I've done Wintergreen, Massanutten, Liberty, Roundtop, Whitetail, Canaan.* But never Wisp, though I've visited the Deep Creek lake area during the fall several times.
Where does Wisp rank among this group? What are the biggest pluses and minuses? Anything that makes it worth traveling there above the others?
If you told me it was on par with say, Wintergreen or Whitetail, I would not be inclined to make a special trip for it.
(*For the purposes of this conversation, I'm not including resorts that are four hours or more away.)
For midweek or weekend?
I haven't made it to Wisp since I live in NC. Been thinking about how to go to check it out starting from Massanutten one day since Wisp is on Indy now. Based on reading about it, I get the feeling it doesn't get as crowded on weekends as Wintergreen or Whitetail.
I really like Wisp. The thing that struck me the first time I went is that I felt like I just went to another region of the country. I couldn't believe that was only 3 hours from my house. The lake view in the winter is part of it, and they get some good wintry weather. I feel like the mountain skis bigger than most other places. I would rank it at the top except they don't do much for moguls.
For winter ski vibe, #1, though that's for scenic beauty, because it doesn't have a village like Snowshoe or a lodge like Seven Springs, but there are some things to do with the family. It doesn't feel like you're just in the woods, which I like sometimes.
For slope variety, #1, but it doesn't have that long steep run like Shay's revenge, though it does have a few steep runs. But, there's interesting variety going all sorts of ways, whereas I find the vast majority of Snowshoe to be boring. Timberline is only one lift, but in the right conditions with tree skiing, I would rank Timberline higher.
We had a couple of family trips there, and it's definitely worth visiting. For that exploration, scenic enjoyment, and let's have fun skiing together vibe, it's definitely worth it. For that day where I'm going to loop a bunch of trails by myself and work on technique and get some exercise, I don't see any reason to drive 2 hours past Massanutten or Wintergreen to go to Wisp, and I haven't. Whereas I would drive that much further to get powder at Timberline, ski Shay's revenge at Snowshoe, or moguls on Exhibition at Whitetail.
I'd try my best to go on a Monday if not a Friday! Most of these local resorts aren't worth the weekend combo of crowds + jacked-up prices.
marzNC wrote:
For midweek or weekend?
I haven't made it to Wisp since I live in NC. Been thinking about how to go to check it out starting from Massanutten one day since Wisp is on Indy now. Based on reading about it, I get the feeling it doesn't get as crowded on weekends as Wintergreen or Whitetail.
Thanks for the input. I've also gone to Seven Springs and while it's far from DC and has its flaws, I actually find it to have more "satisfying" skiing than all of the ones I listed above. For the Mideast, it's about the best you can do. How does Wisp compare to that?
And yes, I'd probably be going solo or maybe just with one adult friend, and the goal is to avoid horrendous crowds and get some decent skiing in. I only go about twice a year!
Stephen wrote:
I really like Wisp. The thing that struck me the first time I went is that I felt like I just went to another region of the country. I couldn't believe that was only 3 hours from my house. The lake view in the winter is part of it, and they get some good wintry weather. I feel like the mountain skis bigger than most other places. I would rank it at the top except they don't do much for moguls.
For winter ski vibe, #1, though that's for scenic beauty, because it doesn't have a village like Snowshoe or a lodge like Seven Springs, but there are some things to do with the family. It doesn't feel like you're just in the woods, which I like sometimes.
For slope variety, #1, but it doesn't have that long steep run like Shay's revenge, though it does have a few steep runs. But, there's interesting variety going all sorts of ways, whereas I find the vast majority of Snowshoe to be boring. Timberline is only one lift, but in the right conditions with tree skiing, I would rank Timberline higher.
We had a couple of family trips there, and it's definitely worth visiting. For that exploration, scenic enjoyment, and let's have fun skiing together vibe, it's definitely worth it. For that day where I'm going to loop a bunch of trails by myself and work on technique and get some exercise, I don't see any reason to drive 2 hours past Massanutten or Wintergreen to go to Wisp, and I haven't. Whereas I would drive that much further to get powder at Timberline, ski Shay's revenge at Snowshoe, or moguls on Exhibition at Whitetail.
DrSandy420 wrote:
I'd try my best to go on a Monday if not a Friday! Most of these local resorts aren't worth the weekend combo of crowds + jacked-up prices.
Monday would be better. Friday is the new start to the weekend for some people these days. Although I haven't skied that often on a Friday in VA/WV in recent years. For me it's usually Mon-Thu if I'm not with a school age kid. Nice to qualify for senior rates.
As far as exploration and variety of terrain, Seven Springs would be the one to compete the most with Wisp, and it is bigger. They also have that big lodge with a thousand things to do which is unusual. Seven Springs almost always has moguls, and they have a large mogul skier population, but the runs are short.
As a family, we went to both and had great times at both even though Seven Springs has so much more to do. If it's just me or me and a hard core friend, I would go to Seven Springs, because of the moguls. As far as the skiing outside of moguls, it's pretty comparable, but Wisp has an exotic feel that Seven Springs does not have. If I knew they didn't have a mogul line at Seven Springs, I would rather ski at Wisp.
DrSandy420 wrote:
Thanks for the input. I've also gone to Seven Springs and while it's far from DC and has its flaws, I actually find it to have more "satisfying" skiing than all of the ones I listed above. For the Mideast, it's about the best you can do. How does Wisp compare to that?
And yes, I'd probably be going solo or maybe just with one adult friend, and the goal is to avoid horrendous crowds and get some decent skiing in. I only go about twice a year!
Stephen wrote:
I really like Wisp. The thing that struck me the first time I went is that I felt like I just went to another region of the country. I couldn't believe that was only 3 hours from my house. The lake view in the winter is part of it, and they get some good wintry weather. I feel like the mountain skis bigger than most other places. I would rank it at the top except they don't do much for moguls.
For winter ski vibe, #1, though that's for scenic beauty, because it doesn't have a village like Snowshoe or a lodge like Seven Springs, but there are some things to do with the family. It doesn't feel like you're just in the woods, which I like sometimes.
For slope variety, #1, but it doesn't have that long steep run like Shay's revenge, though it does have a few steep runs. But, there's interesting variety going all sorts of ways, whereas I find the vast majority of Snowshoe to be boring. Timberline is only one lift, but in the right conditions with tree skiing, I would rank Timberline higher.
We had a couple of family trips there, and it's definitely worth visiting. For that exploration, scenic enjoyment, and let's have fun skiing together vibe, it's definitely worth it. For that day where I'm going to loop a bunch of trails by myself and work on technique and get some exercise, I don't see any reason to drive 2 hours past Massanutten or Wintergreen to go to Wisp, and I haven't. Whereas I would drive that much further to get powder at Timberline, ski Shay's revenge at Snowshoe, or moguls on Exhibition at Whitetail.
I don't care much about moguls. I'm an intermediate skier who, as I mentioned, only goes once or twice a year, usually in the DC area but I've been fortunate to ski in Vermont, Colorado, Utah, the Pacific NW, etc so I do know what "good skiing" is and know the Mid-Atlantic only has so much to offer.
I guess I'm mostly concerned with: variety of runs, and satisfying length of runs. Again, I realize this is all limited for our region. But if Wisp has similar terrain to say... Whitetail... there is no reason for me to make the extra drive and plan an overnight around it.
Any thoughts? (From you or anyone else here who wants to chime in!)
Stephen wrote:
As far as exploration and variety of terrain, Seven Springs would be the one to compete the most with Wisp, and it is bigger. They also have that big lodge with a thousand things to do which is unusual. Seven Springs almost always has moguls, and they have a large mogul skier population, but the runs are short.
As a family, we went to both and had great times at both even though Seven Springs has so much more to do. If it's just me or me and a hard core friend, I would go to Seven Springs, because of the moguls. As far as the skiing outside of moguls, it's pretty comparable, but Wisp has an exotic feel that Seven Springs does not have. If I knew they didn't have a mogul line at Seven Springs, I would rather ski at Wisp.
DrSandy420 wrote:
Thanks for the input. I've also gone to Seven Springs and while it's far from DC and has its flaws, I actually find it to have more "satisfying" skiing than all of the ones I listed above. For the Mideast, it's about the best you can do. How does Wisp compare to that?
And yes, I'd probably be going solo or maybe just with one adult friend, and the goal is to avoid horrendous crowds and get some decent skiing in. I only go about twice a year!
Stephen wrote:
I really like Wisp. The thing that struck me the first time I went is that I felt like I just went to another region of the country. I couldn't believe that was only 3 hours from my house. The lake view in the winter is part of it, and they get some good wintry weather. I feel like the mountain skis bigger than most other places. I would rank it at the top except they don't do much for moguls.
For winter ski vibe, #1, though that's for scenic beauty, because it doesn't have a village like Snowshoe or a lodge like Seven Springs, but there are some things to do with the family. It doesn't feel like you're just in the woods, which I like sometimes.
For slope variety, #1, but it doesn't have that long steep run like Shay's revenge, though it does have a few steep runs. But, there's interesting variety going all sorts of ways, whereas I find the vast majority of Snowshoe to be boring. Timberline is only one lift, but in the right conditions with tree skiing, I would rank Timberline higher.
We had a couple of family trips there, and it's definitely worth visiting. For that exploration, scenic enjoyment, and let's have fun skiing together vibe, it's definitely worth it. For that day where I'm going to loop a bunch of trails by myself and work on technique and get some exercise, I don't see any reason to drive 2 hours past Massanutten or Wintergreen to go to Wisp, and I haven't. Whereas I would drive that much further to get powder at Timberline, ski Shay's revenge at Snowshoe, or moguls on Exhibition at Whitetail.
DrSandy420 wrote:
I don't care much about moguls. I'm an intermediate skier who, as I mentioned, only goes once or twice a year, usually in the DC area but I've been fortunate to ski in Vermont, Colorado, Utah, the Pacific NW, etc so I do know what "good skiing" is and know the Mid-Atlantic only has so much to offer.
I guess I'm mostly concerned with: variety of runs, and satisfying length of runs. Again, I realize this is all limited for our region. But if Wisp has similar terrain to say... Whitetail... there is no reason for me to make the extra drive and plan an overnight around it.
Any thoughts? (From you or anyone else here who wants to chime in!)
I suggest you take a look at Wisp and Whitetail on steepseeker.com . Using the Interactive Map it's easy to see the length and pitch of all the trails. The coloring is based on a standard algorithm, as opposed to being unique to one mountain. My sense is that blue/black trails at Wisp are shorter than Whitetail.
When was the last time you skied Massanutten? In particular, have you been after Ridgecrest and Mueller's Mile were created? When Yee Ha is open, can have a lot of fun staying on the upper mountain for an hour or two non-stop. This season Paradice has plenty of snow. It's my favorite trail. I've become a solid advanced skier (after age 60) after about 15 years skiing 25+ days out west at big mountains in addition to 20+ days in the southeast and northeast. Compared to Wintergreen, Massanutten has increased terrain and snowmaking so much in recent years that it's far more fun than just lapping Highlands.
I just wrote a long post in reply, hit post comment, then it froze and lost everything. I don't have the will to rewrite it, so I'll just say I think it's worth it going to Wisp, but mostly for subjective aesthetics.
DrSandy420 wrote:
I don't care much about moguls. I'm an intermediate skier who, as I mentioned, only goes once or twice a year, usually in the DC area but I've been fortunate to ski in Vermont, Colorado, Utah, the Pacific NW, etc so I do know what "good skiing" is and know the Mid-Atlantic only has so much to offer.
I guess I'm mostly concerned with: variety of runs, and satisfying length of runs. Again, I realize this is all limited for our region. But if Wisp has similar terrain to say... Whitetail... there is no reason for me to make the extra drive and plan an overnight around it.
Any thoughts? (From you or anyone else here who wants to chime in!)
Stephen wrote:
As far as exploration and variety of terrain, Seven Springs would be the one to compete the most with Wisp, and it is bigger. They also have that big lodge with a thousand things to do which is unusual. Seven Springs almost always has moguls, and they have a large mogul skier population, but the runs are short.
As a family, we went to both and had great times at both even though Seven Springs has so much more to do. If it's just me or me and a hard core friend, I would go to Seven Springs, because of the moguls. As far as the skiing outside of moguls, it's pretty comparable, but Wisp has an exotic feel that Seven Springs does not have. If I knew they didn't have a mogul line at Seven Springs, I would rather ski at Wisp.
DrSandy420 wrote:
Thanks for the input. I've also gone to Seven Springs and while it's far from DC and has its flaws, I actually find it to have more "satisfying" skiing than all of the ones I listed above. For the Mideast, it's about the best you can do. How does Wisp compare to that?
And yes, I'd probably be going solo or maybe just with one adult friend, and the goal is to avoid horrendous crowds and get some decent skiing in. I only go about twice a year!
Stephen wrote:
I really like Wisp. The thing that struck me the first time I went is that I felt like I just went to another region of the country. I couldn't believe that was only 3 hours from my house. The lake view in the winter is part of it, and they get some good wintry weather. I feel like the mountain skis bigger than most other places. I would rank it at the top except they don't do much for moguls.
For winter ski vibe, #1, though that's for scenic beauty, because it doesn't have a village like Snowshoe or a lodge like Seven Springs, but there are some things to do with the family. It doesn't feel like you're just in the woods, which I like sometimes.
For slope variety, #1, but it doesn't have that long steep run like Shay's revenge, though it does have a few steep runs. But, there's interesting variety going all sorts of ways, whereas I find the vast majority of Snowshoe to be boring. Timberline is only one lift, but in the right conditions with tree skiing, I would rank Timberline higher.
We had a couple of family trips there, and it's definitely worth visiting. For that exploration, scenic enjoyment, and let's have fun skiing together vibe, it's definitely worth it. For that day where I'm going to loop a bunch of trails by myself and work on technique and get some exercise, I don't see any reason to drive 2 hours past Massanutten or Wintergreen to go to Wisp, and I haven't. Whereas I would drive that much further to get powder at Timberline, ski Shay's revenge at Snowshoe, or moguls on Exhibition at Whitetail.
I feel like Wisp is often underrated. I live closer to 7S HV and Laurel; I rarely hit Wisp (once every 2 seasons or so) It has a pretty interesting layout, and even though not large scale, it often feels like you're skiing bigger than you actually are. Plenty of cruisers, and typical Mid-A short diamonds and bump runs. Feels like it's a 3-faced hill because of lift placement and such. It's definitely worth a visit if you haven't been there. As a dude who skis mostly at Hidden Valley, it feels refreshingly large when I go down to Wisp. Additionally, Deep Creek lake, which is crazy busy in the summer, adjoins, assuring practically year-round diversions and other activities around there.
