I love waking to the sound of the ocean breaking over the waves just outside my bedroom windows. Ahh, yes, that’s sooooo n-i-c-e. Wha-what was that? Darn, it was a dream and now I realize that the ROAR that I was hearing in my sleep was the wind rustling through the trees. Okay it was more like roaring against my house.
That wind is already dying down but is a sign of the NEXT cold and snowy weather system that is moving into the mountains of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic’s many ski resorts.
If you are among the many thousands of MLK weekend holiday skiers and snowboarders headed to your favorite mountain this weekend, you’re going to experience the absolute BEST conditions of the season to date…AND you will probably enjoy 2-3" MORE natural snow as well.
Ski areas across the region have experienced from 5 to 18" of snow in this last week and there’s plenty to romp in, enjoy a true, ski-getaway bit of ambience in…and of course the slopes will be S-W-E-E-T no matter where you’re headed.
How perfect is that?
Highs this weekend should be in the 20s and lows in the single digits both Saturday and Sunday night so you’ll get to use those fireplaces in your rentals!
A TOUR OF THE REGION’S SKI AREAS BY STATE (Going North to South today)
Wisp Resort – The low overnight was 16° and they are reporting 27° as of 8:45am and 27 of 25 trails open today. They received another 1" of snow in the last 24 hours and 11" on the week and conditions will be wonderful for your trip to Garrett County, Maryland.
WEST VIRGINIA REPORT:
Snowshoe Mountain – They were having some technical difficulties this morning so Laura Parquette emailed us early and wrote, "We got another 5" of snow yesterday, so that’s 15" total for the week so far, and 64" on the season. Our forecast is still saying we could see another 1-3" before the weekend is over. We’re adding at least one new slope this morning–Bear Claw at Silver Creek. Widowmaker may also open, that will be patrol’s call at around 8:30. If it doesn’t open today, it should be open for the weekend, so we’ll have 49 slopes (82% of our trails) open for the holiday."
She also wrote that their groomers left some powder on Sawmill and Grabhammer, but everything else will be groomed, with packed-powder conditions.
Guests at Snowshoe this weekend will also appreciate the fact that the did make snow overnight but will NOT be making snow on open terrain during the day.
Timberline Resort – 26° this morning and another 3" of snow fell at the Tucker County ski resort. Jessica Scowcroft wrote this morning that nearly 20" of snow has fallen this week and their snowmakers and crew are hard at work to get more terrain open. They have 15 trails open today with 80% of it groomed.
Timberline also has 17 kilometers of backcountry skiing available with an average of 8" of coverage.
Jessica shared that, "Slopeside Dining at the Fireside Grill & Timbers Pub will be open with a Full Menu Early Until Late. Timberline also featuresc James Michel Woodyard Performing all weekend At Timber’s Pub."
Canaan Valley – 31° and 3" more snow on Thursday to take them to about 16-17" of snow since Monday and 70" on the season. They have 11 slopes open for today and plan on opening "Timber Trail" and their snow tubing park on Saturday. They have great conditions!
Winterplace Resort – They are reporting 6" more snow from yesterday and about 12" on the week and as they say on their website, "On and Off snow flurries this morning followed by partly sunny skies! More snow forecast for this weekend! Absolutely AWESOME skiing and boarding! The conditions are as good as it gets!" Winterplace has 20 of 28 trails open and are working to get even more opened for the weekend.
VIRGINIA SKI AREAS REPORT:
Wintergreen Resort is reporting 5" of snow fell from the Wed-Thurs storm although they are not showing that on their own website. They will offer 10 trails today and snowtubing as well.
Anne Marie Jones reports, "WINTER WONDERLAND! The Highlands opens Saturday, more natural snow expected during the day Saturday, the Progression Terrain Park opens Sunday, and Tons more Snowmaking all weekend and next week! The consistent winter weather forecasted for the rest of January, will allow for a big increase in open terrain during the MLK weekend and next week! With cold temperatures, our fully automated YORK snowmaking system can produce amazing results. Make plans to visit over the MLK holiday and enjoy some great skiing, riding and tubing!"
She adds, "Today we will be skiing and riding on Eagles Swoop, Upper and Lower Dobie, the Upper and Lower Cross trail, Potato Patch, Tequila, Upper and Lower Sunrise and in the Discovery Ridge Learning Area with 3 lifts running. Tubing: The Plunge will be open today from 2pm – 11pm. The Slide will be open this Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Tubing tickets are on sale now over the web and in person."
Bryce Resort reports no snowfall, but they have continued to make snow and are still open with 7 of 8 trails, terrain park and snow tubing.
Massanutten Resort is reporting 30° and 7" of snow from the storm. That is 5" more than they have seen all season so we KNOW they are happy this morning! They are offering 9 trails and 8 lanes of snow tubing for today. They also offer both terrain parks loaded with hits and features.
TENNESSEE REPORT:
Ober Gatlinburg is reporting 34° and some light. natural snow with 5 trails open for your pleasure today.
NORTH CAROLINA SKI RESORT REPORT
Appalachian – Morning low 23°. 29° as of 7:20am – 8 of 10 trails open, both terrain parks and ice skating. Appalalachian made snow overnight but announced yesterday that they are in such great shape that they will not be making snow during ski sessions. They also plan on going 100% open Saturday morning.
Cataloochee – 30° – 10 of 14 trails open, terrain park features and snow tubing. Tammy Brown reported that The Cat did end up with about 6" of snow from the Wed-Thursday snow storm. Conditions are packed powder for today.
Hawksnest – 32° – They are reporting 8 trails of the 12 they have are open INCLUDING TOP GUN! They also have some terrain park features available and snow tubing as well. Hawksnest also reported 5" of snow from the Wed-Thursday storm.
Sapphire Valley – 33° – There’s no report from Sapphire lately but we spoke with Justin in the rec center and he said that they were opening at noon for sking and tubing and are expecting snow this weekend.
Scaly Mountain Tubing – We spoke with a very sleepy Mrs. Troutman over there and she said that Scaly’s massive single-lane, tubing hill would be open this weekend and that they would be open weekends, weather permitting the rest of the season.
Ski Beech – 24° at 7:50am – They are reporting a base of 10-18" of packed powder and frozen granular with 10 of 15 trails open, ice skating and their restaurant, shops and bakery are all open. They are making snow this morning and will as long as temps allow according to their report.
Sugar Mountain – 24° – They added another open trail to their offerings today and now have 15 of 20 trails open, ice skating and tubing for your pleasure. Sugar is reporting that "Other slopes like The Terrain Park and the Ski School Play Yard are scheduled to open by the weekend."
Snowmaking is ongoing at Sugar as long as temps allow but they do write, "While snowmaking is in progress we make every effort to ensure your day on the slopes is as enjoyable as possible. As a result, snowmaking machines are aimed away from skier/snowboarder traffic as much as possible."
Several of our readers advised us this morning that after reporting base depth growth of 4" on Sunday, 6" on Monday, 2" Tuesday and THIRTY INCHES on Wednesday that Sugar upped their reported base by 2" on Thursday and then are reporting NO INCREASE since Thursday.
Wolf Ridge – 32° – We spoke with Johnny Goen over there and he reported that they are open with 7 trails today (they added one from yesterday) and they hope to make more snow Friday night and open more for the weekend. The seven trails are only accessible by two separate access points as confirmed by Johnny.
Go enjoy the day and…THINK COLD AND SNOW!!!
Until Next Time…Send your comments, photos and videos to: [email protected]
For resort news, photos and videos from ALL of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic ski areas, visit
www.SkiSoutheast.com
See You On The Slopes!