Winter has come back and it is demanding its presence be known. It’s a cold one out there.
Thanks to Appalachian Ski Mountain’s Luke Berger for the photo of the day. That is one heck of a shot.
Ski Bradford
The other day, I wrote about how I was excited to ride at Ski Bradford for the first time. A tiny little hill in northern Massachusetts, it’s close enough to New Hampshire that it often gets overlooked for the bigger family hills just north.
And everything worked out perfectly for me to hit it yesterday. My flight to Boston got in early, I was helped by an MBTA worker, and made the train to Haverhill in time, because it left three minutes late. But while I was on the train, I learned that because of a potential thunderstorm, Bradford was closing its lift operations for the day.
I wasn’t sure what to do, so once I arrived, I decided to grab some food at a Haverhill diner. And so while I was at Mark’s Deli, I met Stavros Dimakis. We got to chatting, and when I told him that I was thinking about hiking up Bradford just to get another day of turns under my belt, he looked at me.
“I know the owner. Let me give him a call,” he said.
A phone call later, I was on my way to the ski area. I had the entire place to myself. It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had.
How were the conditions? Not great. But that didn’t matter. The rain held off entirely, and I got a good day of turns in.
I’m in Canada. Today, I’m headed to Mont-Tremblant. It’s going to be really, really cold. The high is 11 degrees, the low is 1.
The Skiing Is Back In Town
Operations are back to business as usual.
Canaan Valley Resort, Timberline, and Winterplace are all back open after suspending operations due to some garbage weather.
It is frigid this morning, with the patrons of some ski areas waking up with temperatures below zero. Layer up out there!
After today, I’m handing over FirsTrax duties to Matt Laws for the rest of the season. You can expect some more features from me going forward, but he will be handling the day-to-day as the season in the southeast winds to a close. I’ll still be out there riding though. Please reach out to me if you want to get some turns in!
Here’s what else you need to know to ski and ride in the southeast today:
Massanutten
Are you a former employee at The ‘Nutt? Then make sure you sign up for homecoming.
Advance registration ends on Friday at 9 a.m. for the annual ‘Nutt Employee Homecoming event. On March 3 only, all former and current Massanutten Resort employees are invited to a day of free skiing! The mid-mountain party from noon to 4 p.m. features DJ AK Lion. Advance registration is required.
Canaan Valley Resort
All the end of the season races are going off.
The fifth Annual Sunrise Scramble hosted by the CV State Park Foundation this Sunday March 3. Sign up for that race here.
Winterplace
Back open. This weekend is the meltdown games, so get to Winterplace while you still can. From the snow report:
Saturday is our Cardboard Sled Race!!! Make a creative sled out of cardboard, no metal or plastic can be used to enhance your sled. However, we do encourage you to decorate it! You may compete as a single racer or team up as a duo.”
Sugar Mountain
There are 20 trails open and five lifts spinning today.
The Richard T. Trundy Memorial Sugar Cup Competition, to benefit the American Cancer Society, will take place March 2. Snowmaking is in progress.
Snowshoe
It’s a cold one at the ‘Shoe. There’s a bit more natural snow in the forecast coming tomorrow to freshen things up. The Darn Tough Banked Slalom is on Saturday, so get registered for that if you want to compete. From the snow report:
Hey there, snow lovers! After a rollercoaster of weather this week, we’re back in winter wonderland mode this Thursday morning. The temperatures have dropped, and our awesome Mountain Operations team is hard at work to getting those slopes in primo shredding condition.”
The Omni Homestead
Sunday will be the last day of the season at The Omni Homestead. There are four trails open and two trails, along with a 10-inch base.”
Wintergreen
Reader David Perault was at Wintergreen yesterday. Here’s what he had to say:
“Snow is soft but holding up,” he said. “Looking forward to the cold front moving through.”
It’s a frosty one out there. The temperature is 21 degrees around 9 a.m. The base is between 15 and 30 inches, and there are four lifts spinning and 19
Timberline
The crew is making snow.
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From today’s snow report:
After yesterday’s rain and warm-up, temperatures dropped enough for snowmaking to begin Wednesday night. Snowmaking was widespread throughout the mountain, refreshing conditions for the weekend. Surface conditions are a mixed hard-packed, machine groomed surface with fresh snowmaking snow mixed in. All open terrain has been groomed, and the terrain parks may open with a delayed start.”
Park Rat Classic
The Park Rat Classic will be on March 2.
The event is a snowboard competition, in which tricks will be set for certain features and worth certain points, kind of like a game of H.O.R.S.E. in basketball. If a rider lands a trick, they will receive the points. The rider with the most points at the end of the day will be crowned the winner. The event is free to enter and a group lift ticket rate will be offered to those who preregister for the event here.
Practice will start at 10:30 a.m. and the event kicks off at 11 a.m. The event is sponsored by Public, Vans, Dang, Volcom, Howl, and Beech Mountain Resort.
Video Of The Day
What would you do if your brother gave you a 1953 GMC Firetruck?
Pro snowboarder Austin Smith spent the winter of 2019 in the truck, sleeping in ski area parking lots from Oregon to Alaska, and everywhere in between.
“I had a run of bad luck with 4 knee surgeries in 6 years. It changed my relationship with snowboarding, made me question if it was worth it, pain, surgery, rehab vs. powder with friends,” he said. “But the powder wasn’t even fun anymore, I was scared of snowboarding, of getting hurt, stressed I wasn’t good enough and anxious of becoming a washed-up pro with a broken body. I was here mentally for years. Then this obnoxious, cheesy, dorky Firetruck came into my life. And while living in the truck, in ski resort parking lots and snowboarding everyday, I found the fun again.”
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.