Got my first turns this season this past Saturday afternoon at Whitetail. I used a four hour flex ticket and skied from about 1:30 to 5:30. Despite the recent rains and warmer weather, the base was still very good - there were very few bare spots. There were two trails (+ the terrain park) open on the intermediate high-speed quad, and Exhibition (under the Expert lift) was open.

Temps probably were in the upper 40's during the afternoon. As a result, the snow in the center of the trails was pretty close to "hero snow". The sides had some accumulations of heavier snow, but it was still relatively easy to plow through. As the sun went down, the center of the trails got started to ice up and the piled up snow got really heavy. By the time I left, the skied off areas were very icy but most of the piled-up areas had dried off and were pretty nice. Typical cycle for the mid-Atlantic.

Overall, for December in southern Pennsylvania, outstanding conditions.

Lift lines were minimal all afternoon; at most 3-4 groups ahead in line.

Conditions at Timberline Resort in Canaan Valley were significantly different. With temperatures in the low 30s on Saturday, the slopes were icy (since there had been a recent thaw), but an excellent grooming job combined with very few skiers kept the slopes in excellent condition all day. On Sunday it snowed most of the day (wet snow, mixed with some sleet and rain on the lower third of the slopes), making turning wonderful in fresh "wet powder." My only complaint is that too few slopes were open, bascically just one beginner run and one intermediate/advanced run from the top. Inexplicably, upper and lower Dew Drop appeared to have huge mounds of man-made snow over all areas of the run, but the resort does not appear to be making any efforts to prepare and open this run. A few other slopes had plenty of man-made snow, but apparently Timberline is saving them for the future. Skiers looking for good easy/intermediate skiing were disappointed. Just another example of what I consider poor management and customer service at this ski area in the best snow country of the mid-Atlantic, which otherwise has great potential.

Thanks for the report Mitch. I had planned to go up to Timberline last weekend, but changed my mind last minute because of the weather and limited offerings.

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 12-23-2002).]