It was a powder day at Sugar Mountain yesterday, and while visibility might have been low, the vibes were high.
There were whiteout conditions on the hill, enough to keep some of our Discord users from getting a double-digit number of runs. There was some ice from the snow guns to watch out for, too. SkiSoutheast’s Brian Dix was there, and he truly got his money’s worth from his outerwear.
Here’s what he had to say about the conditions.
“Sugar survived the recent washout with a decent enough base and ample opportunity to recover quickly. Bad weather can lead to good ski turns, and mother nature provided not only some powdered sugar on top, but also a wide open window for all the ski areas to blast away at. Sugar will always take advantage of every second they can to snow make, so wax ’em up and bundle up from head to toe. Your shower or mud room areas are a great spot afterwards to let the outer layers dry off.”
If you’re headed back to Sugar today, It should be a much calmer day. The sun is shining, and the resort was able to bump its base up to somewhere between 12 and 37 inches.
SugarFest also begins tomorrow, with a clinic led by two-time Olympian Krista Schmidinger. Looking for something to pump you up today? Here’s a video of her combined downhill run at the 1992 Olympics.
Let’s get into the rest of the Southeast:
Appalachian Ski Mountain
It looks like we will have snowmaking temperatures for a good portion of today, as we get ready for a warmup over the weekend. As of 9 a.m., the team at App was still making snow, and those grassy patches that I mentioned earlier this week seem as if they are mostly covered up on the ResortCams.
My first two days at App Ski were rad. A huge thank you to anyone who agreed to be filmed. Here’s a quick little edit from Monday.
Cataloochee
Good news: Upper Omigosh is back open.
The black diamond trail had been closed after the temperatures warmed up and the grass started poking through. But it is looking very skiable this morning.
The team is still snowmaking over there, and there is a 20-40 inch base to work with. Temperatures are expected to touch the 60s all weekend before it cools down significantly on Monday.
Discord user MarzNC stopped by yesterday during a road trip, and pointed out that there were a number of abandoned cars at the corner of the paved road near the top. That’s a good reminder to take it slow, keep two hands on the steering wheel, and stay alert when driving in these winter conditions.
Snowshoe
It’s a cold one in West Virginia this morning, but not very windy if you’re looking to take advantage of the five inches of fresh stuff that dropped in the last 48 hours.
Here’s what the snow reporting team had to say this morning:
It’s going to be a bluebird Thursday here at the ‘Shoe! Temperatures are expected to rise into the low 40’s with mostly sunny skies and a steady breeze. Our operations team is working hard to expand terrain as soon as possible so keep checking in for updates. Progression Park is open with a fun mix of jibs and jumps. Snowmaking will be in progress on Gandy Dancer while temperatures allow.”
A reminder that the Ikon Pass goes off sale December 14.
Timberline
Today is the last day of Timberline’s preview weekend. Snowmaking resumed yesterday, and will be going until around 11 a.m., when the temperatures are expected to rise.
“We saw about four inches of natural snowfall overnight on Wednesday with an additional one to two inches during the day, and you’ll find an excellent packed powder machine groomed surface on our open terrain today.”
Timberline’s two carpet lifts are back open today, after they were closed yesterday. The black diamond trail White Lightning is also open. No open terrain parks just yet.
Discord user JohnBooswald was there yesterday. Here’s what he had to say:
I was at Snowshoe and decided to go to Timberline before heading back to Greensboro since I had never been there. As elsewhere, the snow guns were brutal. The fresh pow was excellent though! I was impressed by the whole operation.”
Wisp
Still no word on when the Maryland resort will open, but after snowflakes dropped down over the past few days, the team has fired up its snowmaking.
Massanutten
Massanutten will resume snow sports operations tomorrow. The mountain plans to operate Friday through Sunday, but that could change due to the significant rain that is in the forecast. The Season Pass window will be open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. this week for those wishing to pick up their season passes.
Bryce Resort
The team at Bryce will reopen its skiing and riding tomorrow. The hope is that Red Eye will be open for this weekend. Discounted early season rates are in effect through December 22.
Hatley Pointe
Obviously, it’s a bummer that the region’s newest ski area will not be ready to go in December, like originally projected, but the marketing team is having some fun and leaning into the circumstances.
The team has done a good job being present online, and providing updates along the way. Hopefully, we’ll be making turns there this season.
Be sure to check out the chatter about resort openings happening over on our new SkiSoutheast Discord channel.
Think snow!
Think cold!
Also click here to join us on our new SkiSoutheast Discord channel. It is a great way to meet new snow loving friends and shares experiences, ask questions, and more!
And as always, email me at [email protected] with your thoughts and photos. Send powder day photos, please!
Keep skiing the southeast.