(Thinking of) heading there for the first time soon to take advantage of their Monday deals. There's another good thread here talking about current conditions at Wisp, but I'm interested in more general info.

How does Wisp stack up to other local options? To give you an idea of my background, I have most experience skiing at Whitetail, Wintergreen and Seven Springs.

Since Wisp is going to involve an overnight trip for me, I want to make sure it's worth it to travel there. If it's no better than Whitetail, for example, I'd be hesitant to make it a destination.

I think Wisp is a decent resort, what I like most about them is their snowmaking. It's quite impressive how much coverage they can within a short period of snowmaking.

The resort is located in Garrett County where they receive an average of about 100 inches a year -- a true wintry environment. Wisp only has less than 700 feet of vertical but the resort are spread out and doesn't get too crowded. It's a very nice place for beginners -- the green trails are long and wide. Expert might get bored easily as they aren't that many black trails -- the one they have are pretty steep though but they are really short.

As an intermediate/advanced riders, I can't really justify going to Wisp that much coz with that distance of driving from DC, you probably had better go to Canaan Valley area. I actually did day trips from DC a few times when it snowed quite a bit but it's quite exhausting driving 6 hours in a day. There are a lot of nice cabins on the slope, it should be fun hanging out with friends there.

Snowglobe, thanks for the input. Not sure if you're familiar with Whitetail... or maybe something like Ski Liberty? But if you are, and you could compare/contrast Wisp with those, it would be helpful.

For ex., I'd certainly be disappointed if I spent money on an overnight scenario for either Whitetail or Ski Liberty without knowing first that the skiing conditions there were pretty subpar. I don't want to walk into Wisp with the same ignorance.

My friends and I are attracted to Wisp right now mainly because of the Monday deal ($29), which is better than just about any rates in the area. But of course the cost of an overnight might negate the deal, esp. if the skiing conditions aren't great.

Was at Wisp last week.

Liberty (and I think Whitetail) have two skiing "areas", a front and a back. No greens on the back.

Wisp has a front, north and east. No greens on the east.

The $29 Monday deal includes rentals. If you have have your own equipment it's $29 Mon thru Fri all day.

Wisp is shorter, but otherwise compares favorably to the Snowtime resorts. More slopes with more variety. Only thing I find annoying is having to plan ahead to get to main lodge from other sections and some slopes require two lift rides to return to the top.

Plateau-reached, I agree with GCNagy, rdroll7 and snowglobe. Wisp may have only a 700 vertical, but its "horizontal" is huge. Some good steeps for advanced skiers that, although not as long as the runs off Whitetail's Expert's Choice lift or Highlands at Wintergreen still offer nice challenges. Novices love those long, long greens leading to North Camp.

I'm a fan of both WT and Liberty (and a passholder), but I try each season to get to Wisp -- not only b/c Wisp is often "the first with the most" (well, second only to Snowshoe) but also to enjoy cruising and wandering over all three parts of the development. I ski 'em all: green, blue and black.

To me the only drawbacks other than the distance and lack of a 1000-foot vertical are the long haul back to the main lodge in the center of the development from the East or North runs (no facilities east or north) and the fact that Wisp sometimes blows so much snow during operating hours that I get tired of fighting it. (Can't really fault a ski area for snowmaking, though.)

Woody

Woody,
Thanks to the crowds this weekend (which, oddly enough was nto reflected in really long lines, except at Lifts 2 & 3) I had to park up by the Whitewater course. There are restrooms and a sandwich shop that also sells lift tickets in one building, and a shop in the other. You still need two lifts to get there from North Camp or Mainstreet, but still saves a long run back down to the base.

I think the condition at Wisp will almost always be better than Whitetail and Liberty as the base elevation is higher and Wisp also benefits from from the lake effect snow. While whitetail and liberty had no natural snow on the ground on the past weekend, Wisp had about 6-7 inches of fresh snow since last Thursday. Whitetail and Liberty probably average only 20 inches of natural snow a year while Wisp gets about 5 times more. If you are beginners or intermediates (not strong intermediates), I think you will enjoy Wisp or if you never been there it doesn't hurt to check it out.

If you plan to stay overnight and ski 2 days, you might want to consider Canaan Valley and Timberline. You can purchase 2-day lift tickets called "Ski the Valley" (skithevalley.com) for only about $60 mid-week and $100 on the weekend. I usually have a much better time in the valley.

Woody and GG, I was there all weekend. To me this weekend showed a weakness of Wisp. The problem is that there is limited blue terrain. Despite good temps, 4 inches of natural snow, snowmaking, and moderate crowds, Boulder, Down Under, and Ace's were trashed each day by early afternoon--scraped bare to the frozen groomer tracks. With only three narrow blues to handle the intermediate crowd, this is a real limitation. Whitetail and Liberty have arguably better intermediate terrain.

Today was actually the best day of the weekend. I worked The Face and the trees to the right until my legs gave out, and then hit Squirrel Cage which was a joy to ski.

On a non-holiday Monday, should snow-blowers blasting in your face all day be expected?

This year, expect every resort to be blowing snow whenever they can. The end of January thaw is coming.

The resort and trails at Wisp have a lot character than the McTrails at WT. With the potential for natural snow, you can get a true skiing experience at Wisp that you can't get at WT or Liberty.

If you're staying on Sunday or weekday nighjts, you should be able to get a lift ticket and lodging deal, where you basically get either the lift tickets or the room for free.