Whiteface Mountain: the biggest vertical in the East

The mountain is big, exposed and honest. Beginners have a generous learning area and long green cruisers, intermediates get wide groomed boulevards with views over the Ausable valley, and experts have the Slides, a lift-served backcountry area that opens only when snow depth and conditions allow.

Because Whiteface is a stand-alone peak rather than a sheltered bowl, weather matters more here than at most resorts. Check the summit wind forecast, dress a layer warmer than you think you need, and take the gondola to Little Whiteface for the view when the upper lifts hold on wind.

When the snow goes, the Whiteface Veterans Memorial Highway opens and you can drive almost to the top of a 4,867-foot Adirondack High Peak. From the parking area, a stone tunnel and lift inside the mountain, or a short rocky stair path, take you to the true summit.

On a clear day you can see Lake Champlain, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and on the very best afternoons a hint of Montreal. It is the most accessible big view in the park and a brilliant option for guests who would rather not hike five miles for it.

Wilmington Notch, on the road between Lake Placid and Whiteface, holds High Falls Gorge, where boardwalks and bridges hang over the Ausable River as it drops through a granite chasm. It takes about an hour and is spectacular in autumn colour and in winter ice.

The West Branch of the Ausable through the notch is also legendary fly-fishing water, with catch-and-release stretches and hatch charts that anglers plan holidays around.