will they blow?
March 7, 2007
There has been some speculation about the local areas (RT, LB, WT) trying to stay open longer to make up for the fact that they missed the early season. It looks like the the resorts are going to have 24-48 hrs this week where they will be able to blow snow round-the-clock (tues-wed). It will most likely be their last chance to make any large amounts of snow this season and if they are really trying to stay open until late march or early april then they need to take this chance to make some snow.
Funny how pessimistic folks are about the resorts blowing snow in March. Not surprising given past history, but this season has been unusual. As an FYI, official word from Snowtime management to employees is that they WILL blow snow in March at all three resorts as conditions permit. Management also PLANS TO STAY OPEN as far into March as possible. The ONLY deciding factor will be crowds. Simply put, continue to show and the close-in resorts WILL STAY OPEN!
FYI
Last night, Massanutten was blowing snow, as they also have every intention of staying open, at least through the weekend of the 17th and 18th. They often have to close not due to the conditions, but simply due to the fact that nobody seems to want to ski after the beginning of Spring.
Sunday evening, March 4, 7:41:
The guns are on at Wisp. Seven Springs blew last night!
The Colonel
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Sunday evening, March 4, 7:41:
The guns are on at Wisp. Seven Springs blew last night!
The Colonel
According to the current conditions for Massanutten, they are blowing snow on Rebel Yell, Geronimo, Southern Comfort, Upper Dixie and the terrain park.
Keep in mind folks that it is still winter, despite it being March now. There is an arctic blast underway right now (supposed to get only up to 41 on Tuesday, and windy as hell)! There may even be a chance of snow on Wednesday!
Watch the web cams tonight!
A little snowflake whispered in my ear that fan guns only will be running tonight.
The Official Word for Liberty, Whitetail and Roundtop (Areas relevant to the DCSki contingent here in contrast to the WVSki members) is Yes. The goal is to get to a legitimate number of skier days to get to or close to those in a "normal" season.
Liberty is determined to be open to the 17th.
I skied Whitetail on Fri. It was in good shape. Liberty is holding up well too. There is a good base on both.
Snowshoe blew last evening!
The Colonel
Whitetail did not blow last night, but promises to blow tonight. Fanciful is on it's last legs, but far side is holding up well. The 1/2 pipe has been repaired but won't last much longer when warm weather returns. My bet is that if Whitetail makes snow for 4 nights, they will easily be able to stay open through the 25th.
Scott is right. This year the amount of snow will not be the determining factor for when resorts close. It will be the number of guests.
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Scott is right. This year the amount of snow will not be the determining factor for when resorts close. It will be the number of guests.
I agree, with the current forecast and base depths no resort should have a problem staying open until late march.
The solution: get a friend and go ski!!!
If they do blow 24 hrs a day then they should be able to turn on the guns tonight and not turn them off until friday morning (looking at accuweather and weather.com). If they actually did this then they could add around a foot or more to their already large bases, assuring that they stay open until early april. However, i would be really surprised to them put fourth that kind of effort this late in the season.
Sadly it appears that Wintergeen did not make snow last night even though I would guess it was cold enough. I really hope they take advantage of this colder nighttime weather this week - it would be really cool to be able to have quality skiing in Virginia in late March.
We are going to start blowing snow tonight at Blue Knob. We hope to make snow around the clock until Wednesday night or Thursday morning. We received 5-6 inches of natural snow over the weekend and our snow base is between 30 to 45 inches. We hope to stay open for most of March if not all of it.
Ski Good or Eat Wood,
BK Tim
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Scott is right. This year the amount of snow will not be the determining factor for when resorts close. It will be the number of guests.
Actually, that is the limiting factor just about every year.
Liberty looked like a ghost town after 4 yesterday...
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Snowshoe blew last evening!
The Colonel
Yea, and that's probably a good thing for Massanutten since that's probably where it landed. 
I suspect Whitetail will only blow at night (guests complain when they have to ski through snowmaking in progress) and will only blow the fan guns (avoiding the expense of running the large air compressors).
Looks like Wintergreen didn't make snow last night. I suspect they may be done with snowmaking for the year. Anyone have any insider info on this?
I am suprised.Lliberty has kept the fan guns running all day on the backside.
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