Noon Update! Andrea Smith and Lori Epp have both updated us with the fact that they now have 4" on the ground and it’s snowing like crazy! Check out the photos of the day under Snowshoe and Wisp for some shots as we go through the day.
Can anyone tell me when they rerouted the train to roar past my home last night?!? Oh my goodness that was some amazing wind! We have received reports of winds recorded in the 40mph range last night, and some that claim that winds in some areas reached near 60mph and I can believe it. My home shook two or three times from direct hits! I was expecting the rear glass doors to buckle at times. MAN was it roaring! It began to howl at a little past the time when Rhonetta, the “ho from North Carolina” was doing her auditions and subsequent rant on American Idol last night. Maybe all that wind was coming from her mouth…and the flapping from all that fat around her stomach! Whew, how proud HER family must be! I am certain (unfortunately) she is the talk of the state this morning. What a piece of work!
Anyway – it was windy and it will continue to be a bit windy today across the region.
Snowshoe Resort in West Virginia and Wisp Resort in Maryland have received the bulk of the snow thus far from this snowstorm. Andrea Smith wrote me last night (boy that girl works late) and told me that they’d already received about 2” of snow. As of this morning they are reporting 3” and possibly some 6-10” may fall at Snowshoe from this when it’s all said and done.
Andrea Smith says, “It looks as if the weather pattern is changing as predicted. Up to eight more inches could blanket the mountain today putting some fresh powder on the slopes. Groomers were out in full force overnight shaping all but five trails. The Ballhooter lift will be delayed in opening until 10 am. The Cascade lift at Silver Creek will close at 4:30 and the Mountaineer lift will begin running at that time. THE WESTERN EXPRESS LIFT WILL BE DELAYED IN OPENING THIS MORNING ALONG WITH THE TRAILS IT SERVICES. Don’t miss out on our special Tuesday / Wednesday Lift and Lodging package starting at only $169 per person. Call 877-441-4FUN for details.
Editor’s Note: By the way, you guys that have been hitting the messageboard in search of the elusive ski bunny…Andrea Smith and her counterpart at Wisp Resort (Lori Epp) definitely qualify. (Well Lori is a snowboarder, but she’s a sweetheart of a lady and pretty hot!) – You’ll have to check out the messageboard for more on that.
Speaking of Wisp Resort, they too received 3” of new snow and made snow as well. Snowmaking will continue as long as temps allow. Expect great conditions at Wisp today. It is nearly white-out conditions on the webcams and they will be getting more as the day goes on. They may see another 3-5” from today’s snow.
Lori Epp tells us, “Today and tomorrow continues with the 5th Annual United Way of Garrett County Week wherein a portion of each tubing ticket goes to a great cause! Don’t miss this upcoming Wisp Winter Weekend – it’s going to be OFF THE HOOK!
Special Stage Wisp Time 7:30-12 featuring Army of Me! Collegiate Snowboard Championships & Races, Red bull Sledneck Snowmobile Shows, Snow Tubing Party & much more!
Massanutten was not able to make snow and conditions are about the same as they were yesterday. They are need of a little TLC (snowmaking) and they should get that opportunity tonight.
Wintergreen Resort began making snow last night and expect to blast the slopes as long as temps allow today and of course tonight. Frankee Love says, “Snowmaking resumed last night and will continue as long as the conditions permit. Outer Limits and Loggers Alley trails will be closed today for increased snowmkaing and The Big Acorn lift will close at 4:30 pm for intensive snowmaking on our A-side trails. These trails will reopen tomorrow morning. All trails have been groomed overnight and have a granular surface. Today, we will be skiing and riding on 19 trails and 4 lifts will be running. The Plunge will be open with 2 hour sessions starting at 2:00 pm for some exciting tubing.
Canaan Valley reported a bit later this morning and they are reporting 4” of new snow and that will certainly make for some GREAT conditions there on 20 slopes and trails.
Timberline hasn’t updated their report or website so we’ll get you their details later.
Winterplace is getting a trace of snow this morning and they ARE making snow as well. They have groomed their trails and you can expect nice conditions today with greatly improved conditions over the next 24 hours.
Ober Gatlinburg in Tennessee made snow last night and that is great news for all Ober fans. They will make snow tonight as well and conditions will be greatly improved there as well.
Appalachian reports that they did NOT make snow last night, but they are this morning. Appalachian also recorded a slight drop in base but they are blasting the slopes now and conditions will be pretty sweet there today!
Cataloochee made snow and is looking awesome this morning on the webcams.
Hawksnest is reporting (according to the SSAA) that they made snow, but there’s no sign of it and the guns aren’t running this morning. They will tonight so expect improving conditions there. We have a story coming on a HUGE Ski and Snowboard Competition taking place at Hawknest that we will share a bit later today.
It’s just about time to pull Sapphire Valley from the website and not even bother trying to report conditions there anymore. Heck they don’t care enough to post reports to anyone and if you check the conditions at many national and regional sources…don’t depend on them because they are all more than six days old.
Ski Beech is looking amazingly nice this morning. The guns are blasting the slopes and they look phenomenal for today’s Retro Wednesday rates. Ski Beech will be making snow as long as temps allow.
We hate to keep beating a dead horse, but we love the job that Sugar Mountain is doing this season regarding snow reporting. While they may not have mentioned the bare spots around the slopes over the last couple of days, they have doing everything else great. Sugar Mountain looks GREAT today. With guns blazing, they added an inch of manmade snow to the slopes and conditions are Sugar sweet for today.
Wolf Laurel didn’t make snow last night but should be able to tonight and conditions will quickly improve there. Things were looking pretty bad there yesterday and will be the same today. Unfortunately, the webcam isn’t broadcasting which might not be a malfunction we’re sorry to say.
Conditions are looking very nice at Appalachian, Cataloochee, Beech and Sugar today. Our pick for today…let’s make it a three way tie of Ski beech, Sugar Mountain and Cataloochee. It is amazing what some great snowmaking can do!
Winter coming soon to a ski resort near you!
Our buddy, meteorologist Brad Panovich forewarned us about the winds of last night and today. Those winds will continue to be a little gusty today but diminishing somewhat as the day goes on. He said that after this bit of cold that we’ll have for today and tomorrow to expect it to get a bit mild again for a couple of days and he added, “(After a few mild days we will see) our next storm approaches and this one will be the first in a series of storms into next week that will usher in a colder period for the Southeast. There is cold air already building up in Canada and these series of storms promise to open the flood gates and bring it down south starting next week. Stay tuned!”
That IS great news and we can’t wait for a little more normal Winter pattern.
Until then…see you on the slopes.
Be sure to email photos, snow reports and comments to: [email protected]