be open, but they were not prepared to open the chairlift this weekend. The trails still had over a foot of dry powder and I skied Dorsal Glade, Jawbone, Blowhole and Upper Face on the upper mountain. It was a very cold day, but there wasn't any wind and it was sunny. They were making a lot of snow in the morning and it made a cloud around the mountain, but they shut off the guns around 11:00. Crowds were minimal and there was never a wait of more than a minute to get on the T-bar. It was a great start to Whaleback's season and I look foreword to returning when the chairlift opens!
Here's a bit of video I took today of the T-bar making its signature Hall sounds
]: 
Snowmaking on Face
Snowmaking Cloud
Base Area
T-Bar
Beginner Tow
T-Bar
T-Bar
T-Bar Return
T-Bar
T-Bar
Face
Traverse to Face
Snowmaking on Face
The Barnacles
Traverse from T-Bar
The Barnacles
Deropement at Tower 1
Riding the T-Bar
Face
Face
The View from Face
Face
Double Chair
Face
Face
Krill Mountain Bike/Ski Trail
Double Chair
Jawbone
Double Chair
Y.O.O.Y.M. Entrance Gate
Double Chair and Belly-Up Glade Entrance
Repair Work on Tower 5
Here's a bit of video I took today of the T-bar making its signature Hall sounds
]: Snowmaking on Face
Snowmaking CloudBase AreaT-BarBeginner TowT-BarT-BarT-Bar ReturnT-BarT-BarFaceTraverse to FaceSnowmaking on FaceThe BarnaclesTraverse from T-BarThe BarnaclesDeropement at Tower 1Riding the T-BarFaceFaceThe View from FaceFaceDouble ChairFaceFaceKrill Mountain Bike/Ski TrailDouble ChairJawboneDouble ChairY.O.O.Y.M. Entrance GateDouble Chair and Belly-Up Glade EntranceRepair Work on Tower 5 - Sam
Comments
You're welcome, I hope you watched the video
That lift makes all the happy Hall sounds from the growl to the shproinggggg to the tik-tik-tik at the top!
Hey they got a good ski area management college in Ironwood Mi( Goegebic)
You could head the trip report picture department
Great stuff
I will likely be at UMaine Machias next year for Environmental Recreation & Tourism Management. Most skiing around there is accessed by hiking/skinning and not lifts.