Lorrie Tomlinson reports from Hawksnest on Saturday:
We enjoyed tubing at Hawksnest on Saturday. The lanes were fast and fun. Guns were dispersing fresh snow on the tube runs, as well as the slopes. Wish we had the time to make some turns on the trails because conditions looked really sweet on the mountain. The air was cold and crisp. Main roads accessing Hawksnest were completely clear, following the natural snowfall from Friday.
Wayne Cash reports from Cataloochee on Saturday:
My friend Greg and I made the trip to Cataloochee again Saturday morning, leaving Atlanta at 4:30 am to arrive in the parking lot of Cataloochee at 8am, walked up and bought our tickets at 8:10 am, then it was back to the car to suit up for a day of skiing.
The snow blowers were on and we were in the first 10 chairs up the mountain. The snow was great at little crunchy as to be expect, I think everyone knows what I mean when I say that. The snowboard run was great we were the first to hit that slope and it was soft with nice powder. There were no lines for the most part. The blowers were turned off by 10am which made for sweet conditions.
Around 11 am or so the flurries started, it snowed for about an hour and half covering tracks made earlier in the day. The crowds were still light for a Saturday.
My buddy and I must have made 30 runs Saturday, we finished our day with a beer at the bar at Cat.
All in all the snow was excellent, who could ask for more. Can’t wait to return to the Cat for more turns.
Elsa Barnes reports from Ski Beech:
I haven’t been to Beech in about 10 yrs, but my husband was attending a clinic there so I tagged along for the ride. Got out early and got to enjoy a beautiful, clear day(although windy). The surface was great as they had some natural snowfall from Friday and made multiple runs before lunch with practically no lines at the quad. As usual crowds came in afternoon but the lines were never more than 10 minutes. The only down side to the day was that the snow guns blew all day long which created major visual problems for me. I was told however that this was in anticipation of the warmer temps and rain coming so I guess they know best. Beech does a fine job with snow quality so I hope I can be back this season. White Lightning rocked yesterday early!
Jake Parrish- Extremeskier11 – reports from Appalachian Ski Mtn on Sunday Jan 8
Today was a awesome day, the snow was awesome, not much ice to be found. There was lots of groomed hardpack snow to be found. As the day went on it warmed up a good bit, and the snow got soft, but not too soft. With the temps not being all that great lately there were no bare spots, or even any spots of thin cover. The Terrain park was in good shape, had a small box and small rail on right, and on the left there was several rails, and a wall ride. The bottom had 2 big booters, they were real fun…It was a great day out, so go ski.. Also their weren’t many people there at all, you never had to wait in a lift line, maybe behind one or two people, but they were getting on as you skied on to the lift…so
Doug Burnett reports from Massanutten this weekend:
Awesome conditions are for the taking at Massanutten Resort in Virginia. Saturday snow fell from the sky as well as from the pole cats. Great surface conditions as the temps started at 21* and made it to oh 34 or so. The guns ran for 36 hrs straight. Well groomed trails early in the day and lite crowds. Saturday night brought on icy slicks on the black diamonds but hey, this is southern skiing! Very fast. Sunday morning was great also. They made snow till 6 am and the whole mountain had fresh powder waiting for me! An awesome day with 45 degree temps and great loose snow. The drainage streams were running well so some melting was going on, But you could not tell it in the top 4 inches. Stopped and pulled a lady out of a drainage pipe. All I saw was skis and a cap. She was OK funny!
Happy Trails! Doug Burnett
Ken from Tennessee reports on Ski Beech:
Made it up for the weekend at Beech. Snow was great on both Saturday and Sunday… The mountain was a thing of beauty Saturday morning, white with rime frost everywhere. The snow had firmed up and was super nice, cold, and they were making good snow. Was in a clinc all day that worked on ski skills. Saturday night was a the same.
Sunday was warm, probably in the upper 30’s at opening. Snowmaking was ending as the session started. Made a couple of runs then started shedding layers quicky. Snow was soft, hero snow. Great carving. Firmed up late as the sun dropped behind the hill.
On-Snow Reporters:
We will keep a log of the best reporter’s submission, photos and reports. Trust us it is way to time consuming to post every pic…but send them…because we are tallying the scores. The winner of the Best On Snow Reporter for 2005-2006 will win $1000 in cash, a FREE Getaway Vacation and more. The contest will run from now through March 1st and we will choose the winner. Our choice will be based on the following and IN THE ORDER of importance.
Quality of Photos
Quality of Reports (well written, informative, unbiased)
Number of Photo Submissions
Number of Reports
Extra points will be given for getting smiling faces in the photos and including names and cities where you can.
Extra points will be awarded for creative ideas.
We will choose the winner based on how helpful and informative the reports have been.
As of 01/09/2006 here are the top vote getters. (We will only document the top three to five here throughout the season…and we may begin posting the top ten, depending on how close results are.)
1. Lorrie Tomlinson
2. Kent Jackson
3. Gresham Barker