The 2020/2021 ski season here in the Southeast continues to deliver as the first weekend of March is featuring sunshine, cool temps, and great snow conditions. If you’ve had the pleasure to get out and ski or snowboard this weekend you’ll know that the slopes are in great condition right now. Several months of consistent cold and snow is going to make for a great final few weeks of the season.
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Learn MoreThis is Kenny with you all today. Mike is still up in Davis, West Virginia and I told him I would take over the reins today so that he could make some runs at Timberline before he heads home. If you have been following us on Instagram and Facebook you’ll know that I have been at Snowshoe for the past few days. With everything going on this year we had to cancel the Ski Southeast Summit, which was a bummer. However, the Captain America crew made their annual trip up here and I made a last minute decision earlier this week to join them. I am stoked that I did as the past couple of days has been awesome. Bluebird skies, quality snow, and plenty of terrain allowed me to get 20+ runs each of the past two days. Below is a clip from Silver Creek yesterday afternoon where you can see what I’m talking about.
One of my favorite parts of the Summit every year is First Tracks on Sunday over at the Soaring Eagle lift. We get 30-45 minutes of trail time before the general public. It’s always a treat. One of the benefits of the Snowshoe Primo Pass is that every Saturday they do the same thing in the Ballhooter area. Yesterday was the first time this year that the wife and I got to take advantage of it and as expected, it was awesome. It was a cool sight to look back up Skip Jack at my wife and not see another person…on a Saturday.
Brian Dix was at Wintergreen in Virginia and he also sent in some videos/pics showing more of the same…quality conditions!
Wherever you are making some turns at this weekend, you will be treated to some stellar late season conditions. As I was going through the snow report this morning I noted that many resorts are 100% open with many of the rest not far behind. Base depths are solid right now as well. That’s pretty good for a week into March now, especially compared to some of the recent seasons. We can thank a cold and somewhat snowy December, January, and most of February for that. It’s not just been cold, but CONSISTENTLY cold. The January thaw didn’t rear it’s ugly head this year, and for the most part we didn’t have any big rain events either. Resorts didn’t have to start from scratch multiple times as they have had to do in recent years. It’s been quite the opposite of what most winter forecasts were calling for back in October thankfully.
Still Working Hard
With the calendar now into March, snowmaking is usually done by this time of the season. A few resorts did make snow overnight though and I figured they deserved a shout out for their continued work, especially since conditions are already really good. So, props to Cataloochee, Massanutten, and Wisp Resort for laying down some manmade goodness overnight. The overnight refresh will help as we are going to see things warm up a bit this week, which leads me to…..
The Weather
Spring fever is going to hit many this week as mild temperatures invade the region. The forecasts for the ski areas shows lots of sunshine with high temps in the 50’s and even 60’s for some spots. The loose granular snow of the past few days is going to become slushy and if you can play hooky from work, you’ll be treated to some textbook spring conditions. I’m not going to lie, I’m looking forward to playing disc golf this week in 70 degree weather.
Unfortunately, it looks like some showers might show up for the weekend. Additionally, a return to winter might be in order by the end of next weekend. That’s 5+ days away though so we’ll just have to keep an eye on it.
End of Season Schedule
As always, as we move into March it means we have to talk about some closures and late season schedule adjustments. The Omni Homestead ends their season today. Oddly enough, they still have mini snowmobile tours available. Wolf Ridge hasn’t made a call yet but based on the webcam view and the forecast for the week ahead, I’d say today might be the final day for them. It seems like they struggled to get terrain open this year. I’m not sure if that is a snowmaking issue or what.
On the opposite side of the aisle, Sapphire Valley announced that they will be extending their season. They will be closed Monday through Thursday and then will open back up on Friday and Saturday of next weekend.
Elsewhere, most of the other resorts have a few more weeks left but a lot of them are done with night skiing, so make sure to check ahead before heading out. That, or just keep checking in here as Matt Laws will be updating everything throughout the week.
Enjoy your Sunday Funday!