Wisp or 7 Springs Friday?
November 26, 2005
I was planning on hitting Seven Springs on Friday, as it's about a half hour closer to where I'll be spending Thanksgiving night.
But 7S is talking about opening greens and blues. Wisp isn't saying yet what's going to be open, but they're blowing snow on Squirrel Cage and The Face. Does this mean they'll have diamonds open? Should I go to Wisp instead?
Oh, the decisions! What do ya'll think?
I called Wisp this afternoon and along with Wisp trail and Belly Flop it looks like Squirrel Cage and the Face will be open too but as with anythingcall before you go. Oh they won't be open 'til Saturday.
Calling is, of course, a good idea before driving a couple of hours. Wisp's website says they'll open Friday, though...
Wisp Mountain Report
springs has avalanche, stowe, cortina listed to open, those trail are just as steep as the front 2 at wisp.
The Springs is nice place, but those three are pretty limited in height and length. If Face is open, it will be, by far, the best set of turns in the mid-atlantic this weekend. Of course, 7s may get something open on the North Face, which would be very nice, indeed. Wisp should easily open the front runs, but we'll have to see if they open any of the new territory. And East Ridge seems to be out of the question. Still, if the price is right, it sounds like they'll have several runs open from the top! (Of course, I think everyone should go other places, so that there'll be lots of room at Wisp
)
I received an e-mail press release from Wisp last night and it was pretty specific about anticipated trail openings. It was also firm about opening on the 25th.
Quote:
Wed, 23 Nov 2005 16:44:14 -0500
For Immediate Release
Contact: Lori Epp
301.387.4911 ext. 2160
lepp@wispresort.com
Wisp Resort Opens for 2005/2006 Season on Friday, November 25
McHenry, MD - As weather permits, Wisp Resort will open for the 2005/2006 ski season on Friday, November 25.
Snowmaking began at Wisp on Thursday, November 17. With eight inches of natural snowfall and nightly lows ranging from the teens to high twenties throughout this week, round-the-clock-snowmaking has continued in preparation for Friday's opening.
Top to bottom skiing and snowboarding will greet guests on Friday. Anticipated trail openings include Squirrel Cage, Belly Flop, The Face, Grouse Way, Muskrat and Wisp Trail. With optimal weekend snowmaking conditions expected, snowmaking is beginning on the new North Camp terrain and mountain officials anticipate a number of North Camp trails opening early next week. Wisp's $3 million dollar state-of-the-art pumphouse coupled with the 126 new North Camp snowmaking guns increases Wisp's snowmaking capacity by 48% which allows our North Camp terrain to be covered in snow nearly twice as quickly as Wisp's other terrain.
The largest terrain expansion in Wisp history, North Camp features over 30% more terrain to open this season at Wisp. Featuring ten new trails and two new fixed quad chairlifts, North Camp is the latest in $27.3 million dollars in renovations at Wisp since 2001 which has also included the renovation of the Lodge and the adjacent Wisp Resort Hotel, and the addition of a beginner's ski carpet, two new double chairs, Bear Claw Snow Tubing Park and more. Additonal terrain is being prepared for future expansions.
Wisp is less than a three-hour drive from the metropolitan areas of Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and less than two hours from Pittsburgh. Morgantown, WV and Cumberland, MD are just 45 minutes away.
Wisp Resort
McHenry, Maryland 21541
301.387.4911
www.wispresort.com
Got another update this morning--a regular snow report e-mail and not a press release like the other one:
Quote:
Wednesday November 23, 2005
Snowmaking Continues, Opening Expected!
We fired up the largest snowmaking system in the region at 9 am on November 17th. Since then we have taken every opportunity to make snow on The Face, Squirrel Cage, Belly Flop, Wisp Trail, Grouse Way, and Backbone. With favorable conditions in the forecast, Mountain Operations anticipates continued nighttime snowmaking throughout the week. As snowmaking continues, we plan to open weather permitting on Friday November 25. Please continue to check www.wispresort.com for more details about our opening.
Backbone was added to the projected trail opening list, which looks like a connector trail to the new side of the mountain.
Go to Wisp, go to Wisp,
j/k, I've spent the day on avalanche before, i can do it again. B there friday, sunday. Next week weather
, better not wait
.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hijacker alert!!!
Go to the 'Loaf! That's where I'm heading... Even though it's a cool 12 hours from DC, it'll still be worth its weight in gold!
Central ME ended up getting a couple of inches today (turkey day), I'm just hopping that Sugarloaf got more than that.
Will send you guys a quick TR tomorrow afternoon. Enjoy the leftovers!
Well, the votes came out for Wisp, but I went to 7S. Deciding factor?
This morning I called both "snow lines," and while 7S was reporting nine inches of natural snow (lie!), Wisp's recorded message was still from Tuesday, stating they "hoped" to open Friday.
7S was great; although the nine inches of natural was really more like four, the guns were blazing like nobody's business. There was a decent wind, which while bad for snowmaking crews, meant the glades got good enough coverage to be safe skis. In fact, tracks in the glades vanished within a half hour or so.... All in all, a great ski experience for PA in November.
Oh, and one more thing... Avalanche was open at 7S, which may just have clinched the deal anyway.
The tree between avalanche and tyrol wer fun and had tons of coverage. Were you one of the telemarker a saw in there?
Happy Birthday BushwackerinPA--it sounds like you are getting a good one this year thanks to 7S Yetti.
No, but I did half my runs in there. I was wearing a blue/black jacket with black pants. I was also one of about three guys that wasn't leaving the trees where the coverage got thin, but going all the way down. After about fifty feet of poor coverage, it got good again (and untracked!).
