One to two inches of rain and blustery winds are on tap for today and into this evening and that forecast has kept us flooded (no pun intended) with emails asking about whether or not resorts would “weather” that kind of rain…AND it also prompted numerous people to ask us about the anticipated closing dates for the season. I know, I know…we don’t like to think about it either, but evidently it IS on the minds of some of you so we’ve made our contacts and we provide that insight below.
Also know that the rain that is forecasted to hit within the next hour or so will do some reduction of base depths but it will not wash away all of the snow. There’s more than 50” of snow base on most of the mountains of the Southeast, Mid Atlantic and North Carolina. The lone exceptions to that kind of base depth are Ski Beech with up to 40” and Ober Gatlinburg with up to 34”. Ober is already reporting some thin coverage and bare spots, so after the rain, who knows. They are hoping to stay open until March 11th, but that is weather permitting. Ski Beech has plenty of snow and good conditions even though they are showing some thinning and discolorations which is usually a pre-cursor to thin and bare spots.
We’ll keep our eyes on the cams and our ear to the ground and if we hear anything new we will report it. This weekend should be quite nice with cold temps and snow in the forecast. Beech made snow night before last and they and Sugar made snow the previous night.
The word that we are getting from up at Hawksnest is that they are closed today. They plan to reopen on Friday at 12:30pm and they have two days of events planned for this weekend. However, according to what we are hearing this MAY be Hawksnest’s last weekend of skiing for the 2006-2007 season. We spoke with Rowe up there and he said, “We’ll be open this weekend and Sunday until 4:30pm and then close up and see what kind of weather and skier interest we get and play it from there.” He said that it was as if a switch was flipped and all of sudden people aren’t thinking of skiing, so without the numbers to make remaining open make sense, they will close. That MAY happen after Sunday. If you want to keep them open, go ski. There’s plenty of snow on their hill!
Here’s the low temps reported this morning AND the proposed closing dates for the 2006-2007 season and in ALL case those who provided these dates add “weather permitting”.
Appalachian – 38° – Open until Sunday, April 1st, 2007
Cataloochee – 41° – Open until Sunday, April 1st, 2007
Hawksnest – 38° – Closed Thursday, reopening Friday at 12:30pm (May close after Sunday.)
Sapphire Valley – Will open 5pm today weather permitting.
Ski Beech – 37° – No announced closing date as yet. However, we have been told that when the number of skiers on the hill is lower than the temperature, they will close. They made snow two of the last three nights so they are fighting the fight. However, the could make the call to close any day now, so go ski!
Sugar Mountain – 34 – Anticipate staying open until April 1st weather permitting. Saturday, March 3rd-Dick Trundy Giant Slalom competition. Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society in memory of Sugar Mountain’s former Director of Operations, Richard T Trundy. $15 entry fee benefits American Cancer Society.
Wolf Ridge Resort – 42° – Open through March 11th
Bryce Resort – 27° – Open through March 18th. Horst Locher said they were aiming for that and they had more than 50” of snow on their hill.
Massanutten – 32° – Open through March 17th.
The Homestead – Open through March 17th.
Wintergreen Resort – 36° – Sarah Lovejoy reported, “There is plenty of snow and we plan to ski and ride through Sunday, March 25th if not later. Please check this report prior to your visit for the most up to date snow and slope information.”
Canaan Valley – Open through April 1st. Saturday, March 3, 2006 – Enjoy a "wild" day on the slopes complete with games for the kids, contest, and let’s not forget the star of the day – the Infamous Pond Jump. Who will dare the pond this year? They also have the Yellow Dog Snow Dog Sled Adventures there this weekend; Ski and Boarder Cross Races, a FROZEN T-Shirt Contest, and of course the Pond Jump. A panel of three judges will judge this event. Each jumper will be graded on distance and style. For further information, call 800-622-4121
Snowshoe Mountain – 35° – Open through April 8th weather permitting. They are expecting snow all weekend and they have a pretty cool contest going on right now. It is called “39 Good Days Getaway Contest” – In 39 words of less, tell Snowshoe how you would spend one good day at Snowshoe. If they like it, they will help make it a reality. Send your submission to [email protected] Be sure to include your name, address, email and phone number. Submissions are due by March 7th and the winner will be contacted by March 12th. Winning submissions will be chosen based on originality and form… so be creative!
Timberline Resort – 42° – Open through April 1st.
Winterplace Resort – Open through March 25th.
Wisp at Deep Creek Resort – 33° – Open through April 1st.
Ober Gatlinburg – 60° – Open through March 11th.
Until Next Time…
THINK COLD AND SNOW!!!
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For more information about the ski resorts of the Southeast and Mid Atlantic visit www.SkiSoutheast.com
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