Logan Tuura reports from Cataloochee on Saturday:
I went to Cataloochee yesterday. The conditions were great in the morning. It was a great packed powder surface with almost no ice, and Upper Omigosh was fun to ski. It got crowded once the half day session started with lots of groups and the increased traffic pushed a lot of the good snow down so there were patches of ice scattered around the mountain. In the terrain park they had the c box on skiers right, the rainbow box below it in the center of the rail. They had a rail line down skiers right after the c box with the battleship, mailbox and flat box. They had a small kicker to the left of the mailbox as well. Overall it was good, and the groomers should be able to push snow over the icy areas.
Elsa Barnes reports from Hawksnestƒ»
Travelled up to Hawksnest on Saturday. What a gorgeous day to be skiing! Sun and single layers were the order of the day. Fair crowd but never crowded, the snow was still excellent till the end of the day when of course sun and traffic were a factor. We also made some friends of the NSP up there, who were super friendly and invited us to lunch. Thanks alot you guys, hope to visit again soon!
Lane Passmore reports from Sugar on Friday:
This was my annual guys ski weekend at Sugar.My friends and I headed to Sugar on Friday. Staying at the Sky Leaf Condos we had a sweet view and about a 10 minute walk to the slopes.
Saturday was packed. It was about 50 degrees and sunny. People were everywhere and lift lines were long. The conditions were in pretty good shape. First off, we went off Big Red. The right side was closed. The left side was decent, there were some icy patches and brown areas.
Next, we went to the top and went down Tom Terrific and it had a few more icy patches but all in all it was pretty nice. We went down the Whoopdedoo and it was in good shape as well. We did not go down Northridge until the 6-10 session.
It was in pretty good shape but it still was really busy for the night session. Overall it was a good trip.
Mike Edwards skied at Sugar and reports on Sunday:
I was back at Sugar on Sunday. The great conditions they had Friday were gone. It was foggy and raining when I arrived. I only took a couple of early morning runs because the trails were in such bad shape. There were thin and bare sports everywhere. On the top of the mountain the surface was hard, wet, granular and it was difficult dodging the bare areas and brown snow. I am glad I wasn’t on my good skis! The bottom half was a little better, a little softer, but there were still several thin areas. This was the worst condition I have seen all year. The rain quit about mid morning and the sun did finally pop out about 1 PM. I spoke to several people and their responses varied. Some said it was OK and others had pretty much the same view I did. The only bright side today was that there were no lift lines. Most skiers had better sense than I did and stayed at home. No thumbs up today. I would give Sunday 1 thumb down.
Lorrie Tomlinson reports from Sunday at Hawksnest – the scene of the First Annual Nest Games:
The first annual Nest Games was held at Hawksnest on Sunday. The day began with early morning rain and fog. Both subsided and the sun made an appearance. Ski and snowboard enthusiasts congregated for boarder cross and slope style competitions. Anna Fisher dominated both events, winning first place in the women’s division. Adam Turner earned top honors in the Advanced Boarder Cross. An estimated 50 individuals performed tricks and jumps, caught some huge air, and raced through the terrain park.
After the park contest was an award ceremony in the lounge. The raffle followed and winners left with new skis, goggles, shirts, hats, and gift certificates, just to name a few. Sunday was the most fun that I have had at any ski resort this season. Thank you Hawksnest for a great time!
Dana Montgomery reports from Snowshoe on Sunday:
I have been reading about the escapades of the skinc/utah summit and those guys are darned lucky with all that snow! Congratulations to them. The snow here at Snowshoe was certainly nothing like that, but there’s plenty of snow everywhere and other than some high traffic loose granular areas, coverage is great. I did see a couple of thin areas at the end of the day but I’d give it a 9 out of a 10.
David Duling reports from Wintergreen:
Family weekend at WG. this is a trip where it is all about attitude.
friday:
love the drive up US29 – never get tired of that virginy hill country. pretty good snow and regular crowd. click in just after noon and upper part of eagles swoop, left line under the tree branches, had about 6-8" of nice southern pow. again, no lift lines on highland- i love those slopes.
saturday.
hot. slush. ice. a very busy day, lift lines about 12 minutes on both big acorn and highlands about 2pm, standing in the big acorn liftline, we see 6 girls in bikini tops, baggy pants, and snowboards, come flying down the slope – that’s hard to miss or top (no pun). actually, they had pretty good form. sorry no pics, but it was an impressive sight. that is topped by my four year old Lily who spent the day in the treehouse program and really did love being on skis – now that is too cool. by 9pm at night, my legs were jelly, i could barely control my skis as my kids zoomed by.
sunday.
high wind, rain, and low clouds. big acorn side closed. but perfect in that the crowds stayed away and it was ski-on everywhere else. and the people that are out on a day like this are the best. my 12 year old son loved it, said this was his best day ever. my legs recovered, i now feel better about my abilities.
caution.
they were running a freestyle competition on the terrain park and it was just sad to see all that melting snow and fog, not a good day for an event. one poor kid was prone on the ice about half an hour while ski patrol carefully loaded him onto a sled, that did not look good.
the attitude.
ok, sure, the snow was slow, the weather either too hot or too rainy, and the crowds indifferent. but it was outdoors, in the mountains, and there really was enough snow to ski. i get tired of poeple bitchin all the time. this was fun.
the people.
i met a great guy the acorn lift and shared a few rides – he’s a tele skiier an raved about whitegrass. we need a trip report form there. really interesting guy.
today, in the wicked wind and rain, was talking to a lift attendent from Chile. I remarked about the crowd and she said "yes, this is great. these are the – how do you say- – the fun skiiers". yes, these were the fun skiiers.
On-Snow Reporters:
We will keep a log of the best reporter’s submission, photos and reports. Trust us it is way to time consuming to post every pic…but send them…because we are tallying the scores. The winner of the Best On Snow Reporter for 2005-2006 will win $1000 in cash, a FREE Getaway Vacation and more. The contest will run from now through March 1st and we will choose the winner. Our choice will be based on the following and IN THE ORDER of importance.
Quality of Photos
Quality of Reports (well written, informative, unbiased)
Number of Photo Submissions
Number of Reports
Extra points will be given for getting smiling faces in the photos and including names and cities where you can.
Extra points will be awarded for creative ideas.
We will choose the winner based on how helpful and informative the reports have been.
As of 01/30/2006 here are the top vote getters. (We will only document the top three to five here throughout the season…and we may begin posting the top ten, depending on how close results are.)
1. Lorrie Tomlinson
2. Mark McKelvy
3. Kent Jackson
4. Gresham Barker
5. Joe Harmon