Not sure I'm going to get there, but at the risk of starting a stampede because they are the bullseye for a big mid-atlantic snow storm tomorrow 12/19/09...

Massanutten discounts
From http://www.massresort.com/v.php?pg=334
1. School's Out Special
Students and their parents, faculty and staff who are out of school due to inclement weather can spend 8-Hours skiing or snowboarding at Massanutten at reduced rates.

Slope-Use Ticket - $25
Rentals - $20

2. Ukrop's Valued Customers (there is a Ukrop's Grocery store on Rt 3 about two miles west of I95 near Fredericksburg, VA)
Show your Ukrop's Valued Customer card and you and your family will receive the following discounts:

Early Season: $15 slope-use ticket anytime from opening day through December 20, 2009.
Late Season: $15 slope-use ticket anytime from March 8, 2010 through the end of snow season.
Regular Season: $5 off any regular price Monday through Saturday slope-use ticket (December 21, 2009 - March 6, 2010 - Non-Holiday).
Regular Season Sundays: $10 off any regular price Sunday 8-Hour Session slope-use ticket or $5 off any Night slope-use ticket(January 3, 2010 - March 7, 2010- Non-Holiday).

3. From DCSki bargain tracker:
From opening day through December 20, 2009, and March 8, 2010 through closing day, Virginia's Massanutten Resort will offer discounted skiing. For example, an 8-hour adult weekday lift ticket will sell for $32, while an 8-hour adult weekend lift ticket will sell for $38. Early- and late-season discounts are also offered on rentals, 4-hour tickets, and night tickets.

I've never been to Massanutten and Wintergreen. How long a drive are they (clear roads) from DC? What are the roads like?

I'm leaning more towards Whitetail or Roundtop on Sunday, but a 2 foot deep bull's eye could be tempting...

Mnut is 2.5 hours from DC. My brother's been driving over to drop off his daughter so she can ski with us the last few Decembers. I-66 to I-81, then a few miles on US33 (pretty flat 4-lane). Getting up the mountain to the ski lodge has never been a problem when there was snow or ice in the woods. Only a mile or two.

Both black runs from the top will be open by this weekend. With the new lift at the bottom, should be shorter lines for the first quad to get mid-mountain.

I have a Ukrops card. I'll send you a PM about Sunday.

Wintergreen is 2 hrs. 45 min. from Northern VA. Because Wintergreen is a top-down resort with the lodge, condos, rentals, offices, etc. at the top of the mountain, driving should be VERY difficult up the mountain. Previous big dumps have made travel non-existent, and prevented people from leaving the resort for days. The snow removal system there is nothing like it is here in NOVA.

I TRIED to get to Massanutten last night (it is only 1 1/2 hour drive for me from Fredericksburg).

However, that pass (Swift Run Gap) on 33 was impassible. My car just could not make it up that mountain, and now stuck in Charlottsville at a Marriot-Courtyard.

Yeah, I sure wish I could've made it there, but this would've been friggan SWEET for skiing!

Normally, it is actually a pretty pleasent and easy drive to get there. For me, I take Rt 3 to 29 to 230 to 33. Most of this (except 230 and 33 going over the pass from Stanardsville) is four lane. In the case of 230, there is usually hardly any traffic.

We made it to Massanutten, but just barely. Decided that from Raleigh going via Roanoke and I-81 was the only viable option. It seemed like any road that involved the area around Charlottesville was a non-started. The 90 miles from Roanoke to Harrisonburg took 6 hours, including 1 hour sitting around near Lexington. We avoided another sit by taking US11 for about 10 miles.

Mnut required 4WD on Sat. Not sure about Sun. We are in a timeshare unit in the valley. But one way or another, I'm going to ski some powder!

Planning on going today. The trip from Luray is usually a 30 min drive. Hope the main roads are not to bad. Haven't been out since the snow started.

Seems like a lot of people were using UKROPS or their Value Season Pass today since it was the last day. Relatively few beginners compared to other years. Between the road conditions and the cold weather, the folks who made it were more experienced . . . or ski nuts.

Piles of snow at the lodge




Making snow on all unopened runs all day long


Few people on DJ in the afternoon. The powder hounds were all over it in the morning. ParaDice was empty in the morning, but busier in the afternoon as intermediate skiers arrived.

Thanks for posting Marznc. I had hoped to get there yesterday, but got sick. It doesn't look too crowded. And those shots around the lodge reveal some of the deepest natural I've ever seen at Massanutten.

Sorry you had to miss the powder. Today temps were getting high enough to change powder to packable snow. Lots of snowmen around the condos.

Today very few people going to the top of the mountain. Plenty of kids in ski school though.

They opened up the last few trails by noon. Most importantly, Main Street and Yee Ha are open so there is a second way to get to Lift 6.

The new conveyor belt lift for beginners is great! The policy is now to avoid slowing down Lift 4 (Southern Comfort), so it feels more like a high-speed quad. Geronimo goes up higher than before by about 75 yards, so no more skating/polling to get over to Lift 5. All in all, a definite improvement.

No one also mentioned that the Nut is the first reporting as 100% open. Despite the dump, this shows a good snowmaking commitment and does not stink and is unlike some other resorts that lack the umpf. (TL 4 of 37 runs-oh wait thats last weeks report for this week or stated differently-this weeks report which is actually last weeks.) Looks like a good two more weeks of cold weather.

Yep, the Nut was also the first to get their diamond runs open.
The Colonel

It's been a great week at Mnut. Mid-winter conditions, 100% open, fresh snow everything morning, no snowmaking during the day on main trails, no crowds to speak of, and no wind. The new beginner lift, with a conveyor belt for loading, really helps better skiers. Means that Lift 4 (on Southern Comfort) is actually running as a high-speed quad most of the time.

They left the bumps on both ParaDice and DJ, although they are getting worn down pretty fast.

I finally get to ski Massanutten! Today, the conditions were still really good, and indeed the entire mountain is open. However, my first turns for the season ended up being at Seven Springs yesterday (when I was up in Uniontown to visit my brother and his family for X-mas).

I've managed to snap a few shots around the mountain.

Here is picture of the new self-loading lift in action. Using a set of gates, it lets a group of up to 4 people in at a time. The people then simply ski/board onto a moving conveyor. The chair then swings around behind and "scoops" them up. Seems to really help in keeping the lift line moving and to prevent a lot of lift stoppage due to folks having trouble getting on. It did take some getting use to, but really cool.



Indeed, they are letting the skier's left of both Paradise and Diamond Jim bump up. The ones on the upper part of Diamond Jim are actually really nice. This picture are the ones on the final part of Paradise.



The obligatory shot from the summit of Massanutten



And check this out! Speaking of the summit, seems we've gotten a couple of stray goats that has taken residence up there at the summit at the top of lift 6 (top of Paradise and Diamond Jim):

Glad to hear conditions are still good. We'll be there again Jan. 9-10.

The other advantage of the new lift is that now Lift 4 on Southern Comfort runs more like a high-speed lift. They try to avoid slowing it down. The first foursome is in the gate and the red "doors" have just opened. Someone has to be inside the rails to trigger the door for that slot. The center slot is for two, but makes it easier for a beginner when 3 or less ride together.

They've been blowing snow pretty much all day and all night since Sunday night. May get a couple of inches of the natural stuff tonight/tomorrow as well (if it doesn't all turn to rain).

I'll be there again this upcoming weekend from New Years through to Sunday. I'll also be there on the 9th and 10th as well.

Hi Steven good to see you posting again, nice pictures. Those self-loaders are pretty cool wonder what something like that costs?

Was looking around the new and improved Mnut website. Happened to see their specials for Jan. The weekend 2-night deal is pretty good if you have 4 people who want to ski and play at the water park.

Also found the info about $17 night skiing on Mondays.

Weekend Options:
Check-In: January 8, 2010
Check-Out: January 10, 2010
---OR---
Check-In: January 22, 2010
Check-Out: January 24, 2010

Winter Wonderland Getaway: $445
4 Slope-use tickets (worth $64 each)
4 Indoor WaterPark tickets (worth $38 each)
Condo Unit (two nights)

Single-Night Winter Special: $140
2 Slope-use tickets (worth $64 each)
Hotel Room (one night: choose Jan. 8, 9, 22, or 23)

http://www.massresort.com/v.php?pg=524

How does the big terrain park at Mnut compare to others? I noticed they are listing the features on the website. Being updated daily. Also have pics. Looks good but I don't know much about park stuff.

Wisp has the self loaders as well. My experience from Wisp is that they do work as intended, and my assumption is that they cost a lot less than a HS lift. I suspect that where you have diverse skiers sharing the same lift, this is a good economic compromise versus the cost of a HS lift. Thumbs up for MNut for attempts to improve uphill capacity.

That photo of the old goats is great! I'm talkin' about the four legged ones.

If I recall correctly, the number $1.5 million seems to come to mind for that lift - installed. I don't recall where I've seen that, though.

As for the terrain park, it is actually pretty decent. There are actually two terrain parks, Easy Street and CMB. Easy Street is the smaller, easier one of the two. I am not much into terrain parks myself, so I don't really spend much time in there.

Moved pics to another album, but thought it was worth re-posting this one. (Couldn't edit original post for some reason.)