There is something so special and serine about skiing. Not just the time spent on ski lifts and screaming down the mountain but the holistic experience. When I think about going skiing I imagine my favorite ski trips. Cruising down I-70 between Denver international Airport and the resorts. The views of the Rockies, the gradual change in elevation (and snow!) until you finally see the first snow capped resorts. It feels like being transported to a completely different world compared to our above freezing hometowns. The journey to the resorts as well as the experience on and off the mountain is the itch I am always trying to scratch.
Skiing in the mid-Atlantic can be fun especially when we get some snow storms. However, I ski locally in attempt to fulfill that desire to return to the famous resorts of the west and northeast. Growing up in Cleveland I did most of my “little league” skiing at Holiday Valley in western New York. Now that I live in Arlington I have been trying to find my spot. I’ve tried 7S, Liberty, and Whitetail. They all have the same issues as Holiday Valley. They hardly scratch that itch to make it back to the big resorts.
Today, I drove out to the Canaan Valley for the first time, and in less than 3 hours I made it to Timberline Mountain. The trip started from the snowless, sea level high rises of Arlington, Virginia. As I cruised down 66 I started to see more remains of the snowstorm from last Wednesday (basically a dusting at this point). Within about 20 miles of 81 S the snow really starts to pickup. The Blue Ridge mountains were lightly covered in snow, and it was starting to feel like winter. After crossing the state line into WV the snow levels started increasing one inch at a time. The views blew me away an were often wheel jerking. There is definitely a reason they are the WVU Mountaineers (some of the peaks were huge). The breathtaking snow covered mountains were really getting me pumped up to ski. About 30 minutes from the resort the level of snow drastically grew, every tree was frosted and I really regretted not having 4 wheel drive. It truly felt like I was driving to a ski trip.
(Canaan Valley Resort)
Compared to mid Atlantic resorts i’ve experienced, this felt the most “real”. It took some time to get down the mountain. The black diamonds were steep enough to slow me down, the blues were fun cruisers, and the views in the horizon were spectacular. The terrain was significantly better than the PA resorts I’d skied in the past. It was more challenging, had better snow, and a better overall experience. I cannot wait for this place to open more terrain this year!
Now I’m not saying to expect a big time ski trip heading to Davis, WV. It is no Rocky Mountain resort but it gave me that full skiing experience. It blew my expectations out of the water. Going from DC to Canaan Valley brings you up 4,000 ft in a few hours, and definitely feels like being in a slightly different world. Today, I had a much more satisfying scratch for my itch to ski (The pictures do no justice!).
Great post! It inspired me to look up some old posts that I had written. Here's a quote from Jan 2011:
"Anyway, it was really a great, great day. It's just so cool on the drive out seeing each valley get snowier and snowier until you finally reach THE Valley and find a winter paradise. It amazed me the first time I did the drive 7 years ago and it amazes me still every time I go out there."
I cannot wait to get back out to TL and experience this again!
Thanks Wgo! It was awesome and I am so happy someone else also had the same experience as me. I will be going back every chance I get!
Hi Gibou,
I left my apartment at about 7:30 am and got to TM around 10:15am. I skied until 1:00pm and then drive home. Easily could have stayed longer but I wanted to get back before 5:00pm. Absolutely a very doable day trip!
I saw more of Canaan Valley in this post than the time I visited it! It was snowing a bit which helped out a lot as Timberline was poorly run back then.
I know the feeling you describe, watching the snow pile up as you get closer to the ski area. Even if it's on I-81 as you head into the anthracite plateau en route to the Poconos.
I'm looking forward to getting back to Timberline sometime, perhaps next year.
Thanks for the report JP. Looks great! How were the lift lines by 1PM on a Saturday? How full was the parking lot? Were there a ton of people outside milling around the base of the lifts?
I hope to get out to TM for a daytrip soon too. I've done numerous local daytrips over the decades involving drives of ~3 hours each way to ski at places like CV/Timberline, Blue Knob, Seven Springs, Wisp, and Wintergreen (2.5). It makes for a long day, but can be very fun and satisfying. Probably not something you want to do every week, all winter because the drive time is about equal to the slope time. It's also quite a commitment in time and effort, so not something you'd want to undertake if the destination is going to overly clogged up with big crowds and long lift lines due to popularity and/or covid restrictions.
I don't know what weekends will be like, but I find it hard to believe that once we get past the Christmas Holidays that regular weekdays will be overly crowded at any mid-Atlantic ski area. But who knows, this is not a normal time and all those kids doing virtual schooling may talk their parents into taking them skiing on Mondays or Fridays when normally resorts would be empty??
Vermont/Jim K,
Thanks for the replies! It definitely makes you feel like you are heading to big time resorts!
As for lift lines, they did back up at times (maybe a 15 groups backed up on each side). It was tough because they are trying to keep people separate based off their group. Therefore the 6 person lift did not add much efficiency. Once they started allowing groups of singles to ride together it sped up.
The parking lot still had openings at 10:15 but when I left at 1:00 it was full. They had to get creative with additional spaces. Interested to see what they do in the future!
wfyurasko wrote:
I saw more of Canaan Valley in this post than the time I visited it! It was snowing a bit which helped out a lot as Timberline was
Your post linked above is a great example of how the old Timberline was run. There were many lovers and many haters of the old Timberline. Often they resided in the same individuals. I am delighted by what I’ve heard about the Perfect management so far. Still, it is a cruel irony to be faced with this Covid season after making such an investment. I wish them all the luck in the world weathering the situation until 21-22.
Day trips to Snowshoe from the DC area are indeed cringeworthy; done it a few time when I was a single, but it was a tough try with the family in tow last year.
I am also interested in reading more Timberline reviews as we have never skied there before.
Talked to the nice folks at Timberline today, and I am a little surprise to hear that they don't have a capacity limit similar to Snowshoe.
Usually when I visit Canaan Valley I ski both ski areas TM and CVR. Whitegrass Nordic Center is also a nice place. The three ski areas are very close together and the mid-winter valley environment has the nearest thing to a true alpine feeling that you can find the mid-Atlantic.
trip reports:
2016: https://www.dcski.com/articles/1490
2014: dcski.com
2009: dcski.com
2006: dcski.com
Dafixison wrote:
Day trips to Snowshoe from the DC area are indeed cringeworthy; done it a few time when I was a single, but it was a tough try with the family in tow last year.
I am also interested in reading more Timberline reviews as we have never skied there before.
Talked to the nice folks at Timberline today, and I am a little surprise to hear that they don't have a capacity limit similar to Snowshoe.
I think they just haven’t reached a very high capacity yet. Hopefully if stays that way! That being said you should both give it a try. So much fun and an easy day trip!
Dafixison wrote:
Day trips to Snowshoe from the DC area are indeed cringeworthy; done it a few time when I was a single, but it was a tough try with the family in tow last year.
I am also interested in reading more Timberline reviews as we have never skied there before.
Talked to the nice folks at Timberline today, and I am a little surprise to hear that they don't have a capacity limit similar to Snowshoe.
That timberline doesn’t need a reservation system shouldn’t be a suprise, as I mentioned in beginning of the summer stick to the independents this season when another was preaching for the mega passes and talking for doug fish etc ,now with so many people locked into mega passes I look forward to checking out Timberline myself once they have enough snow to ski the woods
ksampson3 wrote:
Any word when new terrain is going to open? I'm heading there tomorrow. It seems kind of silly to wait until Xmas seeing how there is plenty of coverage right now.
Is it just me, or have they not updated their snow report in days? Also, their base coverage looks way too low (5-15”), which I have to believe is outdated. Finally, I can no longer get their webcam to load.
Timberline for years was my favorite resort in the mid-Atlantic area. Great terrain for all levels (Salamander a great run for beginners giving them the full mountain experience, three top to bottom blue runs, a couple double blacks and a couple of black runs from the top plus the glades when natural snowfall was present) and very accessible from DC (even before the corridor H opened which has made it even easier to get to). Great for a day trip and also for staying overnight with many lodging choices very close to the slopes at a reasonable price. The lodge was never anything great and parking could get tough on weekends, but the biggest drawback was always the very slow and low capacity lifts to the top. Even with those issues still loved going there until the last five years or so when the management of it became awful.
Now that Perfect North owns and operates Timberline it will become a great resort again (already has it seems) with the six person high speed lift to the top cutting ride times by 6 minutes or more and also a new four person lift to mid-mountain with access to a variety of beginner and intermediate terrain. The lodge has been totally renovated and nearly doubled in size and snowmaking has been dramatically improved. Can't wait to go there this year, but of course we won't be able to experience everything with the covid restrictions like having a nice lunch in the lodge.
If you do stay for a few days what is great about the valley is having Canaan Valley just down the road so you can do a couple of days at Timberline and one or two at Canaan Valley (where they also have tubing). Plus there is the cross country skiing nearby and the sledding hill and conveyor lift at Blackwater Falls State Park.
I am planning to take the kids to Timberline tomorrow as well, so I just called them for an update snow report and opened trails. Apparently, they got lots of snow (unspecified amount) last night and their patrols are out assessing the trail conditions this morning in hope of opening new trails today.
The nice lady seems to be unaware of the outdated snow report and non-transmitting webcam issue. She assures me that the snow report and trail status will be updated later this morning.
Hoping for more opened trails!
Just a few tips......I take it you b booting up at you car.
That being said,. Parking areas are all close to the mtn. I've hiked further just to catch satellite shuttles to some of the big mtns
Hope this helps
A few comments from this mornings posts.
1) base received about 6" over night, summit 10-12" from what I've been told.
2) They opened additional terrain in the last hour or so, but still have not opened The Drop, Almost Heaven or others from the top. The two mentioned they have been getting ready this past week.
3) Web Cam has been down for days.
4) Snow report needs to be kept up to date, it's marketing if nothing else. When you have Snowshoe advertising a 45" base, skiers will think twice. I'm a season pass holder so Timberline is my spot. The conditions have been VERY good the last two weekends.
5) Parking hasn't change, from what I've seen the large lot next to the hotel has not filled this season.
6) Parking next to the hotel and walking up the bank is the thing to do. Both lifts are right there.
7) Best guess, Off the wall, Thunderstruck, and Twister will be the only slopes not open by this Saturday.
Here's to a new and unbelievably improved Timberline Mountain. Thank you Perfect North, wow do they know what they are doing.
Except for communication. The daily snow report And web Cam are neglected, often out of date or not working at all. This is self defeating; why give inquisitive visitors a ban taste when trying to look up TLM info. How hard it to mention why web cam not worki NS and what you are doing to fix it, or replace. This is the first real negative situation I have seen about Perfect management. Why spend $10M+ to fix up the place and ignore the top couple percent of the project, urea ting possible customers for no reason. I have said it once, twice and repeat it again; COMMUNICATION is imperative!!!!!
The Colonel aka MorganB
I don’t understand the bad reports about “potential parking problems “ and inability to find info on their website, seems a bit spoiled compared to the days of driving to the mountain and finding out for yourself and then reporting on it, maybe part of the “need it now generation “
compared to what’s going on at Snowshoe where pass holders can’t ski because of overcrowding it really is small potatoes.
the owners were smart capitalizing on the reports of all the problems at Snowshoe , Whitetail etc
Timberline has to make snow open trails to attract people to make money, unlike snowshoe, whitetail etc where they don’t have to do anything to improve skiing conditions because they have so many people paying up front
We arrived to the mountain at 8am yesterday and were the second car parked in the little lot directly in front of the lodge. By 9am, there were still a few spots open in the lot.
It was a great day of skiing. White Lightning and Dew Drop were in very good condition. A few other trails that were not listed as open on their website were open for skiing with posted warning sign of thin cover. There was plenty of snow on those trails, including the Drop, albeit a few spots where you can see brown spots or twigs sticking out of the ground.
Longest wait in the lift line was maybe 5 rows deep, but they came in spurts. There was almost no wait for the majority of the day. They aren't kidding about how fast the new lift can get you to the top.
We will be back soon.
I've skied 5 days at Timberline this year. The overall experience has been great. It is really impressive all the work they have done on the mountain. Snow surfaces are excellent, lodge looks great (haven't been inside), ticket windows are much more efficient, lifties are friendly and the new lifts are fantastic. It hasn't been crowded any of the days I've been there so I haven't had any issue with parking.
Only a couple of things I've noticed that are negative.
1) The lifties are telling people to wear their masks but people are rolling into line without masks on or only covering their mouths (do people realize their noses are connected to their lungs). The most likely place to get infected is in the line so they really need someone monitoring the lines as people enter the corrals not when they get to the front where the liftie is located. Most people are trying to comply.
2) They consistently open the lifts at between 9:10 and 9:15. This is unacceptable for people that day trip from DC and get there early to avoid crowds.
Other than that the place is running great.
TomH wrote:
I've skied 5 days at Timberline this year. The overall experience has been great. It is really impressive all the work they have done on the mountain. Snow surfaces are excellent, lodge looks great (haven't been inside), ticket windows are much more efficient, lifties are friendly and the new lifts are fantastic. It hasn't been crowded any of the days I've been there so I haven't had any issue with parking.
Only a couple of things I've noticed that are negative.
1) The lifties are telling people to wear their masks but people are rolling into line without masks on or only covering their mouths (do people realize their noses are connected to their lungs). The most likely place to get infected is in the line so they really need someone monitoring the lines as people enter the corrals not when they get to the front where the liftie is located. Most people are trying to comply.
2) They consistently open the lifts at between 9:10 and 9:15. This is unacceptable for people that day trip from DC and get there early to avoid crowds.
Other than that the place is running great.
At Alta, if a lift opens later than normal, it's because ski patrol is not done with their work.
Thanks Reisen - very thoughtful post, much appreciated.
For local trips, I typically choose Snowshoe for two reasons: (1) I like the Western Territory and think it's meaningfully better terrain compared to most (but not all!) other terrain I've ridden in the mid-Atlantic; and (2) I buy Ikon. Now that (2) may not be an important consideration for me this year, the reason (for me at least) to go to Snowshoe is entirely based on the Western Territory. I just don't know that it's worth an extra three hours of driving roundtrip (for me, from NW DC). I do like the RFID approach (does ANY other Mid-A resort do this?), am interested in supporting T-line's new owners, and really like that T-line has outdoor-accessible restrooms. But I definitely want to avoid the line to get an RFID card on my first trip. I guess this suggests trying to make trip #1 during the week if possible. I also like that you can re-load your RFID card online, and you get a credit on your card if you ski for four hours or less (I tend to want to leave places like Whitetail/Liberty after less than four hours on the hill, so I typically buy just four hour tickets when I go there on non-powder days).
Thanks for the review! Very disappointed to hear timberline is getting crowded like ss, but I guess that’s good for their business.
to me t-line is a better option than ss given that I don’t want to be stuck with the expert only options in western territory. Want to give my legs a rest with a good long easy run from time to time. T-line offers a good mix of runs from top of the mountain. Ironically, my favorites are thunder struck, almost heaven, and twister. None of them are open yet. I just find the winding thunderstruck to be a little more interesting than white lighting, almost heaven to have the best scenery, and twister a better version of salamander, which I find too flat. And I always like to combine t-line with Canaan, the Weiss meadows runs and dark side are really fun.
Hope they can solve this point of sale issue soon to make things more smooth.
Reisen wrote:
I skied with my 6 and 8 year olds on Sunday, Dec 27 at Timberline. We have Ikon passes and in past years, our skiing is usually a mix of weekends at Snowshoe, a couple of day trips to Whitetail, and then usually two trips per year out west.I had skied at TM years ago, and wanted to give them some business to support the new ownership. Additionally, we were looking for someplace that wouldn’t be as crowded (we don’t normally ski during Xmas break).As tends to happen with little kids, we got a later than ideal start, leaving Nova at 7am and arriving at 10 sharp. There was lots of snow on the drive, and the roads from David to TM were snow packed. The trees were covered in snow, and the whole thing felt very alpine. The day was bluebird, with temps in the low-mid 30s.The parking lot was crowded and full, and we were directed to park on a maintenance road above it. I noticed lots of NY and NJ plates in the lot - I think many VT resorts are pretty washed out right now.We had bought tickets in advance, which indicated we could go directly to the lift. This turned out not to be the case, and we needed RFID cards. The line stretched across the front of the building and up to the magic carpet. While the wait was 45 minutes, they did send employees out with free Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, which I though was a nice gesture. Still, if the goal was to avoid the zoo that Liberty and WT are on holiday weekends, this was no better, and really made me miss the direct-to-lift convenience of our Ikon passes. Another disadvantage of TM vs the closer resorts is they only have 2 outside ticket windows, so many had to go inside to get tickets.While the RFID cards can be reloaded online, this will be an issue for anyone’s first visit. To avoid it in the future, I’d suggest getting there earlier.Another thing I noticed while standing in line was that they were spreading gravel over the ice with a mini skid loader near the base area, which I thought was smart to reduce falls. Signs of a well run operation. They had many, many employees monitoring the line, but I suspect we’re limited by point of sale devices to issue the RFID cards any faster.We walked through the lodge, which is still unpainted drywall (it looks like construction is ongoing), and out to the 6 pack, where we were greeted with another massive line, about the size of a normal Saturday Ballhooter line or a bad PowderRidge line. We chose the left side, and the wait was 25 minutes. At this point, the kids were pretty frustrated, and my daughter remarked that Timberline was about 10% Timber and 90% line.I noticed a couple of things while waiting. First, while the crowd was large (larger than I have seen at Whitetail’s main lift, ever), the 6 pack moves it well. Second, the RFID passes, which we have been accustomed to for 30 years skiing in Europe and out west, are really nice. Manually scanning bar codes at Snowshoe feels positively archaic. Third, the girl directing traffic was amazing, both friendly and efficient. Unlike SS, they were asking if groups of 2 or less would combine. Most said yes, with a few saying no. I don’t think it should be optional on weekends. Either be willing to combine, or don’t visit. Fourth, and most importantly, there were 4 lines. 3 on the lodge side, one on the other side. The left and middle line on the lodge side combined at the lift, while the right didn’t. That meant the right line moved literally twice as fast as the middle and left...By the time we got to the top, we had been at the resort for 2 hours, and it was noon. We skied down Dew Drop as our first run, and found it just ok. Coverage was good, snow was decent, but the run was somewhat uninteresting. The kids thought it felt like more of a green than a blue. The run was fairly narrow, with your typical east coast out of control skiers and boarders, which made me nervous (for the kids) given how crowded it was.Coming from dew drop, we were on the opposite side of the line, and like Ballhooter, that side went much faster (10 min). For the rest of the day, we avoided the two lines that combined, and wait times were a steady 10 minutes all day. I would pick someone that entered one of the two lines that combined to watch, and they were never more than halfway when we boarded the lift.Our second run was Salamander, which the kids really liked. It is a long green, with extensive gladed skiing off the sides, which the kids loved. The glades were a little bare in spots, but the kids didn’t care.Third run was White Lightning, which we all liked, but was at the edge of the 6 y/o’s abilities. This had the poorest coverage (lots of rocks on skier’s right), but was otherwise great. The 6 y/o was able to ski it mostly parallel, maybe falling twice per run, but it was good practice for him.The only other run that was open was Off the Wall, which I assumed was out of the ability level of the 6 y/o, so we never skied it. There were massive whales on Thunderstruck and enough snow to ski it, but it was roped off with hoses dragged across much of it. Hopefully it will be open any day.We skied Thundersnow a couple of times, but the run is so short it feels like more of a connector. We never did ride the double, which was so short (400 feet?) as to be unappealing. It did close for about 30 minutes due to what looked like a serious accident at the top (potential neck injury unloading).The two runs of choice were Salamander and White Lightning, which were polar opposites, but equally fun for the kids. Highlights of the day were the weather (beautiful), the employees (all very pleasant), and the 6 pack chair (fast!). Opportunities would be a better blue run (which Whitetail and Snowshoe have in spades), more variety, and shorter lift lines. 10 minutes sounds short, but is actually a pretty long wait, all things considered.Other notes are that the food service was not fully running, but had some items (pizza, bread sticks, and pretzels), all for a very fair price. Outside seating was packed (no surprise), so we just picnicked on the snow, which worked fine. Restrooms are accessible from outside the lodge, which is nice. As mentioned in the other thread, mask use was good but not great, and enforcement was minimal. I would estimate 10% of people wore no mask in line, and I only heard comments from employees twice all day. Each time, the person out one on when asked, but looked around like “there are 12 other people in this line not wearing masks either!” Snowshoe is clearly leading the way here.I don’t know if / when we will return. SS offers a much larger resort with more variety for about an extra hour drive each way, plus it is on the Ikon Pass. In normal times, we would have Primo, which negates their lines. Western Territory offers equivalent on-piste skiing with 50% more vertical and a similar high speed lift.Whitetail offers, IMO, better intermediate terrain, with nearly as much vertical and an equivalent high speed lift. If Whitetail has good conditions, I would probably opt for that for a day trip to cut the drive in half. For an expert, though, Timberline is superior with more expert terrain served by a faster lift with much more vert.I found TM to be well run, and suspect it has a bright future. How nice would it be if they could expand the resort?
You may have been misinformed; Ikon pass holders and snowshoe season pass holders can walk up and ski without a reservation. People who want to buy a single-day ticket should buy ahead, because those do sell out in an effort to limit capacity, which, IMHO is not a bad thing, but a good thing. I think that Snowshoe and Whitetail in past years have been at the head of the pack in terms of snowmaking and is a MAJOR part of the reason they have such a loyal following. It seems that the new owners of TR are off to a great start, which is much appreciated by winter sports lovers!
Vermont wrote:
I don’t understand the bad reports about “potential parking problems “ and inability to find info on their website, seems a bit spoiled compared to the days of driving to the mountain and finding out for yourself and then reporting on it, maybe part of the “need it now generation “
compared to what’s going on at Snowshoe where pass holders can’t ski because of overcrowding it really is small potatoes.
the owners were smart capitalizing on the reports of all the problems at Snowshoe , Whitetail etc
Timberline has to make snow open trails to attract people to make money, unlike snowshoe, whitetail etc where they don’t have to do anything to improve skiing conditions because they have so many people paying up front
Getting to a ski area at 10am the Sunday after Christmas it’s amazing you could even do anything
At Whitetail they were in line 2 hours today to get their cards .
10 minutes in a line on a weekend is quite good that’s without having to pay for “ Primo” I would imagine being used to cutting lines at Snowshoe made your daughter’s experience at Timberline feel that much worse
hopefully you get them back when the best trails are open for them like Twister etc. and definitely like the other person said go midweek to get the best experience
I totally dig the description of the drive up , the elevation is what makes that place, whitetail is so low
and like the others said about Snowshoe the western side is good but the front side under 800 ft is not worth the drive
eggraid wrote:
You may have been misinformed; Ikon pass holders and snowshoe season pass holders can walk up and ski without a reservation. People who want to buy a single-day ticket should buy ahead, because those do sell out in an effort to limit capacity, which, IMHO is not a bad thing, but a good thing. I think that Snowshoe and Whitetail in past years have been at the head of the pack in terms of snowmaking and is a MAJOR part of the reason they have such a loyal following. It seems that the new owners of TR are off to a great start, which is much appreciated by winter sports lovers!
Vermont wrote:
I don’t understand the bad reports about “potential parking problems “ and inability to find info on their website, seems a bit spoiled compared to the days of driving to the mountain and finding out for yourself and then reporting on it, maybe part of the “need it now generation “
compared to what’s going on at Snowshoe where pass holders can’t ski because of overcrowding it really is small potatoes.
the owners were smart capitalizing on the reports of all the problems at Snowshoe , Whitetail etc
Timberline has to make snow open trails to attract people to make money, unlike snowshoe, whitetail etc where they don’t have to do anything to improve skiing conditions because they have so many people paying up front
Wow so no control over who shows up? when Snowshoe hosted a race thru the terrain park with skiers and snowboarders together (skiers couldn’t use their ski poles) on the first run I was bumped and knocked to side by another racer I was fortunate to catch up and finsish top 2 to be able to move on to next round, at the bottom I went to the guy who tried to knock me off the course and I saw he had on a damn ski patrol cross, I was pissed seeing he was patrol and he asked if it was my 1st time in that type of a race and he told me to get used to it! A real wise guy! I just took the outside lane at start from then on and cruised to win, I got a sweet pair Rossignol skis/ bindings, a snowboard , Spy goggles and Van sneakers, the damn ski patrol tried to prevent me from moving on so his buddy who also worked there could win instead of a paying customer like myself ,
Personally I preferred Timberline over Whitetail. The vertical is similar and the drive is twice as long as Whitetail. That being said the drive to TM is awesome.
There were 3 big reasons why it’s worth the drive.
1. The snow is way better at TM. If whitetail gets a snow storm it’d be great but that is very rare.
2. Whitetail’s black runs are less steep than their blue runs. They also have a shorter vertical than TMs.
3. The crowd of inexperienced, out of control skiers and borders at WT is out of control. Last time I went I got ran into by 3 people.
Cannot wait to try out more runs at TM!
I would love to try SS especially cause of the W.T. I never end up going because it’s too far for a day trip and the lodging costs an arm and a leg. For the same price You can drive an extra hour or two to NY/Vermont or better yet fly to Denver and stay off mountain. Last year I was between SS and Colorado and actually went to A-Basin cause it was cheaper.
Reisen wrote:
I skied with my 6 and 8 year olds on Sunday, Dec 27 at Timberline. We have Ikon passes and in past years, our skiing is usually a mix of weekends at Snowshoe, a couple of day trips to Whitetail, and then usually two trips per year out west.I had skied at TM years ago, and wanted to give them some business to support the new ownership. Additionally, we were looking for someplace that wouldn’t be as crowded (we don’t normally ski during Xmas break).As tends to happen with little kids, we got a later than ideal start, leaving Nova at 7am and arriving at 10 sharp. There was lots of snow on the drive, and the roads from David to TM were snow packed. The trees were covered in snow, and the whole thing felt very alpine. The day was bluebird, with temps in the low-mid 30s.The parking lot was crowded and full, and we were directed to park on a maintenance road above it. I noticed lots of NY and NJ plates in the lot - I think many VT resorts are pretty washed out right now.We had bought tickets in advance, which indicated we could go directly to the lift. This turned out not to be the case, and we needed RFID cards. The line stretched across the front of the building and up to the magic carpet. While the wait was 45 minutes, they did send employees out with free Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, which I though was a nice gesture. Still, if the goal was to avoid the zoo that Liberty and WT are on holiday weekends, this was no better, and really made me miss the direct-to-lift convenience of our Ikon passes. Another disadvantage of TM vs the closer resorts is they only have 2 outside ticket windows, so many had to go inside to get tickets.While the RFID cards can be reloaded online, this will be an issue for anyone’s first visit. To avoid it in the future, I’d suggest getting there earlier.Another thing I noticed while standing in line was that they were spreading gravel over the ice with a mini skid loader near the base area, which I thought was smart to reduce falls. Signs of a well run operation. They had many, many employees monitoring the line, but I suspect we’re limited by point of sale devices to issue the RFID cards any faster.We walked through the lodge, which is still unpainted drywall (it looks like construction is ongoing), and out to the 6 pack, where we were greeted with another massive line, about the size of a normal Saturday Ballhooter line or a bad PowderRidge line. We chose the left side, and the wait was 25 minutes. At this point, the kids were pretty frustrated, and my daughter remarked that Timberline was about 10% Timber and 90% line.I noticed a couple of things while waiting. First, while the crowd was large (larger than I have seen at Whitetail’s main lift, ever), the 6 pack moves it well. Second, the RFID passes, which we have been accustomed to for 30 years skiing in Europe and out west, are really nice. Manually scanning bar codes at Snowshoe feels positively archaic. Third, the girl directing traffic was amazing, both friendly and efficient. Unlike SS, they were asking if groups of 2 or less would combine. Most said yes, with a few saying no. I don’t think it should be optional on weekends. Either be willing to combine, or don’t visit. Fourth, and most importantly, there were 4 lines. 3 on the lodge side, one on the other side. The left and middle line on the lodge side combined at the lift, while the right didn’t. That meant the right line moved literally twice as fast as the middle and left...By the time we got to the top, we had been at the resort for 2 hours, and it was noon. We skied down Dew Drop as our first run, and found it just ok. Coverage was good, snow was decent, but the run was somewhat uninteresting. The kids thought it felt like more of a green than a blue. The run was fairly narrow, with your typical east coast out of control skiers and boarders, which made me nervous (for the kids) given how crowded it was.Coming from dew drop, we were on the opposite side of the line, and like Ballhooter, that side went much faster (10 min). For the rest of the day, we avoided the two lines that combined, and wait times were a steady 10 minutes all day. I would pick someone that entered one of the two lines that combined to watch, and they were never more than halfway when we boarded the lift.Our second run was Salamander, which the kids really liked. It is a long green, with extensive gladed skiing off the sides, which the kids loved. The glades were a little bare in spots, but the kids didn’t care.Third run was White Lightning, which we all liked, but was at the edge of the 6 y/o’s abilities. This had the poorest coverage (lots of rocks on skier’s right), but was otherwise great. The 6 y/o was able to ski it mostly parallel, maybe falling twice per run, but it was good practice for him.The only other run that was open was Off the Wall, which I assumed was out of the ability level of the 6 y/o, so we never skied it. There were massive whales on Thunderstruck and enough snow to ski it, but it was roped off with hoses dragged across much of it. Hopefully it will be open any day.We skied Thundersnow a couple of times, but the run is so short it feels like more of a connector. We never did ride the double, which was so short (400 feet?) as to be unappealing. It did close for about 30 minutes due to what looked like a serious accident at the top (potential neck injury unloading).The two runs of choice were Salamander and White Lightning, which were polar opposites, but equally fun for the kids. Highlights of the day were the weather (beautiful), the employees (all very pleasant), and the 6 pack chair (fast!). Opportunities would be a better blue run (which Whitetail and Snowshoe have in spades), more variety, and shorter lift lines. 10 minutes sounds short, but is actually a pretty long wait, all things considered.Other notes are that the food service was not fully running, but had some items (pizza, bread sticks, and pretzels), all for a very fair price. Outside seating was packed (no surprise), so we just picnicked on the snow, which worked fine. Restrooms are accessible from outside the lodge, which is nice. As mentioned in the other thread, mask use was good but not great, and enforcement was minimal. I would estimate 10% of people wore no mask in line, and I only heard comments from employees twice all day. Each time, the person out one on when asked, but looked around like “there are 12 other people in this line not wearing masks either!” Snowshoe is clearly leading the way here.I don’t know if / when we will return. SS offers a much larger resort with more variety for about an extra hour drive each way, plus it is on the Ikon Pass. In normal times, we would have Primo, which negates their lines. Western Territory offers equivalent on-piste skiing with 50% more vertical and a similar high speed lift.Whitetail offers, IMO, better intermediate terrain, with nearly as much vertical and an equivalent high speed lift. If Whitetail has good conditions, I would probably opt for that for a day trip to cut the drive in half. For an expert, though, Timberline is superior with more expert terrain served by a faster lift with much more vert.I found TM to be well run, and suspect it has a bright future. How nice would it be if they could expand the resort?
Do you have any info on expansion of TM. I agree it would be nice.
jpetraiuolo wrote:
I would love to try SS especially cause of the W.T. I never end up going because it’s too far for a day trip and the lodging costs an arm and a leg. For the same price You can drive an extra hour or two to NY/Vermont or better yet fly to Denver and stay off mountain. Last year I was between SS and Colorado and actually went to A-Basin cause it was cheaper.
Reisen wrote:
I skied with my 6 and 8 year olds on Sunday, Dec 27 at Timberline. We have Ikon passes and in past years, our skiing is usually a mix of weekends at Snowshoe, a couple of day trips to Whitetail, and then usually two trips per year out west.I had skied at TM years ago, and wanted to give them some business to support the new ownership. Additionally, we were looking for someplace that wouldn’t be as crowded (we don’t normally ski during Xmas break).As tends to happen with little kids, we got a later than ideal start, leaving Nova at 7am and arriving at 10 sharp. There was lots of snow on the drive, and the roads from David to TM were snow packed. The trees were covered in snow, and the whole thing felt very alpine. The day was bluebird, with temps in the low-mid 30s.The parking lot was crowded and full, and we were directed to park on a maintenance road above it. I noticed lots of NY and NJ plates in the lot - I think many VT resorts are pretty washed out right now.We had bought tickets in advance, which indicated we could go directly to the lift. This turned out not to be the case, and we needed RFID cards. The line stretched across the front of the building and up to the magic carpet. While the wait was 45 minutes, they did send employees out with free Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, which I though was a nice gesture. Still, if the goal was to avoid the zoo that Liberty and WT are on holiday weekends, this was no better, and really made me miss the direct-to-lift convenience of our Ikon passes. Another disadvantage of TM vs the closer resorts is they only have 2 outside ticket windows, so many had to go inside to get tickets.While the RFID cards can be reloaded online, this will be an issue for anyone’s first visit. To avoid it in the future, I’d suggest getting there earlier.Another thing I noticed while standing in line was that they were spreading gravel over the ice with a mini skid loader near the base area, which I thought was smart to reduce falls. Signs of a well run operation. They had many, many employees monitoring the line, but I suspect we’re limited by point of sale devices to issue the RFID cards any faster.We walked through the lodge, which is still unpainted drywall (it looks like construction is ongoing), and out to the 6 pack, where we were greeted with another massive line, about the size of a normal Saturday Ballhooter line or a bad PowderRidge line. We chose the left side, and the wait was 25 minutes. At this point, the kids were pretty frustrated, and my daughter remarked that Timberline was about 10% Timber and 90% line.I noticed a couple of things while waiting. First, while the crowd was large (larger than I have seen at Whitetail’s main lift, ever), the 6 pack moves it well. Second, the RFID passes, which we have been accustomed to for 30 years skiing in Europe and out west, are really nice. Manually scanning bar codes at Snowshoe feels positively archaic. Third, the girl directing traffic was amazing, both friendly and efficient. Unlike SS, they were asking if groups of 2 or less would combine. Most said yes, with a few saying no. I don’t think it should be optional on weekends. Either be willing to combine, or don’t visit. Fourth, and most importantly, there were 4 lines. 3 on the lodge side, one on the other side. The left and middle line on the lodge side combined at the lift, while the right didn’t. That meant the right line moved literally twice as fast as the middle and left...By the time we got to the top, we had been at the resort for 2 hours, and it was noon. We skied down Dew Drop as our first run, and found it just ok. Coverage was good, snow was decent, but the run was somewhat uninteresting. The kids thought it felt like more of a green than a blue. The run was fairly narrow, with your typical east coast out of control skiers and boarders, which made me nervous (for the kids) given how crowded it was.Coming from dew drop, we were on the opposite side of the line, and like Ballhooter, that side went much faster (10 min). For the rest of the day, we avoided the two lines that combined, and wait times were a steady 10 minutes all day. I would pick someone that entered one of the two lines that combined to watch, and they were never more than halfway when we boarded the lift.Our second run was Salamander, which the kids really liked. It is a long green, with extensive gladed skiing off the sides, which the kids loved. The glades were a little bare in spots, but the kids didn’t care.Third run was White Lightning, which we all liked, but was at the edge of the 6 y/o’s abilities. This had the poorest coverage (lots of rocks on skier’s right), but was otherwise great. The 6 y/o was able to ski it mostly parallel, maybe falling twice per run, but it was good practice for him.The only other run that was open was Off the Wall, which I assumed was out of the ability level of the 6 y/o, so we never skied it. There were massive whales on Thunderstruck and enough snow to ski it, but it was roped off with hoses dragged across much of it. Hopefully it will be open any day.We skied Thundersnow a couple of times, but the run is so short it feels like more of a connector. We never did ride the double, which was so short (400 feet?) as to be unappealing. It did close for about 30 minutes due to what looked like a serious accident at the top (potential neck injury unloading).The two runs of choice were Salamander and White Lightning, which were polar opposites, but equally fun for the kids. Highlights of the day were the weather (beautiful), the employees (all very pleasant), and the 6 pack chair (fast!). Opportunities would be a better blue run (which Whitetail and Snowshoe have in spades), more variety, and shorter lift lines. 10 minutes sounds short, but is actually a pretty long wait, all things considered.Other notes are that the food service was not fully running, but had some items (pizza, bread sticks, and pretzels), all for a very fair price. Outside seating was packed (no surprise), so we just picnicked on the snow, which worked fine. Restrooms are accessible from outside the lodge, which is nice. As mentioned in the other thread, mask use was good but not great, and enforcement was minimal. I would estimate 10% of people wore no mask in line, and I only heard comments from employees twice all day. Each time, the person out one on when asked, but looked around like “there are 12 other people in this line not wearing masks either!” Snowshoe is clearly leading the way here.I don’t know if / when we will return. SS offers a much larger resort with more variety for about an extra hour drive each way, plus it is on the Ikon Pass. In normal times, we would have Primo, which negates their lines. Western Territory offers equivalent on-piste skiing with 50% more vertical and a similar high speed lift.Whitetail offers, IMO, better intermediate terrain, with nearly as much vertical and an equivalent high speed lift. If Whitetail has good conditions, I would probably opt for that for a day trip to cut the drive in half. For an expert, though, Timberline is superior with more expert terrain served by a faster lift with much more vert.I found TM to be well run, and suspect it has a bright future. How nice would it be if they could expand the resort?
jpetraiuolo wrote:
An expansion would be awesome! I don’t have any info on that but honestly doesn’t seem to likely in the near future because of how much they have already spent on the renovations this year. There is space east of the mountain that looks like it could be developed but I don’t think it’d get the full 1000ft vertical.
Agree, maybe they could cut another green off the side of Salamander but it doesn't seem steep enough to be more than a run through the homes in that area. Even that would require homeowners to give up land for that trail.
Does anyone have lodging recommendations in Davis, WV? Planning to visit T'line first weekend of Feb. No availability at Canaan Valley 1st wknd of Feb.
From T'line website, local lodging options in Davis are:
1) Billy Motel
2) Alpine Lodge
3) Bright Morning B&B
1) and 3) have the same price per nightly rate, 2) is a bit cheaper.
I plan to ski T'line on Sat., and CV on Sunday half day.
3 hours drive one day from NoVA is a bit long to make a day trip.
Thanks in advance for your reply!
fosphenytoin wrote:
Does anyone have lodging recommendations in Davis, WV?
Any of those are good choices. Number 2 is probably the most austere of the 3.
Thanks for the recommendation @Camp and @Denis.
Checked Blackwater Falls Lodge, no availability 1st wknd of Feb either. I may proceed w/ my option 1) or 3).
We (parents and 2 kids) stayed at The Alpine Inn Sunday night and skied yesterday at Timberline. I picked the Alpine in because they had a large room with 3 full beds for $101 including taxes. It's an older hotel but the people were friendly and it was nice to have such a big room without anyone having to share a bed who didn't want to :).
New ownership at Timberline seems to be off to a good start even though they still have more work to do. Staff members were upbeat and helpful. Hardly anyone there on a Monday. High speed 6-pack lift and RFID passes are awesome!
The lodge at Blackwater Falls is closed for renovations and will not be available at all this season.
fosphenytoin wrote:
Thanks for the recommendation @Camp and @Denis.
Checked Blackwater Falls Lodge, no availability 1st wknd of Feb either. I may proceed w/ my option 1) or 3).
(First, thanks to all who have been posting about conditions, facilities, covid protocols, and so forth this season. Your comments have been very helpful!)
I skied the new Timberline Mountain for the first time on January 5 and 6. As others have observed, the look, the feel, and the operation are all welcoming and very much improved. What a pleasure and relief to see this mountain being managed the way it should be.
Five runs from the top have been open for the past week or thereabouts: Salamander, Off the Wall, White Lightning, Upper Thunderboltstrucksnowclouddraftstorm, and Dew Drop. Twister had a good looking base at the bottom, but I didn’t see any snowmaking there while I was skiing. Both chairs were pretty much ski-on or a few-minute wait at the worst. Mask protocols were being observed, and signs were plentiful. Lifts ran well, except that the 6-pack didn’t open until after 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday. RFID system was excellent (and I generally have arguments with the machinery when I use these things, so kudos to T-line). More parking will be needed. Tables indoors were widely separated, and all employees were masked. Of course, weekdays aren’t typically crowded, so I can’t judge how things work here on weekends.
Snowmaking occurred on most slopes during the entire day, which, coupled with fog for the first few hundred vertical feet at the top, made the opening turns on each run something of a grope-and-hope until visibility improved. In terms of snow, Sally was in the best shape – smooth as butter, esp. on the 6th. Poorest run was Lower Dew Drop with death cookies and chicken heads scattered on the upper portions. Overall I’d rate the snow a 7 on a scale of 10 (with 6 representing side-to-side coverage with no need to be vigilant about bare spots, ice, or choppy chunks).
Wow. Thanks and congratulations to the new owners, management, and staff.
Woody
PS Be sure to do the math on multi-day tickets. Some great bargains here!
bousquet19 wrote:
Lifts ran well, except that the 6-pack didn’t open until after 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
Any idea what's up with that? You're the third person that I have heard that from. My buddy stood in line for 45 minutes the other day freezing his buns off until they started letting folks load. From the webcam, it looked like ski patrol didn't have their act together maybe?
Seems to me I read some time ago that the Perfects and therefore TLM did not pay ski patrollers, but rather used volunteers. This might be the problem, a power struggle!!! Anybody know anything. I would think it more difficult to find adequate numbers of volunteers in the Canaan Valley area than in the big cities (Cincinnati, etc) that support their other resort Perfect North!!??
The Colonel
Thanks for the correction!
The Colonel
Yes,
We did a day trip on 1/18 and booted up the the parking lot. We also took our lunch break in the car.
Are you driving directly from Mnut? Should only be about 2.5 hrs, either via the twisty rt 33 to WV 32 route or the longer but less twisty I-81 to 259 to Corridor H to WV 32 route.
marzNC wrote:
For those who have been to Timberline in the last couple weeks, are you booting up in the parking lot? Decided tonight to do a day trip tomorrow from 3 hours away.
wgo wrote:
Yes,
We did a day trip on 1/18 and booted up the the parking lot. We also took our lunch break in the car.
Are you driving directly from Mnut? Should only be about 2.5 hrs, either via the twisty rt 33 to WV 32 route or the longer but less twisty I-81 to 259 to Corridor H to WV 32 route.
marzNC wrote:
For those who have been to Timberline in the last couple weeks, are you booting up in the parking lot? Decided tonight to do a day trip tomorrow from 3 hours away.
Yep, driving from Mnut. Will have a teen riding with me who doesn't do well on mountain roads, so I'm going to stick with Corridor H. I took both routes several years ago. Big difference is that now I have an AWD SUV instead of a 2WD minivan.
A DCSki reader sent me the following photos that were shot from Timberline in recent days. The reader said "Great conditions here at Timberline -- probably the best in 3 years. The new ownership is incredible. Even with 11 inches of fresh snow, they continue making snow and building base every night."
I had a BLAST at Timberline today! Spent the most time in the Glades. Wasn't expecting to get fresh powder turns but kept finding new options the more we skied in there. I was with a teen who learned at Massanutten and was skiing Alta steeps by age 12.
Made the drive from Massanutten in just over 2.5 hours. Pulled into the parking lot around 9:40. Got the impression that the 6-pack has just started up since there seemed to be a line. The line was pretty much gone by the time we got are RFID cards and booted up in the car. We opted to stop just before 4 hours were up. The afternoon crowd started showing up around 2:00. Spent some of the credit for ice cream before heading back to Virginia.
I saw a couple people booting up in the lodge but it didn't seem worth it to carry stuff there and back. Looks like they are adding a restroom near the ticket and ski school desk.
Had lunch inside. The cafeteria is open until 5pm. The bar/restaurant is open in the evenings. Time limit requested is 30 min for the cafeteria tables. Not many people around on a Thursday so easy to find a table around 12:15.
Working on figuring out how to get back after Pres. Day. :-)
Adamh21 wrote:
Canaan Valley BBQ and Siriannis cafe has been excellent, highly recommend
Thanks for the recommendation!
I have stayed in the Canaan Valley lodge a number of times since it was rebuilt in 2013 and have noticed the dining room food gets better with each visit. If you're staying onsite it's hard to beat the dining room for convenience at breakfast or dinner time.
Hopefully, others will chime in with additional dining suggestions within the valley near the lodge. There have been some good places, but the turnover is fairly frequent. Personally, when staying at the lodge I have a hard time driving over to Davis to eat after skiing all day at Timberline or Canaan Valley resorts.
Georgiajames wrote:
We are staying at Canaan valley lodge in late February for 3 days to hit t-line and Canaan.the lodge restaurant menu looks pretty decent. Any thoughts on dinner there as we plan on hitting this restaurant one night.thanks in advance for all suggestions.
Best route from Baltimore is the Cumberland route, then through Keyser to Corridor H (Route 48) into Davis. The Winchester route gets you on more of Route 48 earlier, but you've got some potentially hairy mountain roads first.
You won't find any lodging available in Davis/Thomas for this weekend, especially if you're wanting a single night stay.
You say you want to stay somewhere 'nearby' on Saturday night.....you might get lucky and book a motel in Keyser...about 1 hour away from TLM.
Good luck.
BaltoBill wrote:
Canaan Valley Lodge has a two night minimum and I'm planning on driving from Baltimore leaving Saturday night with one or two of my kids. The plan is to stay somewhere Saturday night that's not too far, get up early, and make first tracks. There are two routes to drive -- one through Cumberland and the other through Winchester. My difficulty is finding a decent hotel or airbnb seems tough on both routes unless we stay pretty far away. Anyone have suggestions on routes and places to stay? I know that Timberline's lodge is closed, and was surprised that I couldn't find any houses to rent on the mountain -- maybe they all are booked.
Went to Timberline on 26/27. A tale of two very different days. I have been on DC Ski since 2005 so I heard the woes of the trip up as Corridor H was built. Now there is about a 10 mile two lane experience between 81 and corridor H. Sorta disappointed that I did not get the full experience old timers had on the drive up!! or at the mountain with the rickety life I have heard about for so long. I was also struck by the proximity of Canaan Valley, Timberline and White Grass, you can see all three without turning your head on the drive in.
Drove up in the rain and fog from Dulles airport area, views were nonexistent as was the traffic and about 2:45 after I left home, I pulled into the lot as the rain miraculously stopped. I changed outta my jeans and booted up on the tailgate, threw on a sweatshirt (40 degrees) and headed to get my RFID card. No line on a Tuesday for that, hit the slopes and took a warmup on Salamander . . . after that just cycled through the runs and finished about 4pm with 27 runs and almost 25K of vert. Off the Wall is all it’s cracked up to be on the spring snow. I also really enjoyed Twister, Dew Drop, and Almost Heaven, they have lots of "character," as well as the top of Salamander, the other blacks are interesting but did not find them to be more than "straight down the hill runs." Every run had a few nice rollers to pop off of and get a bit of air with an ollie. Park was small, without any real boxes (which is what I want to work on), so I only went through once. Closed out the day at about 53 degrees and wet/sticky snow. PS, don't hit Salamander late in the day on warm wet snow . . . it’s a long run out, and you may not make it to the lift.
By myself, so I was staying at ALPINE Lodge (a throwback to the sixties with it paneling and pink tiled bathrooms) at 60$ a night, would not stay there with my wife, but would with my adult sons and daughter :-). Ate at Sirianni's and can vouch for their "Artery Clogger" pizza (thanks ADAMH21 for the recommendation).
Day two was colder (25 deg) firmer snow/ice and much faster, but more of the same. 23 runs and 20K of vert by 2:10 PM for a ride back home. Ride home was beautiful and sunny and made me appreciate the mountains of WV as I rode the super highway home with no traffic.
My key "take aways" from the trip:
* Customer service was great!
* Staff actively made people "mask up"; "Put your mask on or you can't ride the life" and lots of hand sanitizer all over the lodge
* Don't do off the wall when the runs are hard and frozen, but do it multiple times when the snow is soft!!!!!!!
* Not the best beginner hill in our area
* EMPTY on weekdays, go Mid-week, a nice encouragement was the mid-week credit they put on you rfid card to use any way you want. You can get as many runs as you want mid week. Ski/Board till your legs fall off!!
* Food in the lodge was very reasonably priced
* ON the "hairy edge" of being a day trip from Dulles for a single person, would be easy for two drivers.
* I am a "SNOWTIME" guy and the hill is much better than any of their hills.
Next trip, I may try the same thing, 2 days at timberline, but sandwich in a day at White Grass . . . I feel the pull of the Valley . . .
Enjoyed the report. I hope to get two or three midweek days in the Valley in early-mid March after my COVID vaccine shots have achieved max effectivenes. I want to stay at the CV Park lodge, but vacancies in March midweek are few and far apart. They have sure raised since the new manager arrived! Anybody know, are all the Lodge rooms Bering rented; and when does the Blackwater Falls lodge reopen?
Thanks, The Colonel
I own a property that we rent out... an actual quote from a review:
"Too much snow in the parking lot" ... Thinking I might send that over to the Timberline Marketing team. Kind of like the Snowbird review "Too Steep"
Nice report Wojo! We were there with my son Monday and Tuesday and I concur with your findings. The high-speed lift was a really nice change. We used to do laps off of Silver Queen to White Lightning/OTW/TD and the sloooowwww ride up with all the stops really was a pain.
For others asking about lockers, there are only the old "lockers" (locks being disabled) that they moved to the new rental area. We brought our transpaks and put our street gear in them and then on top of the locker banks. They said they will be replacing them in the future.
Timberine's marked trails are now fully open :)
Disclaimer: Thunderdraft (Under the 6-person chairlift), and Good intentions (under the 4-person chairlift), are no longer marked on their website as they can't be groomed, and only open when the weather allows.
Unmarked trails are also open and skiing great. They have subtle signs at a few unmarked glade entrances. They got 12-14 inches yesterday and 1-2 inches today. Go get it!
Definitely Timberline! People don't like sharing too many details about semi-clandestine tree runs online. However, that area is commonly called Cherry Bowl and I found a few trail entrances without much trouble. It does seem the one entrance is semi-official since ski patrol placed an EXPERTS ONLY sign there.
Ski around the steeper terrain and watch the edge of the trails. You'll certainly see a few tracks going into the woods. Well worth seeking out.
Timberline
Evans Dad wrote:
Mind sharing where you took those pics from :)?
@Dinozaur
Thanks for the info. I always wondered where Cherry Bowl was.
I made my first trip to Timberline yesterday. Conditions were excellent - some of the best I've experienced in the Mid-Atlantic. I spent most of my time in the trees, on runs that are not listed on the trail map. I made several runs in (what I now know to be) Cherry Bowl, which I accessed from the cross. There's also a good section of trees between The Drop and Off the Wall - there are a number of marked places to drop in from skiiers left as you're moving from the lift to Off the Wall. I liked Cherry Bowl better; the other tree section was very tight, without great pitch so I had to unclip and walk out twice. I was in these areas for hours all day and hardly saw anybody else. A couple young snowboarders rode by me in Cherry Bowl and said "isn't it great in here?" I said "yes it is, why isn't anybody else skiing it?" They shrugged and said "I guess they just don't know it's here!" I was worried a bit about my equipment, but there was definitely enough snow and my snowboard came out mostly unscathed.
I really enjoyed my day - I just haven't seen terrain like that at other Mid-A resorts. It was also cool to see exactly how close some of the homes are to some trails - it reminded me of housing on a golf course. If you owned one of these places, wayward skiiers would surely end up in your backyard.
No lift lines to speak of, and everybody was masked. It doesn't look like a place I'd go if there's a crowd - with just two lifts right next to one another, there's nowhere to go to avoid the crowds if they are there. Still, if there's enough snow to ski the trees, Timberline just might be my first choice in the entire area. Cupp and Shay's are fun (and more reliably open), but not as fun as the trees at T-line on a good day!
wgo wrote:
FWIW Cherry Bowl used to be an "official" glade run on the trail map while the areas between the Drop and OTW and between WL and the Drop never were, which might be why Cherry Bowl was more skiable. Although it has been years since Cherry Bowl was on the trail map.
TM Ski Patrol is marking a lot of primary entrances off the greens to keep the fools out. For their own safety. Too many clueless folks think the tracks are green cut throughs back to Sally. Or some easy adventure. Back in 2016 - the last year the glades were really skiable, I saw too many people in there who couldn’t handle an ungroomed black run, much less a double black with numerous dangerous obstacles underfoot. Passed by many a person walking back out or walking down. Saw a sideways snowboard track down the entire bottom half.
Haven’t seen that this year fortunately.
Cherry Bowl used to be on the map before it was logged. The previous owners logged the Cherry Trees to pay for lift repairs. Calling the lower open part a glade is charitable. It is a logged, rocky stump-filled opening in the trees, that tons of scrub grows in because the canopy is gone.
Currently, bases are at levels not seen since maybe 2013. The base won’t last all season. There is a lot of dangerous junk under the current snow - it will come out as it gets skied out and when it warms up. (The glades have really not been skied or maintained in 5 years.) Even now, with a sportier line, hit something several times a run. No major damage, but expect dings. It is not groomed run coverage.
The other glades - be comfortable with tight slalom turns and skiing through plenty of scrub and around or jump over rocks, stumps and fallen trees. Knowing your way around helps a lot in some of the scrub.
College weekend special rate this Friday and Saturday:
For T'line slope side lodging, it is further delayed.
I emailed T'line on mid Jan and below is the reply:
"Thanks for reaching out to check in! Unfortunately we have run into serveral further delays and we are not ready to open the hotel for public reservation just yet. We are hopeful for the end of the month but that is not yet confirmed. We will be sure to contact you as soon as we begin booking rooms!"
As for price:
"That information has not yet been finalized, we expect to be within the range of what is currently available here in the valley for lodging but we do not yet have rates available for announcement.
Thanks so much for your patience and understanding -- we look forward to hopefully welcoming you as a guest in the near future!"
Good reviews people. As a long time homeowner and now a full-time resident of the Timberline MountIn base area, I worry that our best kept secret is now out to the world. Real New England type skiing in the close by Allegheny Highlands of West Virginia. COVID caused many to flee to this area last spring, summer, and fall and available real estate inventory was gobbled up at an amazing rate. Home values have skyrocketed and there is a 2 to 3 year wait to find a reputable builder. The folks from Perfect North have been a perfect fit for Timberline. They had the know-how, the correct personnel, and the deep pockets to do the job right. I watched the progress everyday from last winter to the current day. The thousands of feet of snowmaking pipe laid, the pumping capacity greatly increased, the lifts torn down, the new ones installed and the bugs worked out. People complaining about lift lines don't have a clue. If it weren't for the COVID protocols, lift lines would't exceed 10 minutes on a busy day. A 4.5 minute ride to the top means that mid week 40k of vertical is easily achievable on any day but Saturdays and holiday weekends. The snowmaking is top notch. Our winter, so far, has provided old fashioned Canaan Valley snowfall totals that should, if it continues, exceed the 160" seasonal average. Lodging and parking are at a premium close in. The parking problem will be most likely be corrected by next November. Expect the curb appeal of the resort to be improved by next winter as well. These folks have spent a lot to make the initial improvements and we can expect to see more for the future with expansion not out of the question or perhaps additional uphill capacity based on need. They ski 5000 to 6000 skiers a day at the short hills of Perfect North in Indiana. Not that we want that volume here, but if it comes expect them to create ways to handle it. Try the Slippery Slope Bar and Grill for a reasonably priced dinner. Did it last Friday and wasn't disappointed. Very reasonably priced and beverages were cold.
Once the pandemic threat had lessened or is greatly reduced, we will see new businesses, restaurants, and other activities appear throughout the valley and Davis. The old Tucker's Restaurant is becoming "Mama Mia's." Others eateries are being planned for Davis and Thomas. Our little piece of heaven will probably never be the same but we are willing to share it with others who can appreciate it's vibe and natural beauty. With the combination of Timberline Mountain, Whitegrass, and Canaan Valley Resort, you would have to go to Vermont to find more variety and greater number of runs in as close a proximity to one another. Snowshoe can't hold a candle to what the valley has to offer when the conditions are good. Welcome to our world and enjoy, possibly thru the early part of April if Url and weather cooperate.
TL owners seem to be committed to a long season:
Hit up Timberline for the first time since 2011 yesterday.... I used to ski it fairly regularly until 2012 when I jumped ship to Snowshoe for my WV skiing.
2/18 was predicted to be an epic powder day, with 4" overnight and another 7" during the day. Drove down from Pittsburgh in the morning on unplowed WV roads and was on the slopes by 10am.
The 7" never materialized instead there was a thin layer of ice on the 4" of fresh they received, it was really crusty. The resort did an excellent job with it. They had groomers on the slopes almost until lunch knocking down the ice and pushing the powder around. We would hang around the groomers then get first tracks on the slopes when they dropped the ropes. With the ice crust gone everything skied extremely well.
There was never a lift line, we skied right on the lift each run. The lodge was nice, food was dirt cheap. My brother and I commented to each other that the owners are charging Ohio prices vs what the market will bear based on the PA/DC crowds that normally ski there. For a small pizza, water, and mozzarella sticks I paid $14. At Nutting's resorts (our home resorts) you'd typically pay $13.95 for five chicken tenders and some fries plus another $4 for a bottle of water.
The place skied as well as I had remembered. The snow in the trees wasn't iced up and we had some fun in there later in the day. Everything was well maintained and running well. Employees even seemed to care about the place vs the apathy I'd experienced in the past.
This is a great season to start for the new owners. Hopefully numbers beat or exceed expectations and they continue to invest there.
From where I'm at in Pittsburgh it's about 45m-1hr closer to get to Timberline. With the high speed lift and improvements this is going to become my destination going forward.
I'm glad to see it back up and running!
We are hoping to get there next Friday. GPS from my buddy's house in Beaver Falls says to get off 68 on the first exit (rte) 119 then several back roads including 50. 3H 30M
I like your way better. I drove on 50 in WV once and that was enough. That road sucks with a capital S.
oddballstocks wrote:
Took I-79 to I-68 into MD. From there 219 to 32.
I've done WV 50 as well, same thing..never again!!
Yes, the first exit on 68 is usually good, I think Friendsville? From there it's 7mi to McHenry. The advantage of taking 68 to 219 is that 219 is four lanes into Deep Creek. It's almost double the distance, and it's a gamble. On weekdays the road from Friendsville is empty and smooth sailing, but I've also been stuck behind people who don't know how to drive hills or dump trucks and it's SLOW. If you get motion sick easily it isn't recommended.
If you want the absolute fastest way from Beaver Falls:
1) Take 79 to 279 into town, go through the Liberty tubes
2) Hop on 51 south
3) In Jefferson Hills get on the Mon-Fayette south to Uniontown
4) Exit the Mon-Fayette onto US40
5) Take 40 to PA 281
6) PA 281 to Friendsville Rd
7) This drops you into Friendsville and you continue on from there
If the roads are clear that's a great way to so, it's a really easy drive and much more scenic than 79/68.
Have fun!
Blue Don 1982 wrote:
We are hoping to get there next Friday. GPS from my buddy's house in Beaver Falls says to get off 68 on the first exit (rte) 119 then several back roads including 50. 3H 30M
I like your way better. I drove on 50 in WV once and that was enough. That road sucks with a capital S.oddballstocks wrote:
Took I-79 to I-68 into MD. From there 219 to 32.
I made it down there in Friday for the first time in a few years. What a surprisingly pleasant change! While the ticket window area of the lodge is still partially unfinished, it felt like a time warp from the "rustic" days and this was the last place I expected RFID tags and (working) self serve kiosks. The new lifts look incredible. But better than the looks, I was shocked at how fast it got up the mountain! It felt like I was getting off at the top in the time it would have taken to get to about the pumphouse before.
At least the top half of the mountain was socked in with clouds/fog and, having grabbed the "sunny" goggles by mistake, I was skiing semi-blind on some of the upper trails, unable to read the snow. Everything skiers left was familiar and skied much the same, and that made it easy to get down. Things seemed a bit re-arranged at the top of the lift that replaced the mid-station, but it also might be faulty memory. Did that take out hiz/herz glades?
While lightning felt a bit different, and that came to bite me. I lost track of where the headwall really began in the clouds, and had my first yard sale in quite a long time. It also was weird to not have the lift on your right, and then crossing over at the bottom. Likewise, the little chute that started under the unloading pad felt smaller and a bit grown in.
Groomed slopes all felt pretty well done. The bit of twister between the sharper left and right turns had a bit of a trough down the center, but the rest skied very well, aside from occasional good old death cookies. Aside from one run down Off the Wall, to verify its still "off the wall", I stayed out of bumps and trees, as this old man was skiing solo and had to drive his own butt home in one piece. All in all, the mountain itself looked to be just as it has, and that's a great thing.
I will echo the "reverse sticker shock" some others have mentioned about the snack bar. I'm guessing that will change as the rest of the lodge is upgraded.
Crowds were light, and while not ski on, I think I saw at most 5 groups in each of the 4 lines leading up to the RFID gate. I saw hardly anyone riding the mid-mountain lift, as the park was pretty empty. The RFID readers seemed to be a bit more finicky compared to that at other places. and line discipline going through the gates really sucked, but that is up to the skiers, not management. If you are rally picky about social distancing, it might not be the place for you. Some people felt it was ok to line jump and fill up chairs without even asking. Oh well.
The only short term improvement suggestion I could make, and might be partially down to my own clumsiness, is that the new decking around the ticket offices could use some more rubber mats, as the new wood was quite slick.
I am very encouraged to make more visits to TM in the coming years. As an added bonus, my ski buddy that has been a perpetual green/blue skier at Wisp, declared that Over The Edge was their new favorite slope and asked where longer runs like that could be found. "Oh, have I got a place to show you!"
Georgiajames wrote:
It was definitely snowing all day at Canaan. Very wet heavy snow. Treading was thick and slow .
Thanks for the first-hand report. Storm total about 5 inches. Temps in the low 30s.
Had a very good time in WV today. Skied a few inches of powder at CV in the morning. It was snowing pretty heavily when I arrived from Mnut around 9:30. On and off all morning. When I left at 11:30, it was powder up top but a mix of snow, sleet, and grauple in the parking lot. Over at Timberline, they got less although I heard it did snow a bit in the morning. I got the afternoon ticket for Timberline, which starts at 12:30.
Had a chance to use up the $10 credit from skiing 4-hours in January. That turned out to be enough for soup, a big muffin, and an ice cream treat later on.
Since I skied midweek both times, got a $17 credit that I applied to today's ticket. Timberline's use of RFID is really impressive.
Talked to a man from Dayton, OH who was checking out Tline for the first time. He's skied fairly often at Perfect North. Said there is a deal for Perfect North passholders. I think he said 50% for lift tickets right now. It's a 6-hour drive from Dayton or Cleveland.
Also talked to a man who drove 3 hours from NoVA to check out Tline. Sounds like he'll be back. He's a native Virginian but normally just skis the Western Territory at Snowshoe.
Very common. Weather events can be extremely localized there.
Gibou Skier wrote:
Can anyone explain how/why it would be snowing at CVR all day but not at TM?Looked like that’s what was happening today (Monday 2/22) on the webcams. Wondered if it’s not uncommon for there to be such variation in such a small valley.
Just realized that Timberline has their season passes for 2021-22 on sale already. The midweek Once-A-Week pass is an interesting idea for people doing day trips on weekdays. Junior (12 and under) and Senior 60+ rates are the same.
$359/251 for Any Day
$299/209 for Mon-Fri
$239/167 for once a week, Mon-Fri
Perfect North has the Once-A-Week that's good any day of the week. The Bronze pass at Perfect North is for Mon-Thu. Since Perfect North has night skiing, most of the passes are for 8-hours. The "Perfect Pass" that is totally unlimited is $299 for ages 13-59. All the passes include an option for season long gear rental for another $100.
ksampson3 wrote:
And they’ll apply your day ticket cost to next year’s season pass.
Does that mean a 2021-22 season pass is also good for the rest of the 2020-21 season?
ksampson3 wrote:
Unfortunately, no. I asked about that specifically. You don’t pick up the season pass until next year.However, I did find out that if you have an unused ticket from this year that it’s still valid for next season. So that’s nice.
I really appreciate Timberline for carrying over credits on their RFID card to the subsequent season. It makes going for the 3-day ticket deal a virtual no-brainer.
Because I skied weekdays, the 3-day ticket this season has worked out to be a 4-day ticket ($15 credit each weekday skied).
Woody
Gibou Skier wrote:
Very impressed with Timberline after a one-day trip from NoVa. Excellent conditions, grooming, service, convenience. Nice longer cruising trails for all abilities, but also some fun steeper trails. The unmarked trail under the lift line was closed, but with fresh snow would make a nice mogul run. Only improvement I’d wish for would be for them to allow one more run to develop moguls (and that’s coming from someone who fears them and has terrible mogul technique). Off the Wall was a fun challenge, but it would be cool if they let one side of White Lightening get moguls next season and just groom the other side.Overall, the new TL eliminates the the draw of Snowshoe indefinitely for me. Combo of Timberline, CVR, and Whitegrass and convenience of easy 3hr drive from Northern Virginia makes Canaan Valley more compelling, more interesting, and just easier than trekking to Snowshoe.
I've said that for years. When the valley was bathed in the 2'+ snow in February, it was like being in the West. White grass is the best part of this valley puzzle in that the terrain ties all three areas together if you XC. Look for a joint pass possibly sometime in the future. Tucker County is marketing the valley as "Ski the Valley" to capitalize on the close proximity of those mountains.
FWIW The Drop was moguled up for part of the season , but was recently groomed out. Letting one side of White Lightning get moguls is an interesting idea. There was one season several years ago when they let starter bumps form on Almost Heaven, which I thought was a good idea.
Gibou Skier wrote:
Only improvement I’d wish for would be for them to allow one more run to develop moguls (and that’s coming from someone who fears them and has terrible mogul technique). Off the Wall was a fun challenge, but it would be cool if they let one side of White Lightening get moguls next season and just groom the other side.
wgo wrote:
FWIW The Drop was moguled up for part of the season , but was recently groomed out. Letting one side of White Lightning get moguls is an interesting idea. There was one season several years ago when they let starter bumps form on Almost Heaven, which I thought was a good idea.
Gibou Skier wrote:
Only improvement I’d wish for would be for them to allow one more run to develop moguls (and that’s coming from someone who fears them and has terrible mogul technique). Off the Wall was a fun challenge, but it would be cool if they let one side of White Lightening get moguls next season and just groom the other side.
Off the Wall was a little intimidating the first couple times. Felt narrow with no escapes. Also had kind of like two fall lines falling off the left and right of a massive hump ridge going down the middle. Wondered if it was a elongated snow whale or actually the natural terrain. Would’ve been nice to progress from moguls on Almost Heaven to The Drop first. Hopefully they’ll be bumped up next time. Still, Off the Wall felt secluded, challenging, nicely deserted so I didn’t have to embarrass myself.
I agree with letting a portion of White Lightning bump up. I think I remember there was another trail to the skier's right of WL several years ago which was separated from WL with some trees, but the trees were cut down for some strange reason. It kind of messed up both trails. I think the narrower WL was more interesting.
I wish they would also groom OTW and the Drop occasionally to reset the bumps- but this is a minor thing in light of all the positives that Perfect North as brought to TL.
Trees were removed before the 2006-2007 season: https://www.dcski.com/forum/28917
Discussion from the year before that here: https://www.dcski.com/forum/15810
Evans Dad wrote:
I agree with letting a portion of White Lightning bump up. I think I remember there was another trail to the skier's right of WL several years ago which was separated from WL with some trees, but the trees were cut down for some strange reason. It kind of messed up both trails. I think the narrower WL was more interesting.
Jeez that was 15 years ago?!?!
Silver Streak was a cool trail :(
I just skied TL for the first time yesterday. Agree with everyone's comments, the new owners are doing a great job. I'm looking forward to going back next winter, and with luck will get a real day in the the glades. There wasn't enough cover to drop in from above but I did poke around some on both sides of White Lightning. Is that a mountain bike path on skier's right? I wonder if new TL is going to invest in summer mountain biking.
A couple other random observations: I was pretty surprised at the lower salamander run out length, but with a 6 minute lift ride up can't complain too much. I saw a Silver Streak trail sign at the top above one of the old lift tower footings, did that get left there by accident? Kudos to TL for building out legit park features, it's a must have for attracting families (mine included). Finally, I had to laugh at how many ski patrol were on the snow Sunday afternoon, they almost outnumbered the paying customers.
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