Our thoughts are with the family of Kenneth Kidd this morning.
The 66-year-old was killed in an in-bounds avalanche while skiing at Palisades in Lake Tahoe, California yesterday around 9:30 a.m.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said that the avalanche left a debris field about 150 feet wide, 450 feet long, and 10 feet deep, according to The New York Times.
The news is heartbreaking and terrifying. While we’re lucky that slides seldom happen on the east, it’s still a brutal reminder that this pastime we love is inherently dangerous.
Trevor Kennison
Yesterday’s FirsTrax featured an interview with Al Kaye, a recreational therapist who works in physical rehab and runs Beech Mountain Resort’s Annual Adaptive Ski Week. That kicks off on January 16 and runs through January 18, and is the event’s 42nd iteration. Adaptive ski instructors visit from Sugarbush and Pico in Vermont, Breckenridge in Colorado, and Lake Tahoe. If you missed it, you can read that interview here.
Professional sit-skier Trevor Kennison’s made waves across both the skiing community and the internet when he launched himself into Corbet’s Couloir back in 2019. But during my research for adaptive ski week, I learned that a documentary chronicling Kennison’s spinal cord injury and his journey back to the mountains titled “Full Circle” was recently released. Watch the emotional trailer here.
For those looking to watch this in theaters, you may be in luck! The documentary will be playing at Rodeo Cinema in Oklahoma City from January 12 through 18. And for those of our readers who aren’t based in Oklahoma (which I imagine is 99% of you), the film will show at the Lookout Wild Film Festival in Chattanooga on Saturday. It will also play at The Kennedy Center on January 18. The full list of screenings is available here. But you can also stream it for $10 on Vimeo.
It’s been a wild week of weather. We’ve gone up and down from warm and rainy weather to freezing ice, and back again. Meteorologist Brad Panovich has your weekend forecast for you here.
It looks like the last warm and wet storm of the winter is whipping through the region, so we will lose some base at some resorts. But there’s a potential for some natural snow on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Next week is looking awesome – once again, Brad’s words, not mine! The temperatures will be cold, the chances for natural snow are high, and maybe we can play some catchup with snowmaking in the southeast.
Here’s what you need to know to ski and ride the southeast today:
Cataloochee
The Cat is nearly 100% open! Well, 88% open if we’re getting specific.
But there’s been a serious upgrade in open terrain over the last few days. The ski area has a base of 42 to 58 inches, and Short ‘n Sweet, Alley Cat, Upper Omigosh, Turkey Trot, and the CAT Cage Terrain Park are all among open trails. There is a 24-inch mailbox Rail, 8-inch flat box, and 10-inch flat rail open in the park.
Snowshoe
It’s a cold one in Almost Heaven! A brisk 17 degrees at the time of writing this report.
Snowshoe got another inch of natural snowfall today, and has 39 of 61 trails open with 11 of the 12 lifts spinning. Knot Bumper is set to open this morning pending the approval of Snowshoe Ski Patrol, and the terrain park crew is working on a new build in Mountaineer.
Timberline
Another day, another 19 of 20 trails open at Timberline. The ski area is also the recipient of an inch of fresh snow, and that makes a foot in the past week! It’s not an ideal foot, because of the mixture with ice and rain, but with colder temperatures approaching, you’ve got to appreciate the Timberline cloud that’s been taking affect.
Bryce
Dress nice, and the skiing is nice.
Ski patroller Bill Nabers said that to me in his email yesterday afternoon, and it’s got a nice ring to it, don’t you think?
Bryce is back open with zero trails lost after its closure due to the rain. Bill’s reporting some firm snow with the wind gusting. Seven of eight trails are open today yet again at Bryce!
Omni Homestead
What a difference a week can make.
Homestead nearly doubled its base to 12” in the past week, and there are four trails open to the top for skiing and snowboarding today. Snowmaking is set to resume Saturday, and Omni Marketing Director Lynn Swann says that the team is looking forward to a long stretch of favorable conditions.
Night skiing and tubing will be available every Friday starting tomorrow. Mini snowmobiles will be open soon.
Beech
Girls Go Shred is holding its first mini park clinic at Ladies Night. Tonight’s topic: intro to jumps. Meet at the top of Beech’s terrain park at 6:30 to join. Girls Go Shred is also looking for people to join its race team at Beech this season.
Every trail except for West Bowl is open today at Beech. There are five lifts spinning, and the base depth is 48 to 64 inches.
The Rest
Don’t forget: Clear your calendar from February 9-11. That’s when Massanutten and SkiSoutheast will host team up to host our summit. It’s a great way to meet like-minded, snow-loving people, and possibly make some lifelong friends in the process.
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.