Route: Whiteface Massif Traverse (NY)

I'm not sure why this has not been posted before, and I have been meaning to do this route for about a decade.  Two of the burliest continuous climbs in the ADK, which includes a 1700' mile, open ridge running, amazing views, and some fast forest road running for contrast.  To maximize the vertical, I started up the poor man's downhill, connected to the Wilmington trail to the summit, then down and back on the Whiteface landing trail. The two sides of the mountain are incredibly different, with good traction and more worn trails on the east, where the west is wicked steep, tight, off camber, slick and dicey.  I turned at the parking lot to Connery Pond.  While I have 22.5 on my track, the route is probably about 24 miles, where 8k of the vert is in 17 miles.