It was crazy to see on Monday just how busy SkiSoutheast, ResortCams and our Social Media reach were. Usually by now we’re seeing traffic dribble to a trickle or about how many people you can see on the slopes on the LIVE CAMS right now.
Brian Dix sent us a bit of a report from Sunday at Sugar Mountain, where in several photos, he was the only person on the slopes. However, our web traffic was way above normal with so few days left in the season and with no real, winter weather in the forecast. We topped out at just above a 20,000 visitor reach and it was interesting getting so many comments via email and on Facebook from skiers and snowboarders west of us. (Always cool to see.)
The other day I happened to be speaking with a prospective client in Utah and he was doing his due-diligence and vetting our firm out as a design and development provider. He looked me up on several websites, one of which was LinkedIn. The next day he called and the first thing out of his mouth was, “Mike, I see you’re a big skier. I looked at your website and had no idea there were ski resorts in the Southeast. That blew my mind. Then to see how good they are was a surprise to me.”
That is something that never grows old.
Any Chance That Snowshoe Mountain or Sugar Closes before Sunday?
That WAS the question of the day on Monday. The other most common question (or statement) was related to whether or not Gunther (of Sugar Mountain Resort) will make snow on Tuesday night (tonight).
Bill McEntire from Johnson City emailed me, “Make snow? Will he or won’t he?
Look at overnight lows for tues 28 and weds 29 at sugar mtn”
Could it happen? Sure. Gunther is above all else, a skier at heart. He might. Then again, he is a very astute businessman and I kind of doubt he’d crank up the guns just to “pretty up the snow” for a couple of extra days. They have enough base (as does Snowshoe Mountain) to push around to make it last for these last six days, before closing for the season after Sunday sessions.
Kevin Yates on Facebook claimed, “Sugar is closing Thursday.”
Maybe? Probably not. However, then again a little birdie told me that Sugar actually wavered a bit on whether to open TODAY, with rain in the forecast for later today and tonight. With the low tonight of 28°, there is even a chance of some snow at the tail end of the overnight showers.
I don’t know if Kevin has some inside information or if those who emailed me this morning were just speculating on some “Gunther body language” this morning, but Sugar was late posting their snow report this morning. They almost always have it updated by 7am. This morning’s update came around 7:30am.
Another Sugar insider told me that they were more than ready to end the season. They reported, “It’s been a really great season business-wise and we’re thinking it’s time for a break.”
Editor’s Update: Thanks to reader, Aaron Bokelmann, for just sharing that Sugar has posted a message on their website stating that THURSDAY will be Sugar’s last day of the season.
One look at the five day forecast for Snowshoe and Sugar DOES hint that they might be wise to shut things down on Thursday or Friday of this, so Kevin Yates might be on to something. See below:
With 80%-90% chances of rain this weekend, it would seem prudent to shut things down and take a couple of days to excel, breathe and gather their thoughts and energies for next season.
Here are some comment shares:
Snowshoe Mountain shared:
Please be aware that with this spring weather there are some thin areas and bare patches starting to form, so please use caution out there today.
Michael Linkroum posted:
Snowshoe can’t shut down after claiming to extend their season!
Colten Nielsen
Come get some snow from us.
(Colten is from Ogden Utah. Check out the photo he sent.)
Beth Lay Campbell posted:
Meanwhile in New Mexico. We are closed and just got yet another half foot last night…….
Dennis Thomas:
We have 700+ inches in Tahoe, even its hills of LA have over 100+inches of snow
Guys and gals, we are winding down here at SkiSoutheast.com as well. However, if you are playing on the snow at Sugar, Snowshoe or really anywhere – send me your pics and comments to [email protected] and I will post them.
Be sure to check in on the LIVE CAMS at www.ResortCams.com all year long as we continue to grow our network of cameras around the United States. Also, check out www.WataugaLake.com as we prepare to launch a lifestyle website for one of the most beautiful lakes in the United States. Stay tuned.