Brace yourselves: It’s the last day of a holiday ski weekend in the 2023-24 season.
There’s plenty of good reading material out there this morning if you missed it. Joe Stevens makes a great point in his column from yesterday:
“It won’t be long before the ropes are pulled across the slopes and another season will be in the books,” he says. “So, with that said, if you haven’t made any turns yet this season or you want to makes some more, plans to do so need to be made relatively soon.”
And just a friendly reminder. If you’re pulling out some equipment that hasn’t been used in a little while for a trip to the slopes, make sure you inspect it a little bit. Joe talks about a mishap he had at the SkiSoutheast Summit at Massanutten. While that was a rare instance – not to spoil his column, but an incident with a roof rack led him to turn to his backup board – I know plenty of people who dig their skis and boards out of storage and don’t even get the dust off before hitting the slopes.
- There are a few things you should always check so you aren’t left scrambling for a rental setup, They are:
- Checking to make sure all of the appropriate screws and bolts are tightened
- Ensuring that your buckles, laces, and BOAs are all operating correctly
- Waterproof your gloves or mittens
- Look at your bindings for signs of wear. These parts have a habit of giving out when the time is the worst. I once had a binding blow out halfway down a run at Sunday River in Maine. It was reparable, but I was forced to walk down the mountain.
The Pros
Keep an eye out for footage from the 2024 Natural Selection Tour. The greatest snowboarding contest around kicked off its preliminary stages this month in Japan, with powder riders like Red Gerard, Jamie Anderson, Mary Rand, and Spencer O’Brien kicking things off. The video from that will premiere on Red Bull TV on February 27.
If you’ve never heard of the NST, I could sit here and try to explain it to you…or I could point you in the direction of The New York Times. Writer Matt Ruby did a great job breaking it all down last March.
Is this a space to talk about cross country skiing? It is now.
Madison, Wisconsin’s Gus Schumacher became the youngest American to win a World Cup race and first U.S. man to win in a decade yesterday. The 23 year old lead by 8.6 seconds. He’s the third U.S. man to win a World Cup. Jessie Diggins took third on the women’s side for her 11th individual podium of the season. That is an American record.
Here’s what else you need to know to ski and ride in the southeast today:
Bryce Resort
Bryce’s snowmakers are taking advantage of the temperatures in the teens.
It’s 24 degrees out there this morning, and the resort is back open to 100% capacity.
“We were able to get Hangover back open and all other trails are in great shape. It’s a perfect bluebird day out with ideal conditions and we plan to make more snow tonight!”
Snowshoe
There are 60 of 61 trails open at the ‘Shoe today.
The resort got 10 inches of fresh snow in just the past three days. and reader Brian Duy was back there with his family.
“Ten inches of snow followed by a blue bird day! Can’t beat it! The best weekend ever!” he said. “Was able to get 28 runs in today. Shays to Lower Cupp and Bear Claw at Silver Creek were the runs of the day today.”
There is a a flash sale going on right now: Use the promo code SPRING20 to get 20% off any day ticket for the rest of the season. The offer goes away at 9 a.m. on February 21.
Winterplace
There are 28 open trails and seven lifts spinning at Winterplace today. From the snow report:
Snowmaking will shutdown mid-morning as the temperatures warm up. Our commitment to delivering the best experience possible remains unwavering, and we can’t wait to see you all out there shredding the fresh snow this weekend. Sunday and Monday the sun is back and conditions will be great!
Timberline
Temperatures will reach a low of 14, and a high of 39 today.
“The mountain is 100% open! Another productive night of snowmaking Sunday night has further expanded coverage on our open terrain,” the snow report says. “Fresh natural snow Friday nigtht and throughout the day Saturday has groomed in nicely, and you’ll find an excellent packed powder machine groomed surface on the mountain today. All open terrain has been groomed.”
Video of the Day
Powder slashes. Butter 360s. Jibbing off of natural features in the backcountry. Juggling snowballs. Laid-out backflips. Cheese wedges.
Parker Duke stuns in “Just Bein’ In The Mountains.” The super pure, 5-minute long edit for board brand “Dinosaurs Will Die” is a perfect feel-good film for tour Monday, no matter what your vibe is on this President’s Day. Headed to the mountain? Perfect inspiration. Need a chill morning before a long trek back home? Throw it on, it’s only 5-minutes long.
Bonus: North Carolina’s Jack Reid – a snowboarder who is the founder of Batwing Headwear – is one of the filmers credited on this project.
The Rest
Thanks to everyone that has already joined us on Discord.
Think snow!
Think cold!
Click here to join us on our new SkiSoutheast Discord channel. It is a great way to meet new snow loving friends and shares experiences, ask questions, and more!
And as always, email me at [email protected] with your thoughts and photos.