The top story of this morning should be dual headlines.
One should read that the resorts that are open and plan to be for the next week or so, are in very near mid-season form this morning. Temperatures in the teens and 20s and snowmaking will do that for you.
The second headline is that Sugar Mountain has now announced that they WILL close tomorrow (Tuesday, March 25th) at 4:30pm. We had been speculating since they were not making snow, that they would close prior to the end of the month. That is unusual for Sugar Mountain as they tend to make snow at every opportunity and fight to stay open longer than any other resort in North Carolina (and often within the region). Sugar has had a VERY strong season in terms of conditions and skier visits and they have some huge plans for the off-season that we are trying to get some confirmation on such that we can share with you guys.
WEST VIRGINIA SKI RESORT NEWS!
Canaan Valley is now closed for the snowsports season.
Snowshoe Mountain is reporting 22° at the top of their 4848′ elevation and they have reported a dusting of snow. They did not make snow overnight so it looks like Ed Galford and his mountain ops have ceased that for the last week of the season. They have plenty of base to play with and the most open terrain in the region with 32 open trails.
Up to an inch of snow is expected to fall today. Laura Parquette writes, "Next weekend, we’ll drop the curtain on the season with our tradition Last Hurrah! festivities, including our infamous pond skimming contest–come out and make a splash! Don’t forget to plan ahead for your 08-09 season. All 08-09 Season Passes are now on sale for their lowest available price until April 30th. Get yours today!"
Timberline Resort is displaying a gorgeous waterfall on their front page which signals that we are in the last days of the season. However, Timberline plans to keep me working, providing morning updates until APRIL 6TH! They received 1" of new snow overnight and should have 24-26 trails open for skiing and snowboarding!
Jessica Scowcroft sent us some sweet Easter photos showing some great conditions and that is our photo of the day so be sure to check that out on the front page!
Winterplace Resort has such good conditions that they extended their season for one more week! They had planned to close after Easter’s day skiing session, but they will remain open until Sunday, March 30th for day skiing, terrain park and snow tubing and they offer 27 trails today!
VIRGINIA SKI RESORT UPDATE:
Bryce Resort – They closed up their snowsports for the season on Saturday and are now promoting the golf course and driving range.
Massanutten Resort – They are day skiing on 8 trails today and Tuesday and will close for the snow season on Tuesday.
Wintergreen is also CLOSED for the snowsports season now. (We would have announced that as part of our dual headline, but they had announced that earlier in the week.) They are now offering Spring and Summer activities!
So Massanutten is the only ski area open in Virginia for two more days!
MARYLAND SKI RESORT NEWS:
Wisp Resort is reporting 1" of snow and some darn nice conditions on 28 trails for day skiing today. They also offer snow tubing and terrain parks for your pleasure!
NORTH CAROLINA SKI RESORT NEWS:
Yikes it got cold overnight! We’re seeing temperature readings of 15.7°up on Beech Mountain, 15.2° at Sugar Mountain, 22° in Banner Elk, 21° at Appalachian Ski Mountain, and 24° at Cataloochee.
We’re looking at some snow flurries today with some chances at an inch of snow here and there. Highs today will be in the mid 30s in North Carolina and colder as you head north. Overnight lows are expected to drop into the low 20s again and that means even more snowmaking.
Appalachian, Cataloochee are making snow as of this report at 7:30am
Appalachian is in mid-season form today with packed, manmade powder and 100% of their terrain open, both terrain parks and ice skating.
Cataloochee only has 5 trails open, but those will be in mid-season form today from 1pm-10pm.
Sugar Mountain – as mentioned they are closing on Tuesday after day skiing, but will be open today with 10 trails.
The forecast for the week ahead looks great with sunny skies, highs in the 40s, 50s and even some 60s as we get closer to Friday and that means some super Spring skiing and snowboarding.
Until Next time…
Be sure to visit www.SkiSoutheast.com for more news from the rest of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic ski areas!
Send your snow photos, videos, comments or emails to: [email protected]