People have been skiing Whiteface Mountain since its first ski trails were established a century ago. With a deep respect for the natural environment, with a passionate pursuit of the best ski experience in the East, and with respect for the mountain’s long heritage, the Whiteface team carries out its ongoing development.
This thoughtful, enduring stewardship makes Whiteface a place unlike any other. It also makes each summer an active time for maintenance, upgrades, and improvements. In turn, the team is ready each winter to create memorable experiences for all who come to ski, ride, learn, compete, and fully enjoy all that the mountain’s magnificent legacy provides.
Little Whiteface Lift
The most visible, most transformative project of this summer is the replacement of the Little Whiteface and Mountain Run chair lifts, both originally installed in the 1980s. These lifts provided service from the mid-station’s Legacy Lodge to both the top of Mountain Run and Little Whiteface. The two fixed grip double chairs ran parallel to one another and played essential roles on busy days, providing access to expert trails without having to return to the Base Lodge. They remained popular lifts even after the Cloudsplitter Gondola was opened in 1999. Due to their age, both lifts’ time has come, and both have been completely removed already this summer.
New towers are now going in, and a new Little Whiteface fixed grip double chairlift will be installed and ready to go for the 2025-26 season. To keep the original flexibility built into the old lift, skiers and riders will still be able to easily exit the lift at the top of Mountain Run or continue on the lift to the top of Little Whiteface. With new towers all the way up Mountain Run, plus new chairs, new cable and motors, and everything fully replaced, the new Little Whiteface Lift will continue providing reliable service while also maintaining the popular and important option to return to these black diamond trails from mid-station.
Snowmaking Upgrades
In recent years, continued upgrades to the mountain’s snowmaking systems have made them more powerful and more energy efficient, resulting in longer seasons and more reliable conditions across the mountain’s vast terrain. On opening day the past two years, for example, the Whiteface snowmaking crew had the mountain open all the way from the summit.
The many upgrades also make a big impact on the environmental sustainability of snowmaking operations. The most recent data available reveal Whiteface operating with 86% fewer emissions, reflecting the profound difference in energy use provided by both the sources of power and the systems for snowmaking.
This year’s upgrades will add 115 additional high efficiency snow guns to trails, including 15 mobile units that can be used anywhere on the mountain as well as the installation of fixed guns on Hoyt’s High, ensuring many more open days and optimal conditions on this well-liked run. The addition of these guns to the many already installed across the mountain boosts the total ratio of high efficiency snowmaking guns to around 90%.
Grooming Fleet
Winch technology is a major advance in grooming that provides excellent conditions on even the steepest pitches. For the upcoming season, a new Piston Bully 600 Winch Ready snow cat is being added to a Whiteface grooming fleet that now includes a total of nine Piston Bully 600s and two Pisten Bully 400 Park Pros. Whiteface also has a Pisten Bully 600 E+ which is a Hybrid Diesel Electric snow cat the produces far fewer emissions than its full diesel counterparts. With electric snow grooming vehicles just being introduced to the market, the Whiteface and Olympic Authority teams will be eager to begin the scheduled replacement of aging snow grooming equipment.
Maintenance
The mid-station Legacy Lodge is a fun, popular place to stop for a break and relax. Inside the spacious dining areas with high ceilings and lots of windows for sun-filled vistas or outside on the deck by a warm fire, the Legacy Lodge has always been a comfortable place to meet and eat with spectacular views. This summer, crews will replace siding on the Lodge’s deck and perform other maintenance to ensure that when winter comes, it continues to embody the spirit of the classic Adirondack great camps and remains as picturesque and cozy as always.
Like No Other
For 100 years, Whiteface Mountain has loomed large in the imaginations of alpine winter sport and recreation enthusiasts. From first timers to seasoned skiers and riders – and even Olympic and Paralympic athletes – Whiteface’s diverse terrain and stunning facilities inspire joy, challenge, and a lasting sense of adventure. Over the decades, it has become a treasured venue, with the Whiteface team continuing its careful stewardship to preserve and enhance this legacy for future generations.
That commitment is especially evident in the off-season, as the mountain makes the most of summer with essential infrastructure and maintenance projects. From lift upgrades to improved snowmaking and trail work, these efforts are all about ensuring a strong, reliable ski season ahead.
With anticipation for the coming winter already riding high, guests are urged not to miss the next deadline for season pass purchases on August 6. It’s the best opportunity yet this year to lock in early access to 24 miles of the best skiing and riding anywhere and a whole lot more.