Whiteface Welcomes the Spring Season With Pond Skimming, SLU Student Brings Home the Gold

On a 45 degree day in early April, 100 adventurously clad skiers and boarders risk a fall into 75 feet of manmade pond, desperately trying to traverse the cold and wet to obtain the glory and merch that comes with victory. Whiteface hosted its spring fling on Saturday, building a man-made pool and hosting the local rock band Fully Completely Hip, calling skiers to the mountain for the last runs of the season.

The Whiteface pond skim is judged in two categories, distance and costume. Contestants gathered about 500 feet uphill of the pool, building up as much speed as they can and charging down towards the pool where an eager crowd awaited. Almost every contestant was in costume, wearing rainbow wigs, construction hats, full bunny suits, hoping to catch the eye of the three judges for a shot at the prizes. A former contestant who was dressed in a full suit and tie, recalled winning outfits from past years: the character Linguini from the animated movie Ratatouille, and the Pope, Ferula and all, attempting to cross the pond.

As it became clear that the course was difficult, each contestant falling short, the crowd eagerly awaited the first full traverse. Finally, a skier wearing a blue ski bib and red and white spotted buff raced down the hill, passing the crowd in a blur, skipping right across the water safely landing on the other side.

On the deck of the Cloudsplitter Lodge, St. Lawrence student Tim Horstmyer claimed his prize for Greatest Distance to cheers and clapping, multiple onlookers remarking that he made it look easy. “I just skated all the way down and skated really hard and then just went for it at the end, threw the poles and just leaned all the way back,” Horstmyer said, though he wanted to make it clear that his main strategy was just to “send and pray.”

Later on in the competition, judges and onlookers found their winner for best costume as a man in a full gorilla suit came racing down the hill on skis. The gorilla launched himself off the jump into a backflip, just missing a full rotation, landing face down in the pool to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the judges.

After changing out of the soaking wet gorilla suit, Mike Perruccio explained his complicated strategy, “yeah so going into it I really had no plan, at the last minute I was like, I’m just gonna go for it, and just went for the backflip.” Some of the runner ups included two guys in full denim with skis from the 80s and perms, a waitress carrying a full load of fries and a Statue of Liberty.

The organizer of the event, Social Media Manager Brandee Reiley explains that not only is the event special because it is international, but because “every single department on the mountain has a hand on making it happen, it’s a mountain-wide effort to get pond skimming off, all of Whiteface works together to do that one event.” Reiley loves the event for how it brings the community together, a final event to close out the season. “It’s a rite of passage, you’re not a real skier if you haven’t gone pond skimming.”

The Whiteface pond skimming event incorporates local sponsors as well, who provide generous prizes in the hope of late season, or in the case of a summer adventure company, early season publicity. Perruccio received a pair of goggles and a gift card, and Horstmyer, for first prize, won a couple of t-shirts and a $365 four person whitewater rafting trip. The prizes mean strong community engagement and investment for Whiteface execs, but for Horstmyer, “it just means a good trip this summer and a really good fun time with the boys.”

These prizes, along with discounted lift tickets and live music are all part of an effort to get more people to the mountain late in the season. Sales and Marketing Manager Lauren Garfield outlined the Whiteface staff’s plan for the rest of the season, explaining that they will try to be open until Easter weekend, even if that requires closing Mondays and Tuesdays and using the gondola as a shuttle to access better snow cover higher on the mountain.

Garfield is happy with the 2018-2019 winter, and is confident that Whiteface Mountain’s modernized snowmaking infrastructure will continue to compensate for decreasing snowfalls, and capitalize on big winters when they come.