A perfect morning in the>>>> High Country
Wow, what a difference 24 hours makes! Yesterday morning at this time I was talking about thunderstorms and what not. Today, it is absolutely gorgeous outside up here in the High Country. We were treated to blue skies and a beautiful sunrise this morning. Yesterday was pretty crazy though. We even had a brief period of hail here at the office. There were even tornado watches at one point. Tornadoes! While I’m pretty sure none actually formed, it’s pretty crazy that the weather conditions were favorable for the formation of one….in FEBRUARY!
<<<Massanutten continuing to make snow this morning.
Like I said though, today is a completely different story. We are seeing temperatures 20 to 30 degrees colder at the ski areas across the region this morning. Almost every resort this morning is showing readings below freezing. It’s a little disappointing though that only Snowshoe, Massanutten, and Wintergreen fired up the guns last night and made some snow. KUDOS to them for doing so. In fact, Snowshoe, Canaan, and Timberline all saw a trace of snow last night once the cold front moved through and the underdeveloped snow become fully developed.
EDIT: I received an email informing me that Wisp also made snow last night. Awesome!
<<<<App’s cam showing they still have an impressive base. I just might have to go out there tonight!
I really am surprised though that no other places decided to lay down some new snow. I don’t think it got quite cold enough at Cataloochee (plus the humidity was too high). App has a huge base already so they really don’t need to make any snow, but I guess all the other places are either satisfied with what they have or are in end of season mode. The next couple nights do offer more snowmaking temperatures so we’ll wait and see what happens. That said, the next couple of days are going to be absolutely perfect for riding! While we are seeing a drop in base depths and the number of trails open, there is still a lot of terrain to ride in the Southeast. The next three days we will see plenty of sunshine and temperatures won’t be too warm. Temperatures at night will get below freezing so the snow will harden up and shouldn’t become the slush that we saw last week. If I could get out there during the day I definitely would. So if you can manage to do so, I’d highly suggest it as it will be some great spring-like riding conditions.
Snowshoe Snowshoe Snowshoe! Here’s the daily reminder. We are only 3 days away now! I’m pretty excited as all who are attending should be. As I already mentioned, Snowshoe received a trace of snow last night and they made some as well. Tonight, tomorrow night, and Thursday night all look like windows of opportunity to make even more, so there will be plenty of snow to enjoy this weekend! For more information click here, and if you haven’t already made your reservation, you should do so immediately!
Resort roundup time…
Appalachian Ski Mountain – 30°- Open today on 11 of 12 trails today with the AppalJam park being the only area not open. Ice skating is also open today. They have a promotion right now where you can buy next year’s season pass and ski and ride for free for the rest of this season. That’s a pretty cool deal.
Beech Mountain Resort – 26°- They are open today on 14 of 15 trails with a frozen granular surface. Oz Run is closed today and probably for the season. Crossway is reported as being open for some reason even though there is no snow on it and the entrance to Upper Southern Star coming from White Lightning looks pretty bare on the cam. Regardless, it will still be a fun day to ride out there are the grooming job looks very good this morning.
Cataloochee – 33.6°- They are open on 9 of 16 trails with a groomed surface today. There will be night skiing tonight. Tubing reopens on Thursday. Just a reminder that they are going to be having their BIGBIGBIG One Day Season Pass Sale on Sunday, March 6th. Pass prices will be the lowest of this year and next and if you are a new pass holder you can ski and ride for free for the rest of this year! Also, just a reminder that it’s Learn to Ski and Snowboard Season at Cataloochee and with the purchase of rentals you get a free 1.5 hour beginner lesson.
Sapphire Valley – 38°- They will reopen on Friday for skiing and tubing, weather permitting.
Sugar Mountain – 28.3°- Open today on 100% of the mountain with a loose and frozen granular surface. Sugar is still going strong. Their Spyder Sample Sale is still going on and will continue through the end of the season. Boss Hawg will be playing some bluegrass music on Saturday in the base lodge from 4pm to 6pm, and their March Madness rates being on Monday. Skating and tubing are also open today.
Wolf Ridge – Wolf is closed for the week and will re-open on Saturday, weather permitting.
Snowshoe Mountain – 21°- They are open on 56 of 60 trails today with a groomed and frozen granular surface. Despite the storms last night they are still going strong! Here’s what they have to say – " We turn the calendar to a new month and happily welcome a new weather pattern today. With 26 days left in the season, the snow is still looking good across the mountain, and we continue being dedicated to providing the best product possible. With cold overnight temperatures, we did have the electric snowguns working on the mountain last night, pushing out some new snow to coat areas in need. We also received a small dusting of snow from Mother Nature. Our expert grooming team was also able to get out and push snow around and lay down that beautiful corduroy surface they’ve been providing all season. We should have some nice firm snow to begin the day today, and that snow will soften up nicely as the day goes on. The only open terrain left ungroomed overnight was Lower Shay’s Revenge, which should be offering a fun challenge to expert skiers and riders. The next several days we’ll see comfortable daytime temperatures in the mid-to-low 40s, followed by colder overnight periods that dip below freezing. That means there’s an outside chance we’ll make snow again overnight tonight, and a better chance it happens again tomorrow night. These weather conditions are almost perfect, especially for this time of year. Who doesn’t love a little soft snow to carve up under a sunny sky?!
The forecast for the weekend isn’t looking quite as friendly, but that’s still several days away, and we’ll be having too much fun to notice! This weekend the INFAMOUS Jose Cuervo Games of Winter return to Snowshoe. This legendary event has been rocking the mountain for almost 30 years. If you haven’t joined the party, you’re missing out! From snow volleyball to boxcar racing, nightclub games to great live entertainment, it’s a weekend filled with over-the-top fun!
This weekend is also our annual Skisoutheast.com Summit. If you haven’t checked out skisoutheast.com you’re missing out on a great resource for skiing and riding in the region, as well as an active, enthusiastic message board. Hop over to the site and check out daily snow reports, plenty of chat topics and pictures from regional resorts. Plus, if you join the message board and join us for this weekend, you’ll receive great discounts on lodging and FREE lift tickets. Check out the skisoutheast.com message board for fun details and maybe even meet some new friends!
It’s really hard to believe March is already here. It’s been a great season so far, with amazing December snow and cold, nearly 30 days of round-the-clock snowmaking, one of the earliest openings for the Western Territory in the resort’s history and more bluebird days than we can count! You can’t ask for much more than that and we still have almost a month of skiing and riding to enjoy! And while it’s sad to see the season starting to end, March brings great things like milder temps, value season pricing and great events! Plus, it’s time to start thinking ahead; 2011.2012 season passes are now available, and when you purchase before the end of the current season, you’ll SKI FREE through March 27th, 2011. That’s right, purchase next year’s season pass now and SKI FREE for the remainder of this season! There’s still great snow out there and plenty of time to enjoy it. So head over to snowshoemtn.com or call 877-441-4386 today!”
Wisp Resort – 20°- Open on 28 of 32 trails today with a loose granular surface. There will be tubing sessions today and night skiing tonight. Today is also Student Day, where you will receive discounted prices on lift tickets, rentals, and tubing with a valid 2010/2011 student ID.
Massanutten – 27°- Open today on 100% of the mountain with a groomed and granular surface. They did make snow last night! Both terrain parks are still open with a number of features set up. They will have their Monday Night Madness rates if effect tonight due to being closed last night. Night session lift tickets and rentals are only $17. Tubing is also open today from 9am to 9pm.
Wintergreen – 24° – Open today on 24 of 26 trails with a groomed surface. They also made snow last night! They will be night skiing tonight and tubing will be open today.
Ober Gatlinburg – 34° – Open on 6 of 9 trails today with a groomed. The day session begin will begin at noon today and they will be skiing and riding until 10 pm tonight. Tubing and skating are also open today.
Canaan Resort – 24°- Open today on 32 of 39 slopes with a frozen granular surface. Tubing and ice skating are open. Today is Tubing Tuesday, where you can tube all 3 sessions for just $25. Just so you guys know, Canaan will close on March 13th (next Sunday), so get out there and enjoy it while you can!
Timberline – 24°- Open today on 32 of 39 trails with a frozen granular surface. The Governor’s Cup Race is this weekend so make sure to get up there and check that out.
Winterplace – 23°- Open today on 100% of the mountain with a groomed and granular surface. Both of their terrain parks remain open and tubing is also open today. They are still holding on pretty well!
Bryce Resort – 29°- They have not updated their site this morning so I would call ahead for conditions.
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