FREE SKIING AT CANAAN VALLEY TODAY! Rain changes to Snow Tonight!

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We’re giving Canaan Valley TOP BILLING today as they open today with a 36" base and 8 trails available for FREE SKIING TODAY!!! To kick off the season – they will host a “FREE” Powder Day TODAY from 12pm – 4:30pm. All guests will receive a free lift ticket for the session time. They "officially" open for the season tomorrow…but they are skiing and snowboarding today! They DO have "Face", one of the black diamonds open today and they are seeing a bit of "underdeveloped" snow today for the forecast there is for STILL GREAT SKIING!

We’re expecting some photos Coop!

Wisp Resort is reporting 35° right now and some freezing rain is already in the area. However, a wintry mix is expected later today and 1-2" of snow tonight! They may see another inch or so on Friday and then a great weekend Saturday and Sunday wih highs in the upper 20s on Saturday and lows in the teens and 20s. Sunday should be a gorgeous day with highs in the upper 30s. Wisp has added another open trail the mix and now offers 17 trails today for day skiing until 5pm. Their mountain coaster and tubing park are closed for today.

Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia is a bit milder this morning and is reporting 42° at the base of their mountain this AM. They have been able to open three more trails today than they had open on Wednesday which is a sure sign that there’s plenty of snow out there. Remember that they had 16" of snow on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. Snowshoe has had a LOT of moisture fall this early in the season. In addition to the 85" of snow they’ve had thus far – they have also had a couple of days where 1" of rain fell. They are open today with 28 trails and some terrain park features in the Spruce Glades Terrain Park. They expect to open more terrain soon and Upper Shays Revenge was mentioned as a possible opening over the next couple of days.

Snowshoe is looking at possibly another one-inch of rain for today and then 3-5" of snow for Friday. What a GREAT and crazy start they are having!!!

Timberline Resort is reporting 33° this morning and 15 trails open for today. Light rain is still in the forecast for that area today and then 3" or so of SNOW. saturday and Sunday look GREAT with sunny skies and highs in the 20s on Saturday and then 40s on Sunday. Lows Friday and Saturday will be in the teens and 20s and that means more snowmaking as well. Timberline has Upper White Lightning (a black diamond) and TWO double blacks available in "Off the Wall" and "Upper Silver Streak" open for today!

Massanutten Resort is reporting 37° this morning and the same 6 trail offerings for today for day skiing and 6 lanes of tubing for today. They expect to offer night skiing sessions for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Mass is looking at another one-inch of rain for today and then a changeover to snow sometime Friday. They may see an inch of SNOW which is welcome at the Virginia ski area. Saturday’s high should be around 37° and overnight lows in the 20s.

As we move down south into Tennessee, Ober Gatlinburg has had to close down ski ops for the day. Kathy Doyle writes, "The slopes are temporarily CLOSED due to heavy rain & gusty winds. Please check back Friday for an updated report."

THE NORTH CAROLINA SKI AREAS STILL WITH PLENTY OF SNOW BASE

The NC Mountains are now on the last leg of the rainfall that was forecasted. Some 3-4" of rain has fallen across much of the region. At some point later today the temperatures are expected to nosedive down and change this under-developed snow – over to the REAL stuff and 1-3" of snow is not out of the question early Friday AM across Western North Carolina. Then Friday, Saturday and Sunday look GREAT with sunny skies and highs in the low 30s on Friday, upper 30s for Saturday and maybe 43° or so on Sunday. Overnight lows will drops into the teens and 20s nightly and that means snowmaking machines will be roaring almost around the clock all weekend. With the tdrastic temperature change expected tonight AND some additional snowfall, look for great conditions for this weekend.

I can’t wait for the temperature drop because these 50°, 7am temps don’t work for me!

The rainfall and mild temnps of the last 48+ hours has made for the expected drop in base depths at ski areas. Appalachian is recording a 10" drop in the last 24 hours and more than 13" over the last two days. Of course they still have 47-68" of base which is a ton of snow.

Cataloochee is reflecting a 14" drop in the last 24 hours, but they still have a 16-60" base.

Ski Beech has Upper Shawneehaw open again today. That means that they are open to the top with 5 trails. They are reporting a 6" drop in base or 10" in the last 48 hours. They are still reporting a 22-42" base.

Sugar Mountain is reporting a 15-47" base which reflects a drop of 4" in the last 24 hours and 10" over the last 48 hours.

We haven’t heard from Wolf Ridge as they’ve been closed all week, but they do plan to reopen on Friday for day and night skiing sessions.

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

Chris Hennecy of Myrtle Beach, SC just won the first of TWENTY VACATIONS that we will be giving away this season. By being the lucky, instant winner, he will be staying at "Just Chillin", a gorgeous log cabin located right down from the entrance to Appalachian Ski Mountain. He also won 4 lift tickets from App and free ski rentals from 1st Tracks Ski and Snowboard Shop in Boone.

Congrats Chris!

We posted the contest last night at around 10pm and the entries poured in. We called four of the entries at 8am this morning and at 8:25am we caught up with Chris in Myrtle Beach. Chris told us, "That’s crazy ’cause I was planning on picking up my girlfriend and hitting the slopes this weekend anyway. I just bought her a new snowboard for an early Christmas present."

Chris will be a popular guy with his girlfriend and a couple of his luckier friends for this weekend as conditions should be VERY nice at Appalachian for this weekend!

Thanks again to Donna and Suzanne at Blue Ridge Vacation Cabins for partnering with us on the log cabin giveaway. If you are looking for a great cabin getaway, Donna and Suzanne can help you find the perfect cabin close to the slopes! Visit www.BlueRidgeVacationCabins.com for more information.

Also thanks again to Appalachian Ski Mountain and 1st Tracks for making all of this possible.

THINK SNOW!!!!

Send your photos, videos, trip reports and comments to: [email protected]

 

 

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