Reading up on White Grass and hoping it hangs in there...
Here is an interesting read on a similar place in NH just outside of Boston.
I skied Windblown a bunch of times pre-Covid when I was living in RI. My move was to ski there in the afternoon and then drive the 30 mins over to Crotched Mountian for downhill night skiing. Good times.
I lived in southern NH from 2014-2018 and we loved Windblown! It was a great little operation with a lot going for it. I was really sad to hear it closed when I was looking at things to do last winter when we were up visiting.
But you are correct - just like WhiteGrass, Windblown was the dream and investment of one person. XC skiing at a location w/marginal conditions will never be a cash cow.
There is another model for an XC ski area, a non-profit club supported by club dues and volunteer labor. I have skied at one such area, Chief Joseph Pass, straddling the continental divide on the Montana Idaho border. It’s a beautiful place in a beautiful area, considerably removed from any population centers,
https://www.bitterrootxcskiclub.net/
How they did it,
https://www.bitterrootxcskiclub.net/club-history/
Another one where I have skied and intend to begin my return to skiing after rehab,
Neither of these places is a ‘cash cow’ but they are popular and much loved by those who go there.
Crystal Lake up by Muncy in PA is interesting. I believe the ski operation is non profit. They claim to be in a "snow bowl" of PA but they really can't be getting that much snow. Maybe a comparable amount to the Laurels. They used to run a poma and rope tow for downhill but those clearly have not run for a long time.
Crystal Lake Camps itself, the grounds, is a historic Christian Science camp meeting, I'm not sure how related they are with the ski operation, if they are one and the same
abeski wrote:
Crystal Lake up by Muncy in PA is interesting. I believe the ski operation is non profit. They claim to be in a "snow bowl" of PA but they really can't be getting that much snow. Maybe a comparable amount to the Laurels. They used to run a poma and rope tow for downhill but those clearly have not run for a long time.
Crystal Lake Camps itself, the grounds, is a historic Christian Science camp meeting, I'm not sure how related they are with the ski operation, if they are one and the same
I'm very skeptical of that claim. The don't have much elevation being near the west branch of Susquehanna. That isn't to say that they could get some lake effect, but I think it's the exception.
I have frequently seen a blip of slightly higher snowfall right in their area in comparison to their surroundings (on snowfall maps and irl) but definitely not more than Laurels
They are kind of in a bowl of terrain so that might help hold snow too
JRunPatterson74 wrote:
Has anyone been to White Grass this season? Curious, since I'm considering going there next Saturday and to Timberline on Sunday.
Haven’t been, I live in CA now. But there are resources you can use, Whitegrass.com and the friends of whitegrass Facebook page. Looks like conditions should be epic this weekend, although cold. Get up out of the wind and into the trees and you won’t notice the cold.
For years I said that Whitegrass’s snow report was the only 100% honest one in the valley, but I don’t know the new Timberline management so I won’t go there. I will say that pictures don’t lie, so always check the webcams too. Chip’s Weiss slope cam will show windswept near the bottom but the snow fences on the sides catch enough snow to get up and down. Also check if the flags are blowing. When they point to looker’s left (wind from the west) on a cloudy day it usually means an inch of two new snow from the wrap around of a storm that just passed, or lake effect. It happens a lot and adds up over a couple days.
Denis wrote:
JRunPatterson74 wrote:
Has anyone been to White Grass this season? Curious, since I'm considering going there next Saturday and to Timberline on Sunday.Haven’t been, I live in CA now. But there are resources you can use, Whitegrass.com and the friends of whitegrass Facebook page. Looks like conditions should be epic this weekend, although cold. Get up out of the wind and into the trees and you won’t notice the cold.
For years I said that Whitegrass’s snow report was the only 100% honest one in the valley, but I don’t know the new Timberline management so I won’t go there. I will say that pictures don’t lie, so always check the webcams too. Chip’s Weiss slope cam will show windswept near the bottom but the snow fences on the sides catch enough snow to get up and down. Also check if the flags are blowing. When they point to looker’s left (wind from the west) on a cloudy day it usually means an inch of two new snow from the wrap around of a storm that just passed, or lake effect. It happens a lot and adds up over a couple days.
Appreciate the feedback. I'll check their cameras out. Long range forecast has 20s for Davis next Saturday and Sunday. Never been to the Canaan Valley before and am looking forward to it.
