Okay, I must admit that I too am now into Spring/Summer mode. This past weekend was one that would affect even the strongest ski and snowboard enthusiast! Temperatures were warm on Saturday and even warmer on Sunday as temps rose to 78° across my part of the High Country of Western North Carolina! The mild temps prompted me to pull my boat out and de-winterize it. It got so warm that it prompted me to pull my shirt off (white body alert!) and my girls were spraying the garden hose to keep them from getting overheated while playing! I must admit, I was excited to crank up the boat and know that we’re only a couple of weeks away from playing on Watauga Lake!
Joe Stevens’ provides us with his second annual “Snowies”. Joe’s committee of one offers some raves and comments on this season’s best. Be sure to check that out within the middle column today. This is Joe’s last column of the 2006-2007 season. Thanks for your contributions again this season Joe! Your input goes much further than the column and I for one appreciate your experience and expertise.
There’s Still Some Skiing and Snowboarding Going On!
Skiing on til April 1st are: Appalachian, Cataloochee, Timberline, Snowshoe and Wisp Resorts. That’s nearly 30% of the region’s 17 ski areas that will ski through April Fool’s Day! The truth is, there’s plenty enough snow on the trails to stay open another week. For the umpteenth season in a row, the reason for closing is not the lack of snow – but the lack of skiers.
Regardless, there’s seven more days of skiing and riding left in this season. Here’s some details of what’s happening today.
Appalachian Ski Mountain is showing 51° and a drop of a couple more inches of base depth. That prompted App to shut down Hard Core and Thin Slice, which leaves them with 8 trails and both popular terrain parks. They have shut down their ice skating rink. The Meltdown Games are going on this weekend and we’ll post the detailed fun later in the week, but you should make plans to attend! It’s a fun time with lots of wildly-dressed skiers and riders!
Cataloochee is closed on Monday, but will reopen on Tuesday and ski til Sunday when they will offer rates from back in the 60s. More on that tomorrow.
Sugar Mountain ended their season in the best shape that we’ve seen them on a closing day in many years. They closed after the day session Sunday.
That leaves Appalachian Ski Mountain as the only ski area in North Carolina that is open TODAY.
Wisp at Deep Creek Resort skies on til April 1st! They are reporting 41° this morning and a base of 30-48” and 20 trails available for today.
Timberline Resort is open but we have not been able to get an accurate tally of slope openings for today. All ski area staffers are very much like a huge, extended family and Timberline had a death in their family this weekend and as such the updated slope report has been delayed til a bit later today. They will have good, Spring conditions for this last week of ski season. They plan to ski and ride til Sunday, April 1st.
Snowshoe Mountain has the most terrain available in the region with 36 trails today. They reported a low of 47° this morning and a drop in base depth of some 6 inches since Sunday. They still have 18-28 inches of base with some thin coverage and bare spots. Last night all open trails were groomed except Cupp Run, Widowmaker, Knot Bumper, Grabhammer and Choker. The Powderidge Lift is closed for the season.
Winterplace Resort in West Virginia ended their season yesterday being 100% open. That is pretty notable! They are being shown as open by some reporting agencies – they are not open.
Canaan Valley is also being shown as open by the SSAA and others. They too ended their ski season on Sunday.
Ditto Wintergreen Resort in Virginia. They too ended their snow sports season on Sunday.
Until Next Time…
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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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