Wasn't able to get out to a ski area on Saturday, but I did take my skis to a hill near my house for a few turns:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153092207718744&l=9d333cdb2c

I appove of this! I have a few hills nearby I like to hike...it's always was more relaxing to me then a busy resort hill.  Here is a photo from a few weeks ago on the power line hill: 

I got out tonight on the school's cross-country course.  Hilly, twisty, grassy double-track trails.  A pretty technical/fun 5-turn luge run that got easier each run as we smoothed out the hard crust. On.your.toes

I will be getting first trax in my neighborhood tomorrow morning, expecting 4-8 inches tonight here in Durham.  We have a red diamond on the home mountain!

Here I am on a low snow day with the toy skis.  I'll be rocking the "fat" ski blades (K2 Fatty Apaches) tomorrow..  I've also got a snow skate that I think I'll let the other kids hurt themselves playing with.  The snow skate really needs to have packed base under it to function well.

http://cdn.epicski.com/b/bf/900x900px-LL-bfca6779_crgildart+gnoshes+the+dreaded+red+diamond.jpg

I hit my "backcountry skiing, north of dc" spot and it was amazing was the first time i had naturall snow base in the mid alt with blower pow in your face. It was real nice on the seccond run but got to tired so just went and hit the sledding hill. At least i got some turns in the street. Btw now i know what cross country skiing is A  LOT more work, and fun!

crgildart wrote:

I will be getting first trax in my neighborhood tomorrow morning, expecting 4-8 inches tonight here in Durham.  We have a red diamond on the home mountain!

Here I am on a low snow day with the toy skis.  I'll be rocking the "fat" ski blades (K2 Fatty Apaches) tomorrow..  I've also got a snow skate that I think I'll let the other kids hurt themselves playing with.  The snow skate really needs to have packed base under it to function well.

http://cdn.epicski.com/b/bf/900x900px-LL-bfca6779_crgildart+gnoshes+the+dreaded+red+diamond.jpg

 

 

Awesome! Let us know how it goes. When I skied my local hill last weekend it was a ton of fun but the 4th or 5th time bootpacking back up had me seriously questioning my fitness level.

I'm happy for you guys.  Seems like epic conditions even in DC and suburbs.  Several years ago I posted about skiing the back side of the Burke Lake Dam.  Here is the info again.  Snow is there; somebody has to use it.  

There is a public fishing access point, marked by a sign on Rt 123, Ox Road at this point, turn down there and park at the end.  There is a boat launch point and a walking biking trail that goes around the lake.  Its about 4.5 miles around.  Facing the lake, turn right and Follow the trail and you will arrive at the dam in 1/2 mile.  The backside offers a 4-5 turn descent at a decent pitch.  I did it many times before moving to CA last year.  The access road belongs to the Dept. Of fisheries, not Fairfax County, and it is always plowed very quickly after a storm, far sooner than the county plows the suburban streets.  If you can get out of your neighborhood, you can get there.  It requires alpine or tele gear; it's too steep for XC skis unless you last name is Chase.  Burke Lake golf course or the trail around the lake are good for XC, although the trail gets pounded by runners and walkers.

I never did it but I'll bet the rolling hills of Wolf Trap would be good, if its allowed.

Then of course there is one of my all-time favorite DCSki posts:

http://www.dcski.com/forum/view_message.php?message_id=56630

OK ski vehicle at the base lodge.. er umm my house..

From the summit looking down..Yellow Diamond GNAR!
Tracks from my ski blades..

Obligatory snow on deck photo..

Power went out at 4am.  We played, we worked, starting a major room painting project (after sending emails to work folks to let them know I'm down and out of office notifications.

I was serving up the hobo steak and taters from the grill after bringing in the primed kerosine heater when the power came on this evening.  Hope it stays.  I have a pretty important conference call mid day tomorrow.  But, if it doesn't I could repeat today.. although the snow isn't still deep enought to ski.  Sleds are still in play though.

Denis wrote:

I'm happy for you guys.  Seems like epic conditions even in DC and suburbs.  Several years ago I posted about skiing the back side of the Burke Lake Dam.  Here is the info again.  Snow is there; somebody has to use it.  

There is a public fishing access point, marked by a sign on Rt 123, Ox Road at this point, turn down there and park at the end.  There is a boat launch point and a walking biking trail that goes around the lake.  Its about 4.5 miles around.  Facing the lake, turn right and Follow the trail and you will arrive at the dam in 1/2 mile.  The backside offers a 4-5 turn descent at a decent pitch.  I did it many times before moving to CA last year.  The access road belongs to the Dept. Of fisheries, not Fairfax County, and it is always plowed very quickly after a storm, far sooner than the county plows the suburban streets.  If you can get out of your neighborhood, you can get there.  It requires alpine or tele gear; it's too steep for XC skis unless you last name is Chase.  Burke Lake golf course or the trail around the lake are good for XC, although the trail gets pounded by runners and walkers.

I never did it but I'll bet the rolling hills of Wolf Trap would be good, if its allowed.

If you want to get a little closer to the dam, you can park on Laketree Drive in the South Run neighborhood and find a small path from that road to the dam. You will end up accessing the dam from the opposite direction from your instructions. I would guess plowing would be questionable from that direction, though. I used to mountain bike the trails around Burke Lake growing up.

Denis wrote:

I'm happy for you guys.  Seems like epic conditions even in DC and suburbs.  Several years ago I posted about skiing the back side of the Burke Lake Dam.  Here is the info again.  Snow is there; somebody has to use it.  

There is a public fishing access point, marked by a sign on Rt 123, Ox Road at this point, turn down there and park at the end.  There is a boat launch point and a walking biking trail that goes around the lake.  Its about 4.5 miles around.  Facing the lake, turn right and Follow the trail and you will arrive at the dam in 1/2 mile.  The backside offers a 4-5 turn descent at a decent pitch.  I did it many times before moving to CA last year.  The access road belongs to the Dept. Of fisheries, not Fairfax County, and it is always plowed very quickly after a storm, far sooner than the county plows the suburban streets.  If you can get out of your neighborhood, you can get there.  It requires alpine or tele gear; it's too steep for XC skis unless you last name is Chase.  Burke Lake golf course or the trail around the lake are good for XC, although the trail gets pounded by runners and walkers.

I never did it but I'll bet the rolling hills of Wolf Trap would be good, if its allowed.

If you want to get a little closer to the dam, you can park on Laketree Drive in the South Run neighborhood and find a small path from that road to the dam. You will end up accessing the dam from the opposite direction from your instructions. I would guess plowing would be questionable from that direction, though. I used to mountain bike the trails around Burke Lake growing up.

Awesome reading about everyone's adventures this weekend! Once again, I was not able to get out to a resort before the storm started. I think I probably could have made it out to Wintergreen or Massanutten on Saturday with the AWD, but that would have left the family stuck at home. So, I once again hit a local hill near my house on Saturday to earn a few turns - had a dozen or so "runs" on 50 or 60 feet of vert. The Mountain Goat Ski tote I bought several years came in handy - much easier to posthole it uphill with a ski pole in each hand.

Sunday I made it out to Wintergreen with family. Gorgeous bluebird day. Consumed a few scraps of powder on the sides of the trails but mostly enjoyed the newly formed moguls that covered the entire Highlands area.

wgo wrote:

Awesome reading about everyone's adventures this weekend! Once again, I was not able to get out to a resort before the storm started. I think I probably could have made it out to Wintergreen or Massanutten on Saturday with the AWD, but that would have left the family stuck at home. So, I once again hit a local hill near my house on Saturday to earn a few turns - had a dozen or so "runs" on 50 or 60 feet of vert.

 

Same here for Saturday and Sunday, same as photos above from last year but less snow and more Snice.  I'm counting them as "ski day"s ;-)

crgildart wrote:

Same here for Saturday and Sunday, same as photos above from last year but less snow and more Snice.  I'm counting them as "ski day"s ;-)

Yep. If my legs are feeling it the next day, it counts as a ski day.

Bump. After the,I don't know, 6-8 inches of snow we received in Charlottesville I grabbed an old pair of skis this morning and headed to the "steep" part of a local golf course to earn a few turns.  Took my usual 6 runs with 20 or so powder turns each. I'll see if I can post some pics.

EDIT:

Can't figure out how to embed a photo from facebook here, but here is a link:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156784121333744&set=a.10150307451343744&type=3&theater

Denis wrote

I never did it but I'll bet the rolling hills of Wolf Trap would be good, if its allowed.

I don't recall it being a big sledding destination when I was a kid, but maybe I was satisfied with places in my Vienna neighborhood.
 

I sledded behind Wolf Trap elementary though...

Closer to my current home, half the reason I have considered my own equipment is to someday get a photo of me skiing on the Masonic Temple grounds and blow it up into a "SKI ALEXANDRIA" poster. I sledded there about 15 years ago, I think. Not sure if it's discouraged or not.