Who The Heck Are You Guys Kidding? It’s Not REALLY Snowing Is It?
I started the Southeast and Mid Atlantic report this morning this way for one funny reason. I received this email in its exact form overnight last night. I am not sharing this person’s last name since I didn’t get permission as yet to do so, but I had to share it!
Janet S. of Nashville, Tennessee wrote, “Why is it that you keep reporting snowfall at your resort when it can’t be snowing. The temperature is 58 and I know its colder up there but give me a break, who do you think you’re fooling? Shame on your deceptive practices. People know better.”
Perhaps this email was a hoax, after all it’s hard to “read” sarcasm in an email. If she wasn’t being sarcastic then I envision her as a great candidate to work for former President Bill Clinton.
There’s this new-fangled invention called the television and a cool, new bit of programming called THE WEATHER CHANNEL that has been reporting the snows up north. That is the fight that we continue to fight – the one of perception. Just because it’s 58° in your neck of the woods doesn’t mean that it’s not substantially colder at the higher elevations. This morning is a GREAT illustrator of this scenario. Appalachian Ski Mountain in Blowing Rock, North Carolina is reporting 39° at 8am, whereas Wisp Resort in Maryland is showing 8°! That is a 31° difference.
Areas into Western North Carolina through northern Virginia saw abundant sunshine yesterday. Wisp saw 8” of snow! That IS the facts.
I was watching one of my favorite TV meteorologists in Charlotte the other night and he was referencing the mild temps and made a blanket statement about all of the ski areas closing up. First, all of the ski areas are not closing up. In fact, only a few are planning to end their seasons this Sunday. Many are skiing and riding right through March 25th and some are pushing on through April 1st. (We even have heard one hint that one resort could extend their season to April 8th.) There’s plenty enough snow to make it, that’s for certain. If the skiers keep on coming…who knows.
HERE’S SOME RESORT NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS
Wisp Resort – 8° – They received 8” in the last 24 hours and 113” on the season. 30 sweet powder covered trails are waiting to be destroyed.
Canaan Valley – 14° – 4” of new snow and 132” on the season for the Valley. The snow just keeps on falling up there. Expect powder conditions on 37 trails.
Snowshoe Mountain – 16° – They continued to make snow last night and the base is 54" – 70" with groomed packed powder surface conditions on 57 trails.
Bryce Resort – They reported 1/4th inch of snow in the last 24 hours. Isn’t that a dusting? I couldn’t help but chuckle because I don’t think I’ve ever had someone report 1/4th inch of snow before. Perhaps 18” on the season might make ME report 1/4th inch! Bryce is in good shape heading into the weekend!
Massanutten Resort – They didn’t see any snow according to Jeff up there. It is 27 as of this 8am report and all 14 trails are open as is 10 lanes of tubing.
Wintergreen Resort – 27 – 25 trails and Tubing are open today.
Virginia Note: Despite not making snow for the last week, none of the Virginia resorts have shown any reduction in base depth. That’s some high tech snow! Come on guys…
Cataloochee – They are hosting some recreational racing this Sunday and Sunday, March 18th. Tammy Brown says, “These races are open to any age and any level and will be held on Sunday, March 11 and Sunday, March 18, from 1pm until 3pm each Sunday. Cost is $3 per run, or $5 for two runs. Awards and Results will be held at 4pm in the lodge each Sunday afternoon.”
Hawksnest Resort – 34° – Lenny Cottom says, “We will open Saturday, March 10th for skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing at 9am. Our weekend schedule for skiing and snowboarding will be Saturday 9am – midnight and Sunday 9am – 4:30pm. For snowtubing on Saturday we will open at 9am to 9pm and Sunday 9am – 5pm. Hope to see you this weekend.”
That is more solid sounding than what was relayed to us earlier in the week. So plan on skiing at The Nest this weekend. Lenny also shared the results of last weekend’s Nest Games.
Mens: Keith Clement, 1st place Ian Costello, 2nd place Adam Turner, 3rd place Drew Fischer, 4th place
Ladies: Anna Fisher, 1st place Chelsea Taylor, 2nd place
Sapphire Valley – Weather permitting, SV Ski will be open March 10 & 11 for skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing. Current conditions are great. Warmer temperatures make snow soft and skiing fun. Call 828-743-7663 for further information, or 828 743 1162 for a recorded snow report.
Ski Beech – 31° – This was the first day or night in almost a week that Beech didn’t make snow. They got their grooming done early this morning and conditions should be very nice today.
Congress Takes Away Some of Our Ski Season This Year!
As I walked out this morning there was no mistaking the fact that Spring is on the way. At least that’s the case here in the Western North Carolina Mountains. (Check out www.SkiSoutheast.com for the report and news for the rest of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic as Wisp Resort in Maryland picked up 8” of snow in the last 24 hours! Crazy!)
There’s something about the change of seasons. The mornings become somewhat brighter and of course you get that hint of milder temps as the morning sun creeps closer to us. I always begin doing a little preliminary thinking about what I’m going to write about as I drive in and this morning it hit me that our wonderful United States Congress is going to steal away a bit of our ski season this year. If you haven’t caught on just yet, here’s how.
By order of the United States Congress, Daylight Savings Time was moved up two weeks to this weekend. Typically DST started in April (a day or two after the ski seasons end in the Southeast and Mid Atlantic) but since at least some of the ski areas will still be playing through April 1st, that means that the season is one hour shorter.
Okay, okay – although THE SEASON is an hour shorter, we won’t lose any time on the slopes because ski areas aren’t open at 2am Sunday, but I had a few of you for a second or two didn’t I? Maybe not. Time to move on.
This time of year I begin feeling like one of the sports announcers that is broadcasting a runaway game, wherein they have to make up stuff to talk about because the game is not of great interest. Those of us who love to get on the snow as much as possible certainly don’t think this is a “boring” time of year. In fact, this is our favorite time of year! In another couple of weeks, the snow will begin to really deteriorate, but for now the snow is plentiful and of wonderful consistency.
It should be noted that there are NO bare spots, NO thin coverage areas and conditions right now across the entire state of North Carolina are close to if not AS GOOD as they were in mid January. One look around the web cameras within the state will tell you that the best conditions are probably at Appalachian, Cataloochee, Ski Beech and Sugar Mountain. We’re seeing some thin coverage and telltale discoloration of snow at Wolf Ridge and Hawksnest, but bear in mind that those two resorts are not open and undergoing grooming. They will no doubt do some maintenance prior to opening on Saturday.
PHOTOS AND CAMERAS TELL THE TALE
Donnie Ingram of Summerville, SC wrote, “I keep hearing from you guys that the snow still looks great. Can you send me some photos as proof? I love the webcameras but don’t know if they are live shots.”
Huh?
As far as we know Donnie (and all others reading this), we are the only resource in the region and perhaps the entire United States that posts as many live cameras as we do AND the number of Photos of the Day that we do to provide accurate assessments of what our region’s ski areas actually look like. The images that you see via the web cams are live within seconds (except for the occasional glitch). The photos of the day are sent by numerous volunteer trip reporters and are always recent shots.
Until Next Time…
THINK COLD AND SNOW!!!
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For more information about the ski resorts of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic visit www.SkiSoutheast.com
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