Timing is everything when it comes to skiing and ski trips in general. Our timing could not have been better. We arrived on the mountain on Tuesday afternoon and it was already snowing a bit at the bottom of the mountain. By the time we got up to the Seneca, the snow was really coming down and when we awoke Wednesday morning there was 3" of fresh snowfall. Additionally, Ed Galford, Tex Ritter and crew had made snow for three previous nights prior. They had also made snow all Tuesday afternoon and night and when we hit the slopes Wednesday morning the result was DEEP natural and manmade powder. One time I planted my pole to make a hard turn and my pole dipped down nearly a foot. The snow was not packed at all and offered some great first tracks!
I made 6-7 runs down from top to bottom and experimented with several of the 30 open trails and there were NO thin areas, no bare spots and mostly great conditions across the board. After about 11am, things got VERY crowded. My advice is to ski early and often. Once the crowds woke up and hit the hill it was pretty tough navigating. The only downside right now is the fact that even with Snowshoe’s 30 trails, it’s not enough to disperse the crowds that have every rental unti on the mountain occupied.
The snow was great and although the lift lines were rather long later in the day, they moved pretty quick. That’s always been a strongsuit of Snowshoe. All of their lifts are smooth and fast and keep the wait short. Most of the lift lines took about 15 minutes to get through. However, the crowded slopes made it a bit of a downer mid day. That’s no fault of Snowshoe…crowds are what pays the bills.
We’ll be reporting throughout the next few days. My advice – get out early to avoid the crowds!