As I was preparing to sit down and compile this morning’s update I caught a glimpse of a nearly full moon dropping in the sky above Seven Devils and I grabbed my camera. Before I could snap three or four shots with varying shutter speeds it dropped behind the mountain. It’s amazing how quickly that happens once it gets that low in the sky! Anyway, it is a gorgeous Spring day in the mountains and it promises to be a great day to do whatever you decide to do today. If it happens to be skiing and snowboarding then you’re in for a great day of sun and fun. Temperatures will be in the 50s to near 60° so take your light gear, sunglasses and some sunscreen!
Check the Slope Conditions page for all of the details…and here’s a few notables.
Appalachian continues at 100% open and will do an amazing menu for an Easter Brunch on Sunday.
Cataloochee has dropped another trail. They are open daily through the rest of the season from 8:30am-4:30pm with the lone exception of Easter Sunday when they will be closed. They have 5 trails open for today, closed Sunday, then open all the following week and weekend for day skiing. They will end their season NEXT Sunday, March 30th.
Sugar Mountain is open today and tonight with 10 trails available. They will do an Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday. 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.
Bryce Resort in Virginia is skiing and riding for one last day (today) and will end their season at 3pm today. They offer 5 trails for today.
Massanutten Resort is extending their season a couple of days and will now close on Tuesday, March 25th. They have 8 trails open for today.
Wintergreen Resort will offer 4 trails for today and Sunday. (They have not updated their report as yet this morning and there’s a chance they will add a trail or two to that count for this weekend.) They plan on ending their season tomorrow, Easter Sunday.
As we move up into West Virginia, the temps are a bit chillier. Canaan Valley was reporting 36° at 4am and 16 trails will be open for today and Sunday and then they will end their snow sports season and move into more outdoor adventure hiking, etc.
Snowshoe has 8 more days of skiing and offer 35 trails for today. Snowshoe’s Laura Parquette did a nice job of summing up today’s slope forecast with a comparison to the entire season. She wrote, "With 8 days to go in the 07-08 season, today’s weather should be like a mini representation of the whole season…We’ll start off cloudy, with rain expected until mid-afternoon. That rain may change to snow, before changing back to rain, and then back to snow overnight–just the kind of rollercoaster we’ve experienced all season.The good news is that in addition to any snow provided by Mother Nature, overnight temperatures should allow us to make snow, possibly for several days in a row. That will help ensure great conditions through the end of the season. And off the snow we’ve got some big news, too. Today and tomorrow, celebrate the Easter Holiday with the whole family at our Champange and Chocolate Weekend, including free tastings and a giant mountaintop Easter egg Hunt.. Next weekend, we close the season with our tradition Last Hurrah! festivities, including our infamous pond skimming contest–come out and make a splash! **All 08-09 Season Passes are now on sale for their lowest available price until April 30th. Get yours today!**
Timberline Resort keeps impressing us. They have 24 trails open today and plan to ski on until April 6th. They must have thought that I needed to work another week. It’s kind of bitter sweet for me. I’m glad to see one of the resorts able to make it another week as that shows the power of the Southeast’s snowmakers. However,I could use the rest!
Winterplace Resort has made my job easy every morning. I can simply skip over the trail count postings and leave theirs on 28 open trails most all season long. They have two more days of skiing, snowboarding and tubing and there’s no doubt they will do it with all 28 trails open.
Wisp Resort, just across the West Virginia line into Western Maryland’s Garrett County, is still going strong for one more week. They have 28 trails open today and some fun planned. Sunday they will offer an "Easter Jam". Sounds like some bread toppings to go with your Eastern Brunch, but this is a JAM of a different kind!
This is your chance to set it up one last time in the park at Wisp, this all out jam will feature some of Shaw and the crews best late season work, urban features and more. Registration at 12 noon, Easter egg park hunt at 1pm, comp to follow. $100 cash prize for the best Easter Bunny Costume rider and skier. People choice will decide the winner for the springtime event. There is a $15 entry fee.
Wisp has a POND SKIM event planned for their closing weekend of fun next weekend and we’ll tell you more about that as we get a day or two closer.
That’s it for today. Grab your golf cl- I mean skis and snowboards and go hit the links – I mean slopes. Tis the season my friends! Get it while you can!
Until next time…
Send your comments, photos and videos of any of the fun planned at YOUR favorite resort to: [email protected]