I was at Timberline today and conditions on the groomed slopes were decent: machine groomed frozen granular. The day before we had ice in the morning followed by a little snow, but the snow did not accumulate--the wind blew most of it off the slopes.

Timberline was reporting groomed/packed powder for today, but I feel that's an overstatement, especially in light of the fact that Snowshoe reported groomed frozen granular today.

I concur.

The conditions weren't great on the ungroomed slopes, especially today. Yesterday they were skiable, but today it was back to the typical bulletproof ice of the East Coast.

The park was pretty nice this weekend, especially on Saturday, as the tables and other features had soft landings.

The groomers did a wonderful job on the groomed slopes but the ungroomed terrain was indeed ice.... I did not have the guts to try OTW today. Did you try it Canaanman?

Also, is it my imagination or does the base at Timberline seem lower than at this time last season? The web site is reporting 39 to 53, but the edges of the groomed trails appear almost level with the snow in the woods. That suggests that we don't have much base left at this point--certainly less than what is suggested on the web sit.

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 02-22-2004).]

Yes, I did somehow survive OTW today... but would not recommend going down it until atleast another half-foot of snow falls on it. Solid ice would be a good description, key word in that phrase being 'solid'. Seeing how that was, I dare not adventure into Cherry Bowl, so I stayed pretty clear of all those trails this weekend.

You're right, the base is less this season than last... but you're forgetting that exactly one year and one week ago it snowed around 50 inches in 2 days (and drifted to over 6 feet). So... yes, the base was vastly larger last year at this time. Hopefully the mountains will get some snow in March, unlike last season, and the snow won't atrophy away.

Stupid me--how could I forget the big storm.

Since we did not get that much snow in February, I still have hopes for a big one in March. My prediction, for what its worth, is that it will come towards the end of the month.

I was up at Timberline on Wednesday for a halfday ticket and the conditions were... liveable. Not nearly as good as two days before that ice storm the other week when I went up there and they had gotten 6" that morning. Plus rt 28 actually wasn't a solid white sheet of snow this time.

I spent a good portion of my time working on trails I don't normally visit. Since I'm an advanced beginner, confident intermediate I was working on all blues and some greens. I stuck mostly to Upper Dew Drop/Almost Heaven, and alot of lower midstation trails. Lower Almost Heaven seemed to have the most powder of any of them. When I tried lower white lightening it was ungroomed and that was a mistake. I heard my board just skidding on pure ice so I decided to play it safe and try lower silver streak which was a bit better. Who'd ever thought I'd be going for a double black to get away from a blue?

What are conditions looking to be this weekend? I have a friend from college who wants me to teach him how to board so basically that'll be the 3 major green trails, salamander, the bunny hill, winterset. I'm more worried that we'll get alot of 40's 50's temps that'll cause alot of melt and 'mashed potatoe' like conditions.

Thoughts for this weekend?

Keep those edges sharpened!! I went to Camelback this weekend and conditions were great!

The weekend boils down to what will happen tomorrow. Will we get 6 inches of new snow or snakebit?

Don't let 50 degree temps discourage you from taking a beginner. I spent my second day in slop in the rain at 55 degrees and it was WAY better than the ice/granular that i learned on. Its so much more forgiving and lots less likely to give you a concussion.

So what is happening in CV today? Rain, snow, flurries, cold? In wardensville it's just drizzle.

The Whitegrass website says 33 degrees and steady snow in the Valley. Its raining to the west. They are predicting 1-3 for the mountains today.

the valley webcam is back up & it shows 32 degrees & snowing GOOD from about 8am till now(1130am)

Thanks for the info. Hopefully that should hold up for snowboarding or teaching a few people that at timberline on Saturday.

Hmm... looks good for this weekend then! Fresh snow and cool temps.

Think March!

Canaanman are you gonna be at timberline this weekend? After teaching lessons I'm tempted to find someone who is able to tweak my own boarding skills and maybe touch the rails in lower dew drop.

[This message has been edited by bawalker (edited 02-24-2004).]

Hey bawalker:

Not to butt into your lesson deal but you admitted in this strand to being a lower intermediate. Why not hand your friend over to a professional instructor and then you can enjoy some time alone on harder terrain without your friend. It will be better for both parties.

I consider myself to be an advanced skier but I would never try and teach a friend how to ski. There's a big difference between knowing how to ski or snowboard and teaching someone else how to ski. Let a certified instructor do that "dirty work" and you enjoy the good riding that Timberline will inevitably offer this weekend.

The beginner snowboarding instruction often takes place right outside my window at Timberline, so I see these instructors in action. They have the patience of saints and really do a great job of getting beginners riding in a very short amount of time.

PS There's an old saying in skiing that also applies to snowboarding:

"Trying to teach your girlfriend how to ski is the quickest possible route to ending a relationship."

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 02-24-2004).]

That doesn't just go for skiers johnf,saw a sign canoeing up the weeki watchee springs in FL last month that advertised canoe lessons for $10 or marrage counseling for $50

Andy:

Here's another one.

Question: What's a tandem bicycle?

Answer: A divorce machine.

<<Canaanman are you gonna be at timberline this weekend? After teaching lessons I'm tempted to find someone who is able to tweak my own boarding skills and maybe touch the rails in lower dew drop.>>

Yes, the young-kneed canaanman will be frequenting the slopes of Timberline this weekend. Probably with another young-kneed friend.

So yeah, I'll see if I can help you out a bit, and maybe give you some pointers on the rails in the park (though, if you want advice on the rainbow, all you're going to get is just "Go at it really fast").

Canaanman - I was talking with some friends and their schedule is going to be prohibitive of a early morning or afternoon timberline visit due to their jobs, but we are planning getting 5 of us together now and doing the 4:30-9 nighttime boarding. I figure by the time I get everyone going it'll be dark and the terrainpark is closed if I'm not mistaken?

Either way I'll keep an eye out for you. I'll have the black/yellow/white metropolis board with ole trusty blue/white OP coat.