I am on the road today and Sunday doing the family Christmas thing, and while I am enjoying visiting with some of the family that I don’t get to see that often, I am NOT enjoying the wonders of dial-up internet! I was at it at 6:30am this morning and it took 1.5 hours to do what I would normally be able to do in about 20 minutes back home. It has been a while since I have experienced 40K baud as opposed to 3 Meg downloads! I made the mistake on wanting to support my storyline this morning with a Photo of the Day of Ski Beech. Just capturing, sizing and cropping ONE 640 x 480 image took more than 25 minutes due to what felt like 46 screen refreshes; you know the kind where your screen "rebuilds itself" one-quarter inch at a time!
I want to apologize to all of you guys who have sent photos of the day of late. We have not forgotten about you! Keep sending them. We WILL get them posted. I have implemented a gameplan that will allow us to allocate some of my office staff to help out and free yours truly to be able to devote about 80% of my time to SkiSoutheast and SkiNC.com. So stay tuned for more photos, videos, etc.
KUDOS TO OUR EARLY SEASON REPORTERS…
Thanks tons to those of you who have sent in trail reports, photos and videos thus far. POD (Photos of the Day) features and videos are crucial to be able to "tell the story" of what conditions look like and what to expect on your trip to your favorite ski hill. As slow as this winter has started for many of the ski resorts, it is amazing how many photos that we have received to date. With many resorts not operating or suspending operations, it is great to have received the volume of photos that we have.
Having said that, once I am back home and connected to our broadband I will fire up more images and videos. Beginning Monday, we will be incorporating two additional staffers to post trail reports and videos. So if you hit the slopes this weekend or the during the coming week, send away and we’ll get them up pronto. Send trail reports, videos and photos to: [email protected]
CHECK THE SLOPE CONDITIONS PAGE FOR DETAILS…
Due to my connectivity this morning…here’s a cursory look at some of the more notable tidbits of information going on (or NOT going on) today. I have combined these notes to display on SkiSoutheast and SkINC.com today and we will resume segregated reporting on Monday AM.
WEATHER and WHETHER or not it’s going to snow!
Meteorologist Matthew East just sent an updated weather post, so be sure to check that out. Basically he’s forecasting a wintry mix and some snow for the mountains of North Carolina and into the Virginia resort areas, and more substantial snows for West Virginia and into Maryland. The best news is that COLD temps are on tap for several days and that means snowmaking. It will be WINDY today and Sunday as this system moves through…but snow and cold is here!
If you’re headed to Sugar Mountain and SUGARFEST…there have been some events cancelled but Sugar is making snow and what IS happening should be fun. Here’s the schedule:
Saturday, December 15, 2007:
Consumer Demo – cancelled
10:00 am: Makeover Winner Presentation
11:00 am: Ice Skating Grand Opening Celebration
3:00 pm – Snowball Eating Contest
4:00 pm – 7 pm: Boss Hawg and After Ski Party
Fireworks Display – cancelled
Sunday, December 16, 2007:
9:00 am – 3:30 pm: Consumer Demo
Edge of the World/Burton Rail Jam Expression Session – cancelled
10:00 am: Ice Sculpting
WINTERGREEN is the cold spot this morning (or at least it was when I jumped online) at 20 degrees. They wrote, "The return of cold temperatures will allow for some great snowmaking this weekend and next week and as an extra bonus we are expecting some NATURAL SNOW tonight. For those guests who love twilight skiing, we are now open for both day and night sessions. Like you we are really pumped to be on the snow, you should come and join us! Don’t forget, Season Passes are good everyday through December 25th. If you like to ski and ride and want to save some dough, you should think seriously about purchasing one of these passes."
WINTERPLACE was planning on opening today, but due to the timing of the weather…they now have moved their resuming of operations to Monday. They wrote, "More cold weather is forecasted for later this weekend. We anticipate resuming operations Monday, December 17, 2007, or SOONER – BASED ON WEATHER. Please continue to check back for up to date information."
Snowshoe Mountain and Wisp are offering the BEST and MOST terrain available in the region right now, with Appalachian and Cataloochee the top choices for North Carolina today. Timberline in West Virginia looks pretty good with limited terrain available.
Send your comments, pics and vids to: [email protected]
Until Next time…