Well things look pretty good but who know how much base they were actually able to lay down. Here's hoping that can get open before the upcoming mild weather!
Massanutten is running the lifts for pass holders on Friday, Dec. 10. Then open for the weekend Dec. 11-12 for everyone.
Will be closed Mon-Fri, hopefully for lots more snowmaking. Idea is to open for the season on Dec. 18.
Just too warm this week. The rain that's coming is going to wash away even more of the base that's left. Massanutten is going day-by-day in terms of staying open until the next cold front moves through that allows snowmaking again.
Massanutten SNOW CONDITIONS as of Dec. 28
11:45 am Update: Due to the forecasted rain and current snow conditions we will be suspending operations for the Wednseday night ski session and closing the slopes at 5:00pm on Wednesday. We will reevaluate Thursday morning and re-open Thursday conditons permitting.
Mostly cloudy with highs holding right around 50. We'll be skiing and riding on 3 trails today from 9:00am - 9:00pm. Special Value passes are valid after 4:00pm. The warm weather is taking it's toll on snow conditions, we'll be taking it day to day with our operating schedule so please check ahead for current conditions and operating hours. We will be open today from 9:00am - 9:00pm. There are some thin and narrow areas out on the hill so please ski with caution!
Due to limited terrain, capacity limits will be in place today!
mdr227 wrote:
Can't see them opening back up until Monday at the earliest as the next possible snow making window looks to be Sunday night. I'd expect Whitetail, Liberty, Wintergreen, etc. to do something similar. I'd throw Canaan in there too, but amazingly looks like they are charging $84 for a lift ticket with one top to bottom run open that is only about 15-20 feet wide it looks like.
Agree that there will be no snowmaking until after holiday vacationers go home.
Based on my experience at Massanutten when coverage was limited and thin, most of the people who buy lift tickets would either get a 4-hour ticket or a discounted ticket based on having bought an Adventure Pass that has all sorts of activities at a major discount that's good for the entire week. Doesn't matter what month that happens. As a large timeshare resort, the folks who don't have a season pass on the slopes are not really typical skiers/boarders. When the children's ski school is running, there are a fair number of parents/grandparents who bring the kids for ski school who don't ski at all. The only snowsports that some families do together is snow tubing.
The rain means that few people will bother getting day tickets. That would've been true even if there was full coverage this week. There are a lot of non-skiing activities at Mnut and nearby. Plus people who are staying on resort are in nice lodging that are good for just hanging out with friends and/or family.
The situation at Wintergreen is similar to Massanutten in terms of people who stay there during late December.
Bryce is still looking pretty decent on the webcam. They should be able keep running until next snow making window. In fact, because Massanutten has been limiting lift ticket sales due to limited terrain, some of the Massanutten guests were driving to Bryce to ski.
mdr227 wrote:
Can't see them opening back up until Monday at the earliest as the next possible snow making window looks to be Sunday night. I'd expect Whitetail, Liberty, Wintergreen, etc. to do something similar. I'd throw Canaan in there too, but amazingly looks like they are charging $84 for a lift ticket with one top to bottom run open that is only about 15-20 feet wide it looks like.
Bryce definitely should stay open, as has been said often on here they do an amazing job on snowmaking for such a small resort. They always open earlier and stay open later than Liberty and Whitetail and this year are doing much better than Massanutten and even Wintergreen and Canaan Valley at much higher elevations. Just wish they had a faster lift to the top as that to me seems to be one of the slowest in the area.
Speaking of Wintergreen they are skiing on an advertised 8 inch base. Don't think I've ever seen one advertised that low.
squeakywheels wrote:
Bryce is still looking pretty decent on the webcam. They should be able keep running until next snow making window. In fact, because Massanutten has been limiting lift ticket sales due to limited terrain, some of the Massanutten guests were driving to Bryce to ski.
mdr227 wrote:
Can't see them opening back up until Monday at the earliest as the next possible snow making window looks to be Sunday night. I'd expect Whitetail, Liberty, Wintergreen, etc. to do something similar. I'd throw Canaan in there too, but amazingly looks like they are charging $84 for a lift ticket with one top to bottom run open that is only about 15-20 feet wide it looks like.
mdr227 wrote:
Bryce definitely should stay open, as has been said often on here they do an amazing job on snowmaking for such a small resort. They always open earlier and stay open later than Liberty and Whitetail and this year are doing much better than Massanutten and even Wintergreen and Canaan Valley at much higher elevations. Just wish they had a faster lift to the top as that to me seems to be one of the slowest in the area.
Speaking of Wintergreen they are skiing on an advertised 8 inch base. Don't think I've ever seen one advertised that low.
When I started skiing at Massanutten as a pass holder around 15 years ago, having trails open with a 10-inch base was pretty common. Especially during early season. For most years between 2005-12, I and my daughter would spend the week before Christmas at Mnut. There was only one time where the slopes had no snow all week and never opened.
SkiNC/Southeast has been noting base depths for a couple decades. When available, a range is provided as opposed to just one number.
Bryce serves it's core market well. A faster lift would probably put too many people on the few trails available.
Will be quite a shift for northern VA when Massanutten adds upper mountain trails and upgrades the summit lift to a high speed quad.
Mnut sent out a email to pass holders about the hiatus.
