Considering going either to SS or Timberline this Sun. and Mon. Never been to either. Going w/my son, who likes steeps and bumps as do I. Since my good skis were taken from Liberty Sunday night by someone other than myself, I will be on rock skis.

Is SS worth the extra miles from DC and the increased lodging costs? Or better yet, how does the terrain at Timberline compare to the Uppers at Liberty (Eastwind, Srata, Ultra.). Are there bumps at T-line?



Thanks for any input.

Otto

First I'll address the costs. The Canaan Valley Lodge is running a special this weekend for $35 per room per night. It does not get much cheaper than that and if you have never stayed there you are in for a treat....lots of tame deer, and the wonderful scenery of Canaan Valley. You can ski at either Timberline or Canaan Valley's ski area, you have to motor to both, about 10 minutes from the lodge. There is an indoor pool and hot tub at Canaan Valley Lodge. Lift tickets are pretty low at Timberline and even lower at CV (either $10 or $15). Of these two areas I would choose TL because of better terrain and more vertical. TL would probably have bumps on The Drop slope, the other usually moguled slopes rely on natural snow. Other slopes might be bumped up because of softening snow.
Snowshoe will cost more but has advantages: larger and more varied terrain; two high speed detachable chairs (means more runs since Timberline's chairs are very slow and stop frequently); one of the "big" bump runs in the midAtlantic, Shay's Revenge plus other shorter bump runs, more vertical, at least in the Western Territory (approx. 1500 vertical), a central village that is ski-in/ski out (unless you opt to stay at the bottom of the mountain in the Inn which is less expensive. Time wise, there is not much difference when driving from Northern Virginia. Snowshoe going 66, 81, 55 (incl. new Corridor H portion), then 28 to back road up the mountain is about 30 or so minutes further. Snowshoe elevation is from 4848 elevation to about 3350 elevation. Timberline is a bit lower, elevation 4200 to 3200. Both have a lot of snow.
Hope this helps...I would probably choose Snowshoe for this particular weekend...it is a party weekend at the Shoe with on slope events, games, etc.
Sorry to hear about your skis being stolen. That's why I still use a ski lock.
Enjoy the weekend,
The Colonel

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Or better yet, how does the terrain at Timberline compare to the Uppers at Liberty (Eastwind, Srata, Ultra.). Are there bumps at T-line?

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Less steep than the headwall of the Uppers at Liberty. If those headwalls were double the vert, they'd be quite respectable. (And with maybe a bit of terrain variation added in.) T-Line's main challenges are the trees, some bumps (primarily on natural snow trails), and da whales. I haven't been to T-Line this year, so others will have to report on the current state of the moguls and tree skiing. Sounds like the conditions were pretty respectable last weekend in the trees, so this weekend may not be too bad, but conditions can change rapidly this time of the year.

T-Line definitely has an old school vibe similar to a lot of Vermont ski areas. I don't think you'll be disappointed (except by the slow pace of the lifts.) Snowshoe is more like Stratton, but Cupp and Shay's are pretty nice runs, even by New England standards.

Personally, I'd hit Blue Knob for one day of bashing the bumps on Extrovert and Stembogan. Maybe T-Line for the other.

We'll have to meet on the slopes one of these years. I'm off to Colorado for a quick trip this weekend which sadly is likely to be my last skiing of the season. (Home improvement projects need to get done ASAP for a family onslaught in mid-April.)