Last Monday I was on here and the First Trax article I wrote was talking about the upcoming cold snap and how this Monday would look a whole lot better. Oh man is that ever the case! The webcams we have across the region show nothing but cold, snowmaking, and even some natural snow is currently falling! What a time to be alive! Let’s do a little check of those cams.
Wisp Resort
Beech Mountain Resort
Snowshoe Mountain
Massanutten Resort
So we currently have snowmaking going on all over the place this morning. It is GLORIOUS. Literally every single ski resort in the region is making this right now as I type this. I can’t tell you how excited I am this morning to be doing the morning report. Looking at all of the webcams this morning has me pretty giddy I won’t lie.
We deserve this. It has been a rough start to the season to say the least but it looks like we are finally there in terms of cold air staying around long enough to sustain operations at the ski resort. It looks like some snow is possible in our not so distant future as well based on Brad Panovich’s latest video forecast. Check out his latest post by clicking below.
https://www.skisoutheast.com/finally-the-cold-is-back/
Expect conditions to get even better over the next several days as the forecast looks so good right now. Many places will see around the clock snowmaking in the next 48 hours with some resorts seeing some more natural snow falling today. The forecast for Snowshoe, Canaan, and Timberline includes 1-3 inches of the white stuff today.
Yesterday Was Good
While this morning is exciting with the bitter cold and snowmaking, yesterday wasn’t too shabby either. I FINALLY was able to get back on snow as I made the trip up to Appalachian Ski Mountain yesterday. It had been something like 5 or 6 weeks since I was able to ride last. Crazy!
App can really lay down some snow and it only took two nights of snowmaking to completely transform the mountain from bare ground to a complete winter wonderland. They had 8 slopes open (and still do today) and coverage was insanely good. The weather was perfect with bluebird conditions and temperatures just above freezing. It was awesome! Check out some of my photos below. You can click to enlarge each one.
Here’s a little clip of what the park looked like. That’s me in the gray jacket at the beginning and my buddy Thomas afterwards. So fun!
Round Up
Here’s a quick summary by state of where we stand right now. Check the SNOW REPORT PAGE for all the stats and what not.
We’re currently at 9 open resorts in the region, but expect that number to jump in the coming days. We should be close to having every resort open by Thursday.
Tennessee
Ober Gatlinburg re-opened today for skiing and snowboarding! They have an 8-10″ base 3 slopes and 1 lift running. Night sessions are available tonight. From their site…“Come ski/ride Castle Run, Cub Way and the Ski School slope … Plus the OGFT Terrain Park, set up on Castle Run.”
North Carolina
Just about every resort here in NC is open today. The lone exception is Sapphire Valley who has been making snow and do have tubing open today. App, Beech, Sugar, Cataloochee, and Wolf Ridge are all open today and blasting the slopes with snow. Additionally, all but Wolf Ridge are offering night sessions tonight, so there’s time to get out there and get some turns in after work.
Virginia
No ski resort is currently open in Virginia, but that is going to change in the coming days. All are making snow and anticipate opening ASAP. Bryce Resort has announced Wednesday as their opening, Massanutten will open tomorrow, and Wintergreen is shooting for either Wednesday or Thursday. No word from The Homestead yet.
West Virginia
Snowshoe and Timberline remain the two lone resorts operating in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia today. Snowshoe added two additional trails so they are up to 12 now, leading the region in that aspect. Both of those resorts are reporting an inch of new snow this morning, so it should be a fun day up that way.
Canaan Valley Resort and Winterplace will both be opening in the next day or two as well. Winterplace will open tomorrow with Canaan following suit on Wednesday.
Maryland
As you could tell from the webcam shot (that camera is fantastic) at the beginning of the post, it’s quite wintry looking up at Wisp. They’re technically open today, as they have a kid’s area open, but no slopes are open for skiing and snowboarding. They have not announced an opening date as of yet, but I’d imagine it will happen sometime soon.
So there you have it. An exciting Monday morning! We have cold temperatures, snowmaking, snow falling, more resorts opening…NOW WE’RE TALKING!
It’s going to be a fun few days to watch the resorts crank out the snow and completely transform conditions across the region. #skiseasonreboot is here! Keep checking back all week long as we’ll keep you up to date on everything. Think cold and think snow!