The Whiteface Ski Center, home to the 1980 Olympic downhill ski events, is pretty stoked these days. The readers of Condé Nast Traveler picked the mountain as the fourth best ski resort in North America. Not bad for a 50-year-old! Whiteface celebrates its 50th anniversary in January.

Whiteface was the brainchild of New York Governor Averill Harriman. The man behind the development of Sun Valley, Idaho, he was a ski enthusiast and it was his vision that created the Whiteface Ski Center on its current site, where work was completed on January 25, 1958. Since then, Whiteface has become synonymous with big mountain skiing and riding. Not just in New York, but in the context of big mountains anywhere. The list of Olympians who have trained there is impressive. Diann Roffe, of Rochester, N.Y., won two Olympic medals after training at Whiteface. Bill Johnson, 1984 Olympic downhill champion, skied a season there and was a 1980 Olympic forerunner. AJ Kitt had an impressive career with the U.S. Ski Team after his stint at Whiteface. Locally, Andrew Weibrecht of Lake Placid, the defending North American champ who grew up on those slopes, will get a number of World Cup starts this winter.

Contact:
NYS Olympic Regional Development Authority
Olympic Center
2634 Main St.
Lake Placid, NY 12946
Tel: 518-523-1655 / Fax: 518-523-9275
Sandy Caligiore
Director of Communications
Email: Sandy Caligore

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