Priceless. Got about 3 inches of snow before I left at 3:30. If they had a high speed quad, I might go there more than Whitetail.
Most runs open and no bare spots or ice. It was a great day.
I was planning on heading to Tline yesterday morning, but we got a late start, so we decided to head to Liberty. The kids and I weren't disappointed. The snow was great all day and then it started snowing. With the guns going continously and the 4" we got while we were there, the skiing was sweet. What I did find strange, is that once the couple of inches of snow fell, it appearred that everyone decided to leave. By the end of the day, we were cutting fresh tracks along the edges of the trails.
We noticed the crowd decreasing and discussed it on the lift. After lunch every run got better and better. I figure the crowd thinning was 4 hour passes expiring and snowboarders getting wet bottoms. I could have gone another hour or so. One of the best things was our new skier in the group did a lesson and was with us on the Blues on the back side. Thats a big step.
Ditto Wojo. Friday was a great day to be at Liberty. Nearly everything open, great snow, nice winter day.
I skied from about 9:30-2:00. Lots and lots of cars in the parking lot, lots and lots of people in the lodge and even on the patio from time to time, but the top-to-bottom runs were uncrowded and the lift lines 3 minutes at most. Was everybody else skiing the beginner runs? The natural snow that started falling in the early p.m. made the skiing even better. Yet another quick recovery by Liberty after some warm weather.
Liberty does an excellent job of providing picnicking rooms and a generous # of cubbies. Although the cubbies were neary empty at 9:30, several tables were already "saved" by gear bags piled on all 4-6 chairs. Liberty has at least one sign prohibiting such annoying behavior and there were once probably more. What's a good way to respond when you need a seat ... besides just sitting down?
Woody
I spent today (Saturday) at Liberty in their adult development session group for advanced skiers. While Liberty was crowded, extremely crowded, the conditions were great and being able to cut to the front of the line as part of the ski school all day kept lift wait time to a minimum. The snow was great, though getting choppy during the afternoon. Even Blue Streak was chopped up and turned into a bit of a mogul run by the end of the afternoon, with some nice soft bumps. Today was the first day Liberty had 100% of their terrain open.
We were there on Saturday as well, and we found the conditions good as well. It was very crowded, we had to sctick to the front side lifts, and wait times seemed like they were 20 mins easy. The slopes didn't seem overly crowded, I'm not sure where everyone was, maybe it's just a function of having slow lifts. It's not like we had runs to ourselves, except for White Lightning but i wasn't worried for my safety with the crowds on the slope. We left around 4, and there were still people streaming in, although looking over at the lift lines they did seem to be a little shorter right as we were leaivng.
My son did the youth development program for the first time, and he seemed to enjoy himself. I hope the rain didnt do too much damage last night.
We were choosing between Liberty and Whitetail on Saturday, and I'm glad we chose WT. The place was a zoo, but they managed it well, and everyone was friendly. A couple of observations:
- Even on such a busy day, the only thing I found crowded were the lifts, parking lot, the base area, and guest services (we didn't rent equipment). The slopes were fine, food service was fine (we ate off-hour), we always found a place to sit, and the little kid area (where I was teaching my 3 y/o) was fine.
- Evidently, the little kid area is supposed to be reserved for ski school, but it's not enforced. I asked, and the attendants replied that half the people in there were not part of ski school, so to feel free to come on in. I thought that was nice.
- I don't know why I thought I was going to teach my daughter in ski boots and skis. I would have been better off in just my snow boots.
- Evidently the only place you can buy an advantage pass is in guest services, which was a SS. It seems on busy days, Whitetail could figure out a way to sell these at the window, or bypass the line or something. They lost a sale, and the potential future business that comes from investing in an Advantage card, because I wasn't willing to wait 20+ minutes in a huge line.
- WT evidently now has paid valet parking. New to me.
- The forecasters were way off on the weather. Everything was predicting temps in the high 20's, and instead it was bright sunshine and hit 40's.
- Speaking of which, conditions were excellent. Really fantastic for this point in the season.
- Lastly, I don't want to start a MD vs VA thing, but given that WV gets such a bad rap for speed traps, I thought I'd add this:
I drive a lot. I commute back and forth to NYC 2-3 times a month via I95, plus lots of trips. Over 30k miles a year, spread mostly across VA, MD, PA, DC, DE, and NJ, with a few trips to NC and WV a year. The only place I have issues with speed traps is in Maryland. I pass multiple cameras every time I drive I95 and watch them just clicking away. They are blanketing the DC metro area in speed cameras.
Suffice it to say, I got a ticket on 270, doing 74 in a 55, where no one drives 55. MD highway patrol was out in force, as they are every time I head through. 270 / 70 / 68 always seems to be the worst. Be careful out there.
- Evidently the only place you can buy an advantage pass is in guest services, which was a SS. It seems on busy days, Whitetail could figure out a way to sell these at the window, or bypass the line or something. They lost a sale, and the potential future business that comes from investing in an Advantage card, because I wasn’t willing to wait 20+ minutes in a huge line.
- WT evidently now has paid valet parking. New to me.
WT has had paid valet parking for years now. I doubt many (any?) of the regular posters here use valet parking, so little mention of it on these forums. Rumor has it that WT wanted valet parking drop-off to be at the bottom of the access road in Clear Spring, MD during snowstorms. (Sorry, that one just never gets old. ;) )
Advantage card used to require a picture taken of the passholder with a special laminated pass made. (And likely still does?) That, along with the extra time needed to fill out the required forms, would make for a pretty miserable experience for those standing behind you in line at the ticket window. It's a mini version of a season's pass, hence having Guest Services handle it seems standard to me.
JohnL wrote:
- Evidently the only place you can buy an advantage pass is in guest services, which was a SS. It seems on busy days, Whitetail couzld figure out a way to sell these at the window, or bypass the line or something. They lost a sale, and the potential future business that comes from investing in an Advantage card, because I wasn’t willing to wait 20+ minutes in a huge line.
- WT evidently now has paid valet parking. New to me.
WT has had paid valet parking for years now. I doubt many (any?) of the regular posters here use valet parking, so little mention of it on these forums. Rumor has it that WT wanted valet parking drop-off to be at the bottom of the access road in Clear Spring, MD during snowstorms. (Sorry, that one just never gets old. ;) )
Advantage card used to require a picture taken of the passholder with a special laminated pass made. (And likely still does?) That, along with the extra time needed to fill out the required forms, would make for a pretty miserable experience for those standing behind you in line at the ticket window. It's a mini version of a season's pass, hence having Guest Services handle it seems standard to me.
Perhaps adding a staff member or two temp to Guest Services pass duty when pass line gets excessive would alleviate the problem.
Is there a way to complete paperwork and pay for Adv Pass on line in advance and get picture and pass upon arrival at ski area?
The Colonel
Perhaps adding a staff member or two temp to Guest Services pass duty when pass line gets excessive would alleviate the problem.
Is there a way to complete paperwork and pay for Adv Pass on line in advance and get picture and pass upon arrival at ski area?
The Colonel
You can apply and pay for an advantage card online at any of the SnowTime ski area websites. And you don't even have to go pick it up at the resort you applied through, so if you applied through the Liberty website, you can still pick it up at Roundtop or Whitetail.
You will need to stop at Guest services to get your photo taken and the advantage card printed out if you are not renewing an old advantage card. Renewal of a card can be done online and doesn't require a new picture or a new card.
Keith
You can upload a pic on their website and have card waiting. And if you call and ask real nice they will mail it to you. Be aware website upload process a bit confusing.
