I agree. I skied today at HV and the conditions were superb. The natural snow trails at Laurel mountain were open this past weekend. They even groomed Dream Highway! And there is more snow predicted for tomorrow. Enjoy it while you can. Weather models do not indicate that an end is in sight for the short term. However, we know that at some point it will warm up and... :rain (yuck)!
HVdad wrote:
The big elephant in the room is that despite a horrific pandemic, combined with woefully dire predictions for the 20/21 ski season, the conditions in the mid-Atlantic have been just about the best they've been in ten years. Go figure. Ski happy everyone!!!
I can't speak for PA but for many parts south the amount of snow that has fallen this season has actually been under average. What has made it so great is that we haven't seen any prolonged periods of higher temperatures so far, so most of what has fallen has not melted and at the same time resorts have been able to make artificial snow on top of that. Some resorts, notably Sugar and Beech, HAVE seen natural snowfall levels above average; both are at about 3' over a typical year so far.
In any case, it's certainly been a fantastic season so far. It looks like a little rain might fall this week in NC but then we'll be back to colder temps and snowfall for the weekend.
I concur. I haven't seen anything quite like this since 2010/2011. I'm talking Laurel, HV, Springs. Enjoy it, folks!
imp wrote:
more snow in the woods since 2010, dream highway groomed for first time since 2003. rocky corner still a little rocky
Best snow in the Laurels in a decade and what luck, we have to deal with covid! At least all that work our volunteers put in over the last few years is finally paying off. I don't think Dream Highway would have been groomed this season had we not brushed it back, cut down the saplings, and cleared all the overhanging branches. Doc's Forest didn't seem so tight when we cleared it. Now I regret not having some glade clearing parties last fall to redd up more of the old glade. Wouldn't you love to ski the Goat?
LHC there is 7s version of the trail map, then there is LHC's. Would it be possible for you to do a trail map markup so we know where some of these historic trails are located. That would be very cool.
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
imp wrote:
more snow in the woods since 2010, dream highway groomed for first time since 2003. rocky corner still a little rocky
Best snow in the Laurels in a decade and what luck, we have to deal with covid! At least all that work our volunteers put in over the last few years is finally paying off. I don't think Dream Highway would have been groomed this season had we not brushed it back, cut down the saplings, and cleared all the overhanging branches. Doc's Forest didn't seem so tight when we cleared it. Now I regret not having some glade clearing parties last fall to redd up more of the old glade. Wouldn't you love to ski the Goat?
I'll see what I can do but most of the trails I talk about are hiding in plain sight. Find a Mowl era map and Snow Bowl is marked right under the chair lift. The Kitty Cats were never on a map that I've seen but on the mountain, there they are between Laurel Run and Snow Bowl. Doc's Forest Glade was the first glade to appear on a recent trail map but I just realized that it is no longer on the current trail map. Find a map from 2016/2017 to find Doc's. If you know where the stone wall that carried the first towpath is then Doc's is on the other side between Broadway and Lincoln Highway. Doc's was named for the man who led the ski school after WW 2 then later became Laurel's general manager until the ski area was given to the state. Doc DesRoches and his family lived on the mountain year-round first in Midway Cabin then later at the original Laurel House summit lodge. Doc, his wife, and children cleared the glades in the late 1950s and early 60s. Find some trail maps from that era and you'll see glades all over the mountain all simply called Forest Slalom. Oh, the Goat (not that great but cheating QB) is no more, overgrown with saplings and huge fallen trees.
snowsmith wrote:
LHC there is 7s version of the trail map, then there is LHC's. Would it be possible for you to do a trail map markup so we know where some of these historic trails are located. That would be very cool.
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
imp wrote:
more snow in the woods since 2010, dream highway groomed for first time since 2003. rocky corner still a little rocky
Best snow in the Laurels in a decade and what luck, we have to deal with covid! At least all that work our volunteers put in over the last few years is finally paying off. I don't think Dream Highway would have been groomed this season had we not brushed it back, cut down the saplings, and cleared all the overhanging branches. Doc's Forest didn't seem so tight when we cleared it. Now I regret not having some glade clearing parties last fall to redd up more of the old glade. Wouldn't you love to ski the Goat?
https://skimap.org/SkiAreas/view/4114
Here's a trail map from long ago that is consistent with the historical aerial photos of LM that I've found on the web. Will post those next...
Here's an aerial photo of Laurel Mountain Slopes from 1952. You can clearly make out the "upper open slope" that is referenced on the map in my previous post, as well as upper and lower Wildcat. It's also apparent that there was either a lift, or at least a lift line cut, that descended all the way down to the lowest part of the property (upper left of photo). This would have added several hundred feet to the vertical.
HVdad wrote:
Here's an aerial photo of Laurel Mountain Slopes from 1952. You can clearly make out the "upper open slope" that is referenced on the map in my previous post, as well as upper and lower Wildcat. It's also apparent that there was either a lift, or at least a lift line cut, that descended all the way down to the lowest part of the property (upper left of photo). This would have added several hundred feet to the vertical.
I finally found that old trail map. I can't make out the date either 1946 maybe 1948. Laurel had about 1000 vertical feet in the post-WW2 era. I'm not sure when they stopped skiing Schneider's old trail.
Agreed, Snowsmith!
Grateful for what we've had here in the Mid-Atlantic so far, and still hoping for more.
Woody
