A Tour of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic Ski Resorts for Today

First Trax

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Some areas got a lot more rain than others on Friday so we’re going to take you on a little tour this morning across the Southeast and Mid Atlantic. Starting with Wisp Resort. Wisp has 14 trails open today and pretty decent coverage. The sides are creeping in a bit as you can see with the live cams, but the center of their trails look pretty good this morning. Wisp’s forecast also looks nice with snowmaking temps hitting Sunday night. They may get a little rain Christmas Day, but then it SNOW for Tuesday and highs in the low 30s and lows in the low 20s, which will make for nice conditions all mid week.

Canaan Valley has FIVE trails open today. That is not what is being reported on their own website (they report 3) and also the SSAA is reporting 3 slopes open. However we’re going with what they just faxed us. They say they have three beginner trails open, one intermediate and The Face (which is an expert) slope. They also show a 12-36” base, not the 24-48” being reported elsewhere.

Snowshoe Mountain has 29 trails open today. Others are reported something different. Andrea Smith reports, “Twenty nine trails remain open this morning as the sun begins to peek out and we prepare for the return of cold temps and snow hopefully in time of the big day! The Skidder, Powder Monkey, Ballhooter, Grabhammer and Powderidge lifts will be running today from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Snowshoe Area. The Cascade, Mountaineer and Magic Carpet Lifts will be running today at the Silver Creek Ski Area from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and tubing and night skiing will be open until 9 p.m. Please use caution due to wet conditions and be aware of bare spots. Snowmobiling and Snow Cat Tours have been cancelled for Friday and Saturday.”

Tom Kotarsky just sent us an update from Timberline Resort. The word there is that the current temp is 36° AND FOGGY. That should burn off with some sunshine appearing. Nine slopes and trails are open and they are reporting some thin areas.

Winterplace is reporting the same 18-36” base they’ve shown for a week. They have 4 trails open and you can expect pretty much the same kind of conditions that you’ll see elsewhere. (Some thin coverage areas and a bare spot or two.)

The WEATHER for West Virginia is looking very nice for much improved conditions as the week goes forward. Sunday should be highs in the 30s and low 40s and lows around 28°. Monday is looking like a mix of light rain to snow with highs in the mid 30s and lows around 25°. Tuesday and Wednesday looks SNOWY and cold with around the clock snowmaking!

WINTERGREEN RESORT in Virginia is fighting the weather, but keeping a positive attitude. Sarah Lovejoy reports, “Today we will be skiing and riding on 4 trails and 2 lifts will be running. We will be making snow whenever temperatures permit. Our plan is to continue making snow on the trails we have open now and begin working on additional trails that have not opened this season. The next trails we plan on opening will be in the highlands area. Opening the tubing park and the terrain park are also a priority for us.”

Bryce’s website is dead in the water this morning. No updates from them. We called in and they are reporting 3 trails open today.

Massanutten Resort dropped a slope and now has 4 trails operating today.

The Homestead is still holding on with one trail open.

The WEATHER forecast for the areas around Massanutten and Wintergreen looks like there’s some hope of snowmaking temps Sunday night as temps drop to 28° or so. Rain hits on Christmas Day but there’s a chance for snow mix later. Tuesday night looks good for snowmaking as temps drop to 25°.

OBER GATLINBURG in Tennessee is another resort holding on. They have 3 trails open today but really need some snowmaking temps. Looks like their first real shot at snowmaking may come Tuesday night. They too may see some wintry mix and snow Tuesday.

One look at the live cams and you can tell how much damage 1-3” of rain did yesterday. One word, “ouch” comes to mind. Yes, Virginia, there IS still snow on the slopes, but the slopes definitely took a hit. Appalachian Ski Mountain dropped their base depth report 6-10” in the last 24 hours. It was that kind of day on Friday.

Appalachian looks worn this morning, but they are open and with what should be groomed conditions on five trails.

Cataloochee looks like they didn’t get quite the amount of rain over that way. Their live cam shows pretty decent side to side coverage. They only reported a 2” drop in base and five trails open.

Hawksnest Resort actually closed on Friday. Their phone line told the story when it said, “The weather has won today and until we get some cold, the tubing hill is closed.” They ARE open for skiing and snowboarding today. No tubing.

Ski Beech is reporting some bare areas and five trails open. Expect decent side to side coverage and a fair amount of good skiable terrain. We’re seeing heavy fog this morning, but that will lift as the skies turn sunny in just a bit.

Sugar Mountain actually looks pretty decent this morning. Sugar reported an 8” drop in base and we are seeing a few bare spots and some thin coverage areas, but all in all Sugar looks ready for a good day.

We like Wolf Ridge’s statement today, “Don’t be afraid of the big bad Wolf.” Cute. There cameras show some sidelines creeping in, but fairly good side to side coverage on the three slopes that they have open today.

To The Weather – That IS the number one question of the last 24 hours. We had 427 emails in the last 24 hours and I think that maybe three or four were not related to the weather. The best way to sum it up is to say, we’re stuck with what we have right now on the slopes until Christmas night. There IS an outside shot at some snowmaking on Saturday and Sunday night as temps looks like they might drop back to 30-32° in some areas, and we can keep those pesky inversions from happening then the higher elevations may be able to do some snowmaking. Stay tuned to the updates and we’ll tell you when the guns crank up!

The forecast is for some freezing rain to snow mix on Christmas Day, and the resorts should be making snow Monday night (Christmas night) as temps kick back to 28°. Tuesday and Wednesday look perfect with SNOW in the forecast for Tuesday and highs in the 32° range and lows around 20°. That’s when things will look very sweet! Wednesday is cold with highs in the mid to upper 30s and lows around 22° Wednesday night – MORE SNOWMAKING TEMPS!

So play with what we have, enjoy some decent conditions at a few of the resorts; do your last minute shopping at the shops and ski and snowboard shops; and then enjoy the wintry weather coming in on Christmas Day and Tuesday. Things should be MUCH improved on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

THINK COLD AND SNOW!!!

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For more information about the ski resorts of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic visit www.SkiSoutheast.com  

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Elsa Barnes sent this nice photo from Wolf Ridge from last Saturday.
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