In West Virginia:
I get to pick on Canaan Valley today. For those of you who seemingly think we are biased…this one’s for you! Canaan Valley has shown NO drop in base depth for the last few days and as late as yesterday they reported the same 28”-38” base across all 31 open trails. Now today, they report the SAME 28-38” base but they have closed down six slopes. If there was 30” or more of snow on those slopes yesterday, they would not be closed today! So there AVERAGE yesterday could not be what they are reporting. You can not have it both ways. For the record, this is a perfect example of what we have been saying for the last several months for many resorts. How can you have an AVERAGE of 30” across all slopes and then close some the next day? Enough said for this go around.
Snowshoe is bracing (happily) for several inches of snow from the approaching system. They have all of the slopes open (with a few marked thin coverage areas). They did report a 2” drop in base depth yesterday (none today) but they have a 30” plus base across 57 trails.
Timberline Resort got word about base depth reporting and “adjusted” their base depths down from 28-78” being reported yesterday (and still today on many websites) to 24-66”. That’s a 12” adjustment in one day. Better late than never though. Timberline also closed six trails since yesterday as they are now reporting 27 trails open and thin coverage on a few. Conditions are quite fine at Timberline with PLENTY of snow…just less of it.
Winterplace is still looking quite good and they are looking forward to snow in the forecast for this week as well. 32-48” of loose granular conditions on 25 trails for today.
Wisp Resort in Maryland is another resort which has not reported a drop in base depths for the last few days, even with the milder temps and some drizzle/fog, etc. They are reporting groomed conditions on many of the 34 open trails. We’ve tried to figure out what’s going on with those webcams as they don’t seem to update throughout the day. We’ll try to get some information on them and let you know.
We like Ober Gatlinburg. Those guys are on the ball with changing base conditions and perhaps do the best job of daily updating accurate base depths and surface conditions. They have reported a drop in each of the last six days…and they are reporting a still impressive 14-31” base with groomed to loose granular conditions on five trails. Way to do it Kathy!
In Virginia:
Massanutten Resort is reporting that they have groomed all of the 13 trails that they are running. Mass also has 12 tubing lanes going.
Wintergreen Resort will be open today from 9am until 10pm skiing and riding on all 24 trails. The Plunge will be open from 2pm until 9pm for some exciting tubing. Snowmaking weather is expected tomorrow night and we will be making snow on all open trails in an effort to provide the best surface possible and continue to increase our current average base of 30"-36". Check out Freestyle’s Double Cross Competition for skiers and boarders in the Terrain Park on Sunday.
Just a note: None of the Virginia resorts have recorded any drop in base depths over the last couple of days except for Massanutten.
In North Carolina:
App is reporting a 3” drop in base since yesterday and still PLENTY of good snow (1.5 feet to over 4 feet of base) is PLENTY of good snow and side to side coverage with no thin coverage areas. Appalachian is not standing pat with their terrain park area. It is open and they are also saying that they have some new rails coming soon. From what we’ve heard they are putting some sweet features in place and doing it all up right with some Knarly graphics! Currently the park is open with features on Strudel and Appal-jack. On the right side of Strudel the 16ft box, the 15ft flat rail, and the 25ft mellow double kink rail are up. (EVERYONE KNOWS what that is – right?)
On Appaljack, there is a large drop in at the top, followed by a medium size table (approx. 25-30ft), followed by another table (approx. 30-35ft.), and at the bottom the Rainbow rail is up. The wallride is also officially up and running. (We got some great video of that last week – check out the video page,.)
Another interesting addition to the park, according to park organizers is a new sound system which they say, “…is capable of VERY LOUD music.” They add that it will allow them some other features like IPOD adaptation, etc. We’re not convinced that the little FAMILY oriented resort is really going to allow booming “park music” to become a side-circus to the resort scene there, but it should be interesting.
Before I get a lot of emails, I have received numerous videos from many of you guys who apply some of the best thump, bump music to your movies and while I personally like a lot of it…ALL of it is not suited for primetime. That should be interesting to see what happens there.
Cataloochee is reporting a 2” drop in base, but is looking quite nice as temps dropped to 28° early this morning and that should make for a nice surface early…and a little on the loose granular side as temps mild up today to near 50°. They are skiing and riding on a 1.5 feet to 5 foot base with nice side-to-side coverage on 9 of 10 trails. Cataloochee is open for all three sessions (day and night skiing) and their tubing hill will reopen on Thursday.
Hawksnest reported a 1” drop in base depths to 19”-38” inches. Look for nine trails and the tubing hill fun today. They are offering Ladies a FREE day of skiing on Wednesdays. Go get ‘em girls. They are also giving Appalachian a run for its money with their new terrain park features. Visitors tell us that they are running neck and neck with what you’ll find at App. From what we wrote above, it sounds like App got the message and is upping the ante a bit. That is good news to park enthusiasts. Competition between the resorts to build a bigger, badder park makes for great enjoyment at both.
Hawksnest now has a rainbow box, 20 foot C-Box, rainbow rail, flat rail, spine and numerous snow hits. They will be adding new features to continue building a great park.
We’re happy to report that Sapphire Valley got the message yesterday and posted a new report for the first time in two weeks. What has been reported on some regional and associational websites has not been accurate. They are open today with what they are reporting on their own website as 18-24” of base on two trails and their popular Frozen Falls Tubing area is open as well.
Ski Beech is back to offering their midweek specials and freebies now that the Hoidays are behind us. Ladies ski FREE on Mondays; Two can ski for the price of one on Tuesdays, Today (Wednesday) is Retro Rate Day. Tickets sell for 70s prices. That’s $15 lift tix and $10 rentals. Thursdays the guys ski FREE as well.
Also with some snow in the forecast, don’t forget that Ski Beech offers $10 lift tix on snow days (day sessions only) and they also offer our older citizens and military personnel, great discounts as well.
Ski Beech reported a 2” drop in base depth and is looking good this morning after groomers did their magic. Beech is running 14 of 15 trails and a base of 20-32” It should be a nice day as temps reach near 50° today.
Sugar Mountain is the only resort in the state NOT reporting a drop in base depth in the last 24 hours. (For you two or three souls who continue to claim that we are unprofessional in our reporting…seemingly favoring one resort over another…ALL we are doing is reporting the facts.) Regardless, Sugar is looking quite nice though with an 18-56” base and 18 of 20 trails for day skiing and 14 trails at night. Sugar has closed their tubing hill until they can make more snow. They are hoping to get it going again by Friday.
Wolf Laurel is showing 2” less base than yesterday, and they have also closed six trails since yesterday. They are now skiing on six trails today. They have also closed their tubing hill and terrain park area…hence they have postponed their terrain park competition that was planned. A new date will be announced soon.
Today will be gorgeous weather-wise with temps reaching into the 40s to near 50° and today should be the last day of the thaw and look for COLD and some snow to return tomorrow. Great snowmaking temps return Thursday night, with an outside chance that some resorts may make snow tonight. Regardless, look for great temps, some snow and GREAT conditions across the state for this weekend. Check out the weather report posted.
Until Next Time!
Be sure to email photos, snow reports and comments to: [email protected]