Up to 3" of Wet, Heavy Snow fell into West Virginia, sunny skies will prevail for Sunday Spring Skiing and Snowboarding; and conditions will be groomed and variable granular with some thin coverage and bare areas.
Here’s an quick tour of the region: THE THEME FOR TODAY IS GOOD, SPRING CONDITIONS with some thin coverage and a bare area or two at all but a couple of the region’s ski resorts.
WISP RESORT SKI REPORT (Maryland’s only ski areas located close enough to West Virginia to be annexed!)
They report no new snow, but they are open with all ten of their lifts, 28 trails with groomed conditions as well as snow tubing, terrain parks and their mountain coaster!
WEST VIRGINIA SKI REPORT: Up to 3" of wet, heavy snow fell across the state. Lots of trails open and all four WV areas are still open. Expect some thin coverage and bare spots (the essence of Spring Skiing.)
Canaan Valley was reporting some rain/snow mix at 4am when they sent their Sunday report in. They will have 16 trails open with some variable conditions for day skiing only. Expect a few thin coverage areas and bare spots.
Snowshoe Mountain – These guys arew the ONLY resort in the Southeast and Mid Atlantic that are actually SELF REPORTING "Thin Coverage and Bare Spots". That is a great example that they are setting for all of the rest of the resorts in the region. Here they are – open with the most terrain in the region, with 3" of snow and they are still reporting some thin coverage and bare areas. Of course that IS the essence of Spring Skiing. Way to go Bill, Brad, Laura and crew!
Laura Parquette writes, "What a difference 24 hours makes! Mother Nature did a 180 yesterday and mild weather quickley changed over to snow, with three inches of heavy, wet snow providing a much needed coat to the slopes. Snowmaking did not occur overnight, but with temperatures expected to dip below 20 tonight, snowmaking may resume. We get back to mild weather tomorrow, with lots of sunshine predicted, providing great March conditions. Today will mark the end of the season for the Silver Creek area.The Creek will close for the season, as planned, at 4:30pm, with night skiing and riding and the tubing hill now closed for the season. Be sure to get your 08-09 Season Pass before April 30th to ensure the lowest price possible! All season passes are now on sale! **NASTAR racing will take place on Skip Jack this afternoon**"
Timberline Resort also reported 3" of snow, taking them to 147" on the season. They have dropped a trail or two since Saturday and now offer 25 trails for Sunday day skiing.
Winterplace did not report any snow, but they are 100% open with all 28 trails, snow tubing and terrain park. They also wrote, "Don’t be fooled by the weather where you live. The highest snowmaking capacity per acre in the Southeast explains why Winterplace has great conditions even when there’s no snow in your backyard! So what are you waiting for!!"
VIRGINIA SKI REPORT: A little wrap around snow is falling at Wintergreen (TRACE) and nice conditions for Spring Skiing with a little in the way of thin coverage and some bare spots apparent at each resort. All four Virginia resorts are still open. The Homestead closes today.
Bryce Resort is skiing and riding for day skiing only on 6 of 8 trails, with snow tubing and terrain park open on a good base with some thin coverage and a few bare spots showing.
Massanutten dropped one open trail from Saturday and now have 10 of 14 trails, one of the terrain parks is open and they have snow tubing as well. They are open for day skiing only and you should expect some thin coverage and a few bare spots as the day goes on.
The Homestead has kept one trail operational for the last week or so, but will cease skiing and snowboarding operations for the season after today’s session.
Wintergreen Resort’s Anne Marie Jones is wrapping up her first season at the resort and writes, "The overnight storm system is currently clearing out leaving behind a trace of snow in areas. We are experiencing light fog, which is expected to lift in the early part of the morning and will leave us with clear and sunny skies with highs around 40. Our current snow base depth is 16-35”. We have some great skiing and riding left for the season (please see the March operating schedule below).
Slopes: Today we will be skiing and riding on 12 slopes and trails and 4 lifts will be running. Tubing: The Plunge will operate 10AM – 9PM today. The Slide Tubing park has bee relocated to Discovery Ridge and is scheduled to operate from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM today."
NORTH CAROLINA SKI REPORT: Only Appalachian, Cataloochee and Sugar Mountain remain open. Four of Seven Ski Areas are closed for the season. The three mountains that are open are all featuring great Spring Skiing conditions with little or no thin areas or bare spots.
Today should be sunny with highs in the mid to upper 40s. That will make for some great Spring skiing for today at Appalachian, Cataloochee and Sugar Mountain.
The forecast looks good for more good skiing and riding at "The Big Three" ski areas which are traditionally the first ski resorts to open in the state, and the last to close. Monday should be sunny with highs in the 50s; Tuesday looks nice with some rain moving in at night, but daytime skiing should be nice with highs in the 50s and low 60s; Wednesday is looking a bit wet right now.
Appalachian was doing some early morning grooming and looks very nice for today. The best snow will certainly be early as things are firm this morning. Skier traffic will "mash potato" things for later in the day. App will be 100% open with all ten trails, terrain parks and ice skating. (No thin coverage or bare spots here!)
Appalachian wanted us to make you aware of the following important day:
3/13/08 – Join the National Ski Patrol at Appalachian Ski Mtn.
Are you Interested in becoming a member of the National Ski Patrol? Do you have a medical background or are you interested in taking an Outdoor Emergency Care course?
Ski with Appalachian Patrol and fellow patrollers around the country.
Help provide medical care and a safe skiing environment.
Learn outdoor emergency care.
If you love the sport and enjoy working with people pleasecome by the Ski Patrol Room on the lower level of the lodge and sign up for the 2008-2009 ski season.
Appalachian Ski Patrol tryouts will be held on Saturday, March 22, 2008
Cataloochee groomed this morning and are open for day skiing only today til 4:30pm on six trails. They will be open this next week from 1pm-10pm daily. If you are planning on skiing at The Cat NEXT weekend, bear in mind that they will be open on Saturday, but closed for Easter Sunday, March 23rd. They plan to remain open until March 30th. (Expect a good base with little in the way of bare areas.)
Hawksnest is open for Tubing Only and will close that down after tubing sessions today. We saw them grooming snow off of the ski trails on Saturday and pushing it down to the tubing hill. That made the slopes look ready to ski yesterday but skier traffic would not warrant staying open.
Sugar Mountain looks pretty good for today. They have fifteen trails open for today. Don’t forget that Sugar has Easter Egg Hunt, Sunday, March 23rd: Dress up in your Easter costume and come join Sugar Bear and Sweetie Bear on the slopes in search of prize-filled eggs. An egg containing a 2008-2009 season pass will be scattered among hundreds of other prize-filled eggs! Valid lift/slope tickets or season passes are required for participation. Participants 12 years or younger are welcome, bunnies included! Please meet promptly at 9 am at the bottom of the Yellow Lift. The Easter Egg Hunt is on the Lower Flying Mile ski slope and is for skiers and snowboarders only. (Expect a few thin areas around trail merges.)
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]