Seems that from DC, without going over 5 and a half hours away by car the top ones are:

- Blue Knob
- Timberline
- Canaan Valley
- Snowshoe (even though it's busy & expensive)

Anybody have any others, and more importantly, which ones you'd recommend from the list I provided above?

Also, recommendations for cheap accommodations in those areas would be much appreciated!

'Advanced terrain' is a bit vague. Do bumps and trees count? Steeps? 7 Springs has some decent stuff if you know where to look.

You mentioned a bunch of beginner slopes and then Snowshoe. You can't compare a non-stop Cupp Run or a bumped up Lower Shays with any of them! And, mid-week - you'll be alone at Snowshoe.

This topic ought to generate some lively feedback. Here's an old article where I tried to address it. Still largely my opinion. http://www.dcski.com/articles/view_article.php?article_id=679&mode=search

I would add that some of the more challenging spots mentioned in that article (Lower Shay's Revenge at Snowshoe, Extrovert at Blue Knob), are either pretty far away from DC - Snowshoe, or highly subject to the vagaries of Mother Nature - Blue Knob. Also that piece does not do justice to Timberline. When the natural snow is good there it has a lot of challenging gladed terrain. That definitely goes for Blue Knob too. Finally, if you are just looking for easy access to a decent bump workout I'd recommend the bump run they usually maintain at Whitetail - Exhibition. Got its own chairlift and you can easily rack up a lot of mogul mileage in a day there.

The Canaan Valley Lodge is a reasonably priced place near Timberline and CV ski areas. Timberline also has a bunkhouse type place at the mtn. There are fairly cheap chain motels in Bedford, PA, about 40 minutes from Blue Knob.
1st photo Exhibition at Whitetail, 2nd Extrovert at Blue Knob, 3rd Shay's Revenge at Snowshoe::

Guess I'll be more specific. Challenging doesn't JUST mean bumps. I can get a good bump run at Whitetail, as mentioned. I like my fair share of bumps, but also like to have some variation. I don't do bumps all day. Also looking for steeps and tree skiing.

Going to Whitetail for their three blacks gets a bit old. My reason for mentioning T-Line is that it definitely has more than 3 blacks. If you're claiming Snowhose has two good blacks... great, but I'm looking for a little more than that I guess.

Another mountain just inside your 5 hour range is Elk Mountain. It has very nice terrain. Closer in I'm partial to Timberline.

Heard good things about Elk Mountain too. It's about as far away as Snowshoe, and I'd be interested to check it out.

Ideally, it'd be great to get to all the ones I mentioned this winter, just trying out different terrain so it doesn't get stale.

If you are a half-way decent skier, you won't find any steeps in the Mid Atlantic. Head to Vermont or out west.

Tree skiing. On a decent year, Timberline has some nice tree shots. Whitegrass next door is better maintained, less steep, but you have to earn yer turns. Canaan Valley has some decent shots, but they are mostly low angle. Blue Knob trees are generally over thined, poorly maintained and very rocky, but still decent (if you use rock skis and it's a decent snow year.) Elk does not permit tree skiing (at least as recently as last year.) Same with Snowshoe. I've heard decent things about Ski Denton, but IMHO its way too long a drive from DC area for what you may get. Laurel Mountain used to have some decent lift-accessible tree shots, but you have to earn them right now.

I've poked around Seven Springs with some locals who poke around. I'd rate it below Blue Knob and T-Line. YMMV.

That said about challenging terrain in the Mid Atlantic, if you can't find some fun stuff at the above mentioned areas that will give you a bit of challenge, I'd blame you and not the areas.

John, of course, but we all can't make trips out west every weekend

I'm just looking for what I can get in the area. I'll be in Utah for a week or two in March, and maybe before then. So I'll certainly get a taste.

Thirdly, I never blamed the areas for not giving me a challenge, again, just asking for the best in the area.

You'd be surprised at the unrealistic expectations that a lot of people have about the size, vertical and challenge of ski areas in the Mid Atlantic. Just sayin'

I'd argue that Snowshoe has 2 runs worth skiing on an average day. As mentioned, Cupp & Shay's.
Are they fun? Yes.
Are they overly challenging? No.
Are they worth paying 90$ a day to ski? No.

The "beginner slopes" offer much more than you can get at Snowshoe (for a much better price). For one, when there's good coverage you can ski the entire mountain at Timberline. Just ride to the top and use your imagination on how you'd like to get down, trees, bumps, etc... Again, nothing overly challenging (this is the mid-atlantic), but equally as challenging as anything at Snowshoe.

If you're just dieing to be challenged in the mid-atlantic and refuse to go anywhere else, I'd vouch for Extrovert being the toughest bump run in the mid-atlantic (that I've skied at least).

Again, I don't get a kick out of being "challenged" when I ski around here. My ski days are limited to ~10 days a year. When I head out to ski I am interested in in 3 things: 1. Terrain variety 2. Snow quality 3. People. Timberline just seems to always come out on top in this respect for me though.

To each his own I suppose...

Again, I'm well aware of the limitations of the mid-atlantic. Just looking for some new terrain and hoping to hear from you all what the best places to go are. T-line sounds like my kind of place. Definitely want to check it out. I think your 1 and 2 are quite important to me as well.

Be sure to post on here when you're heading that way. There are plenty of Timberline "locals" on this board.

For really challenging terrain there are only two areas to look at in the mid-Atlantic, Blue Knob and Timberline. When conditions are good, I'd rate the difficulty of the terrain at Blue Knob as higher. Both areas happen to be really cheap to ski at compared to other Mid-Atlantic ski areas.

I've always said that Blue Knob has the toughest trails, but Timberline has the toughest glades. (If you know where to look.) The glades on T-Line's trail map are pretty easy.

7 Springs deserves to be on the list. With the entire back & north side of the resort having decently steep black diamond slopes covering a good 750 feet of vertical. On the front face you have avalanche, and goosebumps which i feel many people overlook. There's also the Turtle Claw glades and glades on Gunar slope.

Agreed that the front side of snowshoe isn't the most challenging, but they seem to be changing the vibe a little bit with new commitments to tree skiing. The new knot bumper glades look pretty legit, and they also apparently did some improvements on the sawmill glades and over at silver creek. Knot bumper has enough pitch that with the new tree run would be a great challenge for this area. Combine that with cupp/shays and you definitely have enough to play on to keep you interested. Timberline rocks too, if OTW or Drop are fully bumped they are legit, and when groomed super fun for speeding.

Just for fun, thought I'd post a few more pictures of challenging terrain within 3 hours of DC:
The Drop at Timberline:

East Wall Glade at Blue Knob:


Lower Shortway at Blue Knob:


Extrovert again at Blue Knob:

Extrovert is easily the most challenging in the list imo, it compares surprisingly close to the pitch of Whiteface NY!

Extrovert!

...at the resorts that let you ski in the woods and have enough snow to do so one can find fun terrain just a few turns off of the beginner slopes...


salamander at the slime

Yeah, Tucker. I've skied them all and agree on extravert however you gotta pick you time to hit it when it's skiable. This is the mid atlantic and most runs can turn into boilerplate overnight. That huck in your pic is doable, even if by mistake. I don't hit those anymore except when I have an Opps! Aw... S#!t moment like I did a couple of years ago. Landed it softly too. There's a few places like that at CV if you get them before patrol marks them off.

Tucker, kwill you guys are gonna burn for misleading folks. Eveybody who knows, knows that that picture was taken at snowshoe.

There is NO EXPERT glades or terrains at Timberline; for challenge and a true alpine experience in WV one must go to Snowshoe.

Oh, right, Jimmy. How could I have been so confused?

The first rule of secret stashes is that one does not talk about secret stashes.

The Drop at Timberline is challenging on a good day, it can be down right dangerous when the whales/bumps are icy. I've seen more than one dazed skier hiking back on the side of the trail wondering where they were and I've definitely had to pretty much side slip from whale to whale on it. Not saying its necessarily that hard but Squirrel Cage and the Face at Wisp have resonable pitch and when they are covered in huge whales the back side of the whales are pretty steep, from the lodge you can get a kick out of watching people yard sale down them. Pretty much any black run in the midatlantic could be considered challenging in the right conditions, ie ice skating rink with patches of snow on top, but in those conditions they aren't exactly enjoyable either.