Hello Everyone –
Someone needs to tell Mother Nature to spread the love as it pertains to snowmaking temperature. While conditions continue to improve at resorts in West Virginia and Maryland where temperatures have been favorable for the snowmakers, the resorts further south have to be wondering when Mother Nature was going to give them a helping hand. Since there hasn’t been much natural snow so far this season, the region’s veteran snowmakers need the thermometer to drop below that 32 degree mark. The conditions are improving everyday at the resorts that have been able to make snow on a regular basis. Now the First Lady of Winter needs to realize just how important those subfreezing temperatures are right now with the holidays not far away.
With that said I just don’t think people understand what it takes to get a resort up and operating for the season. Part of you out there understand the effort it takes to get that first snow on the trails at a southeast resort, but then there are you out there that don’t have a clue. It annoys me to hear comments about the lack of coverage on slopes, when the temperatures haven’t been the best for the snowmakers to work with. Just relax, take a pill and realize that no where in the country will you find better snowmakers than in the southeast. They just need some help from Mother Nature with come continuous cold temperatures.
It looks like Mother Nature may already be ready to get things going for real for the snowmakers with natural snowfall some of this week and snowmaking temperatures at least during the night time hours. Now if she only stays true to her word or the forecast. The word on the street though is, unfortunately this is going to be the way it’s going to be this year. Hit and miss with temperatures and natural snow. Since the best snowmakers in the country are located here in the southeast region, the trails will be covered, but everyone is going to have to be a little patient.
More resorts will be opening this week across the region. That means additional acreage will be available for skiers and snowboarders. You may not realize it, but this season’s opening is basically following the same patterns as years past. Before you know it every resort will be open in the southeast and the first thaw will be starting. But that’s a topic for another column.
That’s it for this week; more to come as the season continues. Just be patient as whether it be cold or whether it be hot, we’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather will be. Think about it!
Joe Stevens, a member of the southeast ski industry since 1990 is a regular columnist for skisoutheast.com and serves as the Communications Director for the West Virginia Ski Areas Association.