Chances that Canaan Valley Opens Outer Trails ?
February 19, 2012
From the CV website, I see that Canaan Valley has moved snowmaking operations over to Weiss Meadow 1. Good for them.
What's the situation on the other Weiss Meadow runs and, my favorite, Dark Side of the Moon? I like to get over to CV at least once a season but not until it's pretty much 100% open -- maybe a pipe dream this year. Will a good snowfall (say at least 8") be enough for them to open DSOTM?
Woody
I just skied Canaan today. After I got there and skied for a while I was becoming annoyed that about half the mountain was closed, for no apparent reason.
A little after mid-day, the ski patrol dropped the rope on upper snowfields, glades, mid and lower spruce run, and the drop. About an hour later, Meadows 1 and 2 were open along with shaft (1 was groomed for some reason). In another hour Dark Side, Meadows 3, Weiss Road, and Prosperity opened.
They literally opened about 1/3+ of the mountain in one day. I think Gravity is one of the few major trails still closed.
Absolutely amazing day, and beautiful conditions. Boot deep powder on the 'natural' trails and bluebird skies! Some thin spots, but practically no ice and darn good for an 'off' winter.
- Craig
When I took a single ride up at 9:00 on Sunday I looked and saw that the rope was baring the meadows, dark side, etc. had it been down, I would have foregone the backcountry And bought a day ticket in order to get fresh tracks in the meadows. Given Canaan's lack of crowds there would have been fresh tracks there all day. Those are all beautiful powder runs, something that Timberline does not have. I also love Gravity after a dump. It is a lousy bump run, IMHO, the bumps never have any rhythm, but a great powder run if there is a foot or more of fresh powder and it has not been open previously. Before the present management Canaan was pretty lax about poaching and the crowds keep getting lower all the time. They have a lot of untapped potential, IMHO. On the other hand, benign neglect can be a good thing for a certain kind of skier.
On the other hand, benign neglect can be a good thing for a certain kind of skier.
So can not carrying trail maps and ignoring signs which are *obviously* incorrect. Went to CV last year, first time in nearly 20 years. Thought I was heading to the meadows. I wasn't. Found some great stuff though.
Meadows can be sweet, but are way flat, and tricky in deep snow.
Before the present management Canaan was pretty lax about poaching and the crowds keep getting lower all the time.
But you must choose your battles wisely. Caught the last chair up with SCWVA last year with the plan of poaching one of the closed lift lines. Waiting at the top was 8+ ski patrollers waiting for us to make our way down the hill so they could close the mountain. Not the best time to poach.
Last Chair? What are they gonna do, pull your ticket?
Last Chair? What are they gonna do, pull your ticket?
Technically speaking, couldn't they prosecute for some sort of trespassing? AFAIK, several states have laws against skiing closed terrain. For instance, crossing area closed boundaries out West.
If you're going be a totally obvious d!ck in front of that much authority, as a juror I'd convict. Especially if the offender is skiing in Black and Gold.
Last Chair? What are they gonna do, pull your ticket?
... as a juror I'd convict. Especially if the offender is skiing in Black and Gold.
Depends if it is a Steelers or a Penquins shirt. If it is Steelers, I'd have to acquit.
Meadows can be sweet, but are way flat, and tricky in deep snow.
If it's fresh and deep getting out at the bottom can be a slog. With a partner you can leap frog each other since the second skier in the track goes faster. You can gain maybe 50-100 feet on each lead change. If alone, just lay in a good exit track and get in it on each lap before you run out of momentum. Small price to pay for powder. I have had week days there in recent years when I had the whole thing to myself all day.
seems like there is always some price for powder, whether its a hike, a long traverse, a flat out, or even a midwinter flight to utah. prolly adds to the fun.
Dark Side of the Moon on Monday 2/13/12:
Wow ... thanks JimK, Craig and Denis! Somehow I missed hearing about the storms that hit CV last weekend. Life happens.
I had freed up Wednesday 2/15 and had planned to go to 7S but your posts about conditions at Canaan Valley convinced me to switch my plans. Armed with a Liftopia ticket (paying $24 instead of the usual $32), I arrived just after the ropes dropped and ended up skiing all day.
The mountain was swamped by fog when I got there. New snow (about 2" overnight) was sticking to the trees, frosting everything. The sun began to burn through before mid-day and then blue skies reigned all afternoon. You guys took some of the powder last weekend but left enough for me to have several great runs on Dark Side of the Moon, where I hadn't been in several years.
My car was #10 in the parking lot, which I thought was pretty cool until I took a count around 130 pm and found only about 10 more vehicles had arrived. What a day. What a surprise. The tradeoff is that my schedule is full this weekend and I work on Monday, but this has been my best skiing day of the season so far.
Thanks again.
Woody
[img:left]http://www.flickr.com/photos/67065208@N03/6896171719/in/photostream[/img]
Do you remember seeing anyone skiing in a camo suit that day..sunglasses? (catch me coming in airborne off the last lip & drop off to the lift?
..very safe with no one there...not too safe for a crazy 51 year old though
) ..me & my crew skied for $16 all day...by one get one..
Do you remember seeing anyone skiing in a camo suit that day..sunglasses? (catch me coming in airborne off the last lip & drop off to the lift?
..very safe with no one there...not too safe for a crazy 51 year old though
) ..me & my crew skied for $16 all day...by one get one..
Fish, I think I talked with you. Toward the end of the day, I was riding the lift behind a guy in camo and a fair damsel. The three of us saw a guy about to crash into someone below. Instead, he fell with a George-of-the-Jungle-like "yaaaahh!". We chatted back and forth about how we thought we were about to witness a collision. So, was that you?
I'm a yacker as you can tell by how many posts I have..
I had so many conversations about anything & everything that day but I do remember a scene like you described Bousquet & i'm sure I had something to say about it to anyone who would listen.
Good thing u didn't ride the lift with me..You would have been well schooled on the area & politics...Mount Porte Crayon would have come up & You would have scooted off in a hurry at the top of the lift
