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NOVEMBER 1, 2026

DCSki Resort Profiles Updated for the 2026–2027 Winter Season

DCSki’s Resort Profiles have been updated for the 2026–2027 winter season, with refreshed information on 30 ski areas across five Mid-Atlantic states. A longstanding feature of DCSki, the Resort Guide brings together mountain statistics, trail maps, interactive resort mapping, weather forecasts, driving directions, and links to related news and Forum discussions. Recent enhancements include improved navigation, expanded filtering and comparison tools, and the new Resort Matcher, which helps skiers and snowboarders discover mountains based on their location, preferences, and desired amenities.

OCTOBER 31, 2026

Whatever Happened to the Halfpipe?

Once a familiar sight at Mid-Atlantic ski resorts, halfpipes have largely disappeared. DCSki looks back at their heyday, the challenges of maintaining them, and a recent revival at Seven Springs.

1 comment

OCTOBER 30, 2026

The Economics of Making Winter: Does Snowmaking Pay Off?

A Canadian ski area's $2.5 million snowmaking investment raises a familiar question for Mid-Atlantic resorts: Does making more snow make financial sense?

OCTOBER 29, 2026

Priority Lift Lines: Winter Park Tries a New Approach

Winter Park is rewarding early-season passholders with priority lift access, adding a new angle to the debate over bypassing regular lift lines.

2 comments

OCTOBER 28, 2026

From Controversy to Commonplace: How Ski Helmets Became the Norm

DCSki looks back at how helmets went from a source of heated debate to standard equipment for more than nine in ten skiers and snowboarders.

OCTOBER 27, 2026

Three Big Changes That Reshaped Mid-Atlantic Skiing

DCSki examines how megapasses, improved snowmaking, faster lifts, and year-round investments have changed Mid-Atlantic skiing since the turn of the century.

1 comment

OCTOBER 26, 2026

A History of High-Speed Chairlifts in the Mid-Atlantic

From Whitetail’s pioneering high-speed quad to today’s six-passenger lifts, explore the history of detachable chairlifts at Mid-Atlantic ski resorts.

OCTOBER 25, 2026

Road Trips “R” Us

Jim Kenney recounts the beautiful, crazy, scary, lucky, and tasty moments gathered during decades of ski road trips across North America.

OCTOBER 24, 2026

You Had to Do What? Skiing’s Little Annoyances That Technology Left Behind

DCSki looks back at the snow phones, paper tickets, film cameras, fixed-grip lifts, and other ski-day inconveniences that technology has largely left behind.

3 comments

OCTOBER 23, 2026

Mountain Matchup: Liberty vs. Whitetail

DCSki compares Liberty and Whitetail, weighing longer runs and faster laps against varied terrain, short steeps, and a different mountain personality.

3 comments

Community Pulse

The Forum

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Updated 16 hours ago by needawax

7 Springs leadership rumor

Forum members weigh rumors about Seven Springs’ leadership and a possible North Face lift replacement, while considering the area’s underused terrain and competing resort priorities.

7 posts 5 participants 361 views

Updated 3 days ago by crgildart

Araphoe Basin's Lifts start spinning in 2 hours

bob reports Arapahoe Basin’s early opening as the nation’s first, while questioning Summit County’s snowmaking capacity amid low water levels and anticipating heavier crowds.

5 posts 3 participants 338 views

Updated 6 days ago by pagamony

Emergency server upgrade - please report any glitches

Scott describes an emergency DCSki software upgrade to address critical Internet vulnerabilities, asks readers to report glitches, and reflects on the site's long-running technology evolution.

10 posts 4 participants 623 views

Updated 8 days ago by JohnL

The 2026 Untopic

Scott revives DCSki’s open-ended Untopic, prompting members to share barbecue recommendations, biking and music memories, après-ski stories, travel plans, and glimpses of life beyond skiing.

22 posts 6 participants 2,160 views

Popular

Updated 9 days ago by JohnL

Road Trips "R" Us by Jim Kenney

JimK recounts decades of memorable ski-related road trips, blending scenic discoveries, roadside meals, close calls, and heartfelt reflections on traveling with his wife Kathy.

2 posts 2 participants 1,554 views

Updated 10 days ago by wfyurasko

New DCSki Launching Soon - Could be briefly glitchy

Scott previews and launches DCSki’s largest technical overhaul, adding new tools for exploring its archives, resort data, related content, and site history while readers offer feedback and spot issues.

29 posts 11 participants 1,957 views

Popular

Visit the Forum for all discussions →

Mountain Weather

Mid-Atlantic Skiers' Forecast

Updated 1 hour ago

This is a warm, quiet stretch for the Mid-Atlantic ski region, with no meaningful natural snow potential. Most areas climb into the 60s Sunday through Wednesday, with lower-elevation resorts such as Bear Creek, Liberty Mountain, and Spring Mountain reaching the upper 60s to lower 70s. Overnight lows generally remain in the 40s, so sustained snowmaking temperatures are not expected.

The colder exception is the Pocono region, where Jack Frost, Big Boulder, and Shawnee Mountain may dip into the upper 20s or lower 30s early, but daytime highs quickly reach the 60s. The higher West Virginia mountains are not substantially colder this week: Snowshoe stays mostly in the 50s, while Canaan Valley Resort, Timberline, and Wisp reach the 60s. Rain chances increase Wednesday night and Thursday across much of the region, with more persistent rain expected in the western mountains and southern Appalachians.

Weather Fact of the Day

Appalachian slopes can generate their own clouds through **orographic lift**: when moist air is forced uphill, it expands and cools until water vapor condenses. The cloud may cling to the windward ridge while the descending air on the opposite side warms and dries -- creating a sharp boundary where one side of a mountain is socked in and the other enjoys sunshine.

DCSki regional outlook based on National Weather Service forecasts for Mid-Atlantic ski areas.

From the Archives of Skiing

Ski History Fact of the Day

In 1946, Swiss engineer André Roch helped establish the International Ski Federation’s modern competition structure as one of the organizers behind the federation’s postwar expansion. Roch was already famous as an alpinist, guide, and ski racer, but his influence reached beyond the slopes into the institutions that governed international skiing.

The federation’s work helped standardize rules, organize championships, and create a common framework for national ski organizations. That structure made it possible for skiing to develop from a collection of local traditions into a truly international sport, with competitions that could be compared across borders.

Roch’s legacy is easy to overlook because it was administrative rather than mechanical. Yet the races, regulations, and international calendar familiar to modern skiers all depend on the kind of cooperation he helped build.

Around the Ski World

Elsewhere on the Web

Fresh ski and snowboard stories from around the web, selected daily for DCSki readers.

Updated 21 hours ago

POWDER Oct 30

Lake Louise To Open Days Earlier Than Planned

Lake Louise will open Sunday, November 1—five days ahead of schedule and its second-earliest opening ever. Initial operations will include Easy Street, the Juniper Express, and two terrain parks.

Read at POWDER

POWDER Oct 30

Chile Ski Resort Could Set a New Record With December Closing Date

Valle Nevado plans to extend its exceptionally snowy season through December 1, potentially setting a record for the resort’s latest closing. Operations will shift to weekends after November 8, with additional dates through December 1.

Read at POWDER

POWDER Oct 30

Natural Selection Tour Names New Director of Ski

Sage Cattabriga-Alosa will lead Natural Selection’s ski program, succeeding Mike Douglas. He will work with the tour’s advisory committee on athlete selection and the 2027 event, with location and dates expected in November.

Read at POWDER

POWDER Oct 30

Halloween Storm With Inches of Snow and 50 MPH Gusts Heads to California

A storm is expected to bring snow, rain, and strong winds to the Sierra over Halloween weekend. Higher elevations around Palisades Tahoe and Mammoth could receive several inches to roughly a foot, while travel conditions may deteriorate.

Read at POWDER

Unofficial Networks Oct 30

Early November Could Bring Massive Snow Totals To Some Western Ski Resorts

A storm cycle could deliver 20–24 inches to parts of Utah and up to roughly 30 inches in Colorado’s San Juans by early November. Additional snow is possible around November 6–7, though warmer temperatures and lower-elevation rain remain concerns.

Read at Unofficial Networks

Unofficial Networks Oct 30

Snowmass Ski Resort Unveils What It Calls the World’s First Battery-Backed Chairlift

Snowmass has replaced the Elk Camp chairlift’s diesel backup generator with a battery system that can also send stored power back to the grid. Aspen Snowmass says the change eliminates about 144 tons of annual emissions from the former generator.

Read at Unofficial Networks

Freeride World Tour Oct 29

Snowbird returns to the map for the Freeride World Tour’s 20th season

Snowbird will host a 2027 Freeride World Tour final from March 16–22, returning to the circuit for the first time since 2014. The six-stop, 53-rider season will also visit venues in Europe and Georgia before concluding at Verbier.

Read at Freeride World Tour

SnowBrains Oct 29

Kvitfjell Quickly Replaces Narvik as Host of Women’s World Cup Speed Races in Norway

Kvitfjell will host the women’s World Cup downhill and super-G races originally assigned to Narvik on March 12–13, 2027. Narvik withdrew over risks associated with completing venue work in time, allowing the races to remain in Norway.

Read at SnowBrains

Links open external websites. Story summaries are generated from publicly available reporting and are refreshed once daily.

OCTOBER 22, 2026

Colorado Drought Raises Questions About Snowmaking’s Water Demands

Colorado’s severe drought is raising questions about snowmaking’s water demands, an issue that also affects Mid-Atlantic ski resorts.

1 comment

OCTOBER 21, 2026

Doppelmayr Expands U.S. Ski Lift Manufacturing with New Utah Headquarters

Doppelmayr’s new Utah headquarters doubles its U.S. manufacturing capacity and adds domestic production of lift towers and other components.

OCTOBER 20, 2026

New Study Examines the Future of Mid-Atlantic Snowmaking

A new study finds that Mid-Atlantic ski areas could face fewer reliable snowmaking windows as winter conditions change.

1 comment

OCTOBER 19, 2026

Snow Farming: Could Preserving Winter Snow Work in the Mid-Atlantic?

Snow farming allows ski resorts to preserve snow through the summer for use the following season. A successful experiment at Colorado’s Snowmass raises an interesting question: Could the technology work at Mid-Atlantic ski areas?

OCTOBER 18, 2026

Killington Fires Up 165 Snowguns as Eastern Ski Season Draws Closer

Killington has begun large-scale snowmaking ahead of the Stifel Killington Cup, but an opening date remains weather-dependent.

OCTOBER 18, 2026

The Curious Case of Laurel Mountain’s Hybrid Ski Lift

Laurel Mountain's 1955 hybrid lift combined T-bars and single-passenger chairs to carry skiers, including injured guests, back to its summit.

2 comments

OCTOBER 17, 2026

Mountain Matchup: Timberline vs. Canaan Valley

DCSki's Mountain Matchup series heads to West Virginia, comparing neighboring Timberline Mountain and Canaan Valley Resort to see what each offers skiers and snowboarders.

5 comments

OCTOBER 16, 2026

Snowboarding Participation Climbs as Alpine Skiing Holds Steady, New Study Finds

New SIA research finds snowboarding participation climbing among Americans, while alpine skiing remains steady and slope days decline.

OCTOBER 15, 2026

NOAA’s Winter Outlook Favors Warmer, Wetter Conditions for Mid-Atlantic

NOAA's updated winter outlook calls for a warmer, wetter Mid-Atlantic, with El Niño creating both added precipitation and fewer reliable snowmaking windows.

1 comment

DCSki Spotlight

DCSki Firsthand Reports

Firsthand reports from DCSki contributors exploring ski areas, conditions, trips, and experiences on the snow.

Firsthand Report: Midweek Solitude at Whitetail Resort

DCSki’s Editor doubled his ski days for the season with a quiet midweek visit to Whitetail Resort, finding empty slopes and a nostalgic return to familiar runs.

2 comments