I've never posted a TR before, so I'm not sure I'll hit all of the required elements, but here goes...
First of all, the decision to go to Seven Springs was made almost entirely on the basis of advice/recommendations from this board, so I have to say thanks. It was a great day, and definitely someplace that I'll head back to.
In spite of the advice to be sure to be there by 8:00 that morning, the 6:30 departure from Leesburg was about the best we could manage. Thanks to speedy driving + some confused MapQuest interpretation, we pulled into the parking lot about 9:20, and were on our first lift of the day by around 9:45. I have to say that I think it's the latest start I've ever had (relative to when the lifts start turning), but I still managed to get in a full day of skiing.
Temps were in the low-to-mid 20's for most of the day, so it was brisk, but not the bone-chilling cold we could have had on Sunday. We started over running Boomerang to get a feel for things, since my girlfriend had just gotten some work done on her boots and bindings. I remembered very quickly that goggles are pretty much a requirement skiing here on the east coast, where snowmaking can be running at any time. It's not fun to be zipping along and then suddenly have a face full of ice crystals. It's not nearly as charming as having fresh snowflakes in your face...
Anyway, after a few runs there to try things on, we made our way over to the Cortina Lift, and made that our home base. After a few trips down whatever green was there, my girlfriend was actually feeling gutsy enough to try some blues (last year, she skied confidently, this year, with the new gear, not nearly so much so... The fact that she was willing to step up was a very positive development, so I could tell she was much happier with her equipment.)
We must have run laps on Wagner for 45 minutes or so before we decided to try the "Southwind Lift" thinking that it would put us close to the top of the Polar Bear Express lift, without the nasty wait times. Oops. Wrong. First of all, it's a pretty good trek from the top of the Southwind to the top of the Polar Bear. Secondly, the Southwind lift stopped for the longest wait I've ever had on a lift. I don't think I'll ever take that again. It started spitting a little snow, so at least it was pretty while we were stuck there for what felt like forever. After that mistake, we got off, zipped through the little village area, and headed back towards Wagner.
This time, we found our way to the bottom of Blitzen. It seemed a lot smarter to go this way than to wait for the Polar Bear, so that paid off. We worked our way down Lost Boy, and skied the North Face for a bit. It started snowing harder, and it actually looked like a great day of skiing!
We did Lost Girl, Northwest Passage, and Little Boulder for a bit, before heading to the Tahoe Lodge to warm up. While the girlfriend sat in the lodge, I made a few laps, and never waited more than about 2 minutes for a lift, but mostly avoided the Gunnar Express.
We headed back to the front side, and just skied Tyrol, Stowe, and Wagner for the rest of the afternoon. The girlfriend wanted to hit Boomerang one more time, so I thought I'd give corkscrew a shot. BIG MISTAKE. The straightaways were fine, but the corners were brown and felt like skiing in a gravel pit. You know it's bad when the better alternative is to pop out on Goosebumps and take your chances... I wouldn't try Corkscrew without a lot of freshie to make it worthwhile.
Overall, it was a great day of skiing. The temperatures held in the 20's, so it wasn't too frigidly cold, and we got LOTS of skiing in. I don't know why anyone would wait for the Polar Bear, though, since the lines were long all day, but short almost everywhere else. There was a bit of a headache with a lift chaperone, or whatever they're called, running traffic at the Cortina lift. He was letting one side of the line go for about 3 or 4 minutes (maybe longer... I didn't clock it), and then would let the other side go, instead of the more standard alternating sides approach. I'm not sure why he thought his version was better, but I don't think it was. As it was, people would almost literally ski right onto the lift, while the other side had been waiting for almost 5 minutes. If you timed it right, I guess it would be cool, but if you happened to be the first person that DIDN'T get to ski on, it sucked to just stand there, not moving at all.
They do well with 750 ft of vertical, but I wish they more trails and fewer slopes... Then again, without pretty hefty natural snowfall, I can see why they opt for the "slope" model. Lots easier to cover and maintain, and lots less snow wasted in the trees.
Overall, I liked the terrain options, and it wasn't too crowded. If Timberline had the terrain of Seven Springs, with the feel of their hill, I'd have a hard time going anywhere else...
By the way, dinner was in Somerset. We were desperately hungry, and saw a sign that said "Meet and Eat at Mel's". We stopped in, and chose not to do either. Instead, we found the Summit Diner. Definitely highly recommended, if you're a diner food type. The Reuben sandwich was insanely large, but very, very good.
aaron
