Expect the same at some mountains on Friday. Suffice to say that a LOT of the ski resorts were packed to the gills on Thursday and will be again today. Some of those crowds prompted some rather terse complaints from people who waited a couple of hours in line to get equipment rentals and then another one-and-a-half hours in lift lines to get 2-3 runs in and worse. Been there, done that.
Several ski areas DO limit ticket sales, but several-to-most do not. That can create a mess. We saw huge lift lines at many locations yesterday…
If you have or want to make last minute plans to getaway and ski or ride, I would strongly suggest that you call the ski area in your plans to ensure that they are not sold out. You can also visit their personal website as they will post if SOLD OUT.
Thursday was a great day! Sunny skies, and the temperatures started out in the upper 20s and rose to the 40s and 50s later in the day. That brings me to the question of the day today. I received numerous skiMails from some of our worst, worriers out there. The gist of most of the questions was – With the temperatures reaching into the upper 50s today (Thursday) and Friday, will the snow last?
Others were a little bit more logical, like – Won’t the snow turn mash potatoes later in the day?
The answer is YES, and maybe, but not as much as you might think. Almost every ski resort took advantage of the frigid temperatures last week and base depths are being measured in FEET – as in six to ten FEET of base snow. So that kind of base isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. With cold expected to reenter the region in the next week or so, base depths will be plenty fine at most ski areas.
As far as the “mash potatoes” query – the resorts do a fine job of grooming and packing the snow overnight and IF things go a little soft, it will be later in the afternoon, after heavy skier traffic. But soft snow makes for great, carvable snow.
So don’t worry, be happy and enjoy whatever presents itself on the slopes today.
Saturday? Maybe Not So Much…
Make all the turns you can today (Friday) as the forecast for Saturday has been trending wet all week. Now that we are just 24 hours out…the forecast looks fairly wet with one-half to one inch of rain and some gusty winds across the entire region. (Of course, that MAY NOT pan out, so be prepared to dodge the raindrops and hit the slopes when you can.)
Thursday and the Week in REWIND…
Yesterday’s snow was REALLY, REALLY nice here at Timberline Mountain in West Virginia. From what I witnessed from the LIVE cams and many comments on Social Media, the same was true most everywhere.
I and about half of our crew hit the Winterset Trail, right outside our house rental at 8:50am and we made laps with less than a two-minute lift wait for the first hour. The line/wait was still tolerable at only 5-10 minutes around 10:15am, but we decided to hit up the mid-mountain-lift and we did laps down various slopes for the next hour or two, getting in another ten-plus run day here at Timberline Mountain.
Our own, Kenny Griffin communicated from Mt. Bachelor on Thursday and new friend, Chef Ed Winebarger sent some reports from Snowshoe Mountain with photos of his family. Things look quite awesome there as well.
Photo of the Day, up top is of Ed Winebarger’s crew at Snowshoe Mountain! Thanks Ed.
With rain in the forecast for Saturday, I am headed out in a moment to hit up the slopes and beat the crowd. I will post more photos that have been sent to me and some photos and videos of my own when I get back in around lunchtime today.
In the meantime, HERE is a nice video showing a run down Thunderstruck at Timberline Mountain on Thursday.
Check the SNOW REPORT this morning for full details.
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