My work schedule permits a day off. Where will we get the most snow . . . Whitetail, Liberty, Canaan Valley, Wisp, Blue Knob . . .
Weather guessers, I need your thoughts.
fishnski wrote:
im picking Liberty out of the list u mentioned Wgo...
That was wojo not wgo...but now that u mention it I will hopefully be at Massanutten Friday AM!
Help us weather non-followers out. Give me an ideal day and resort (or resorts).
ie. "Friday morning, Liberty" or "Saturday morning, Timberline"
Mr. Fish,
Is this supposed to be a wet snow or dry powdery snow? Sure makes a difference when trying to figure when best to go skiing during/after the storm. Hard to ski in 18"+/- of heavy wet snow?
The Colonel
fish must really be bob leffler. He sent this this morning:
Just a quick heads up regarding the NWS Winter Storm Watch now posted for the possibility of 6 inches or more of snow Wednesday into Thursday. I am quite skeptical that Canaan will receive the 6 inches or more needed to verify NWS Winter Storm criteria for the area. I'm seeing more like 1 to 3 inches...I believe Canaan will be on the western edge of the strong coastal storm. Usually with this type of storm, the Allegheny Front acts as a barrier stopping the snow from getting over it and farther west (where Canaan is)...just the opposite of the usual upslope snows where the Front is the eastern edge.....will issue a more detailed statement around 7 pm tonight.
Your Fearless Canaan Weatherman"
We actually have a real official winter storm warnnig with blaring radio interruptions down here in Durham - it's like winter for christs sake. Last time I looked, Banner Elk was projected to get about 8" of snow. Come on down !
Chaga - does Bob Lefler have a web page or other means to receive his Canaan Valley weather reports?
Thanks
Heh Colonel...thx for asking...Im thinking with this being a blueridge storm (for ski areas)..that the storm will start off cold...bring in some warmer air for awhile but then especially for a higher elevation like Wintergreen bring a surprisingly powder type of snow by the am...but get it fast it wont last.!..
This storm is a real close call for canaan but im thinking that they pull off some canaan magic and pull off a 4 inch mini me dump..
TomH wrote:
Chaga - does Bob Lefler have a web page or other means to receive his Canaan Valley weather reports?
Thanks
no he should maybe though! he just sends to a handful of local business folks who would be impacted by weather. (and added me cuz i work for county schools)
He just updated though and increased his numbers. WBOY evening news also did to 5-10".
"The latest numerical guidance has significantly expanded the precipitation shield west from a potent nor'easter (coastal storm) headed through the mid-Atlantic states Wednesday night into Thursday. Thus some of the western most shield of snow with the system will be forced over the Allegheny Front and into the Canaan and surrounding WV high country.
Specifics:
There will be a rather tight snowfall gradient with this storm, increasing as one moves southeast in Tucker County. Light snow should develop around 8 pm to midnight Wednesday night. Most of the snow should fall between 3 am and 4 pm Thursday, possibly falling at a moderate clip occasionally. When all is said and done later Thursday afternoon or early evening when it tapers off, I expect 3-to-6 inches to accumulate on ground above 3,000 feet like Canaan Valley with south-easternmost locations along the Allegheny Front in Tucker County (Dolly Sods, Roaring Plains, & Mt. Porte Crayon) receiving the most in the area, possibly up to 4-to-8 inches. Farther west and into the lower elevations around Parsons, only an inch or two may accumulate.
I expect two more weaker disturbances to follow this storm with some additional snows Friday afternoon and Sunday. More on those systems and the weekend forecast Thursday evening.
As always, please monitor National Weather Service forecasts for timely updates.
Your Fearless Canaan Weatherman"
fishnski wrote:
NWS just upped the NE Wv Mtns to 5 to 10...Wintergreen will be...or should..be Slammed...dont know How they take care of the roads...might be shut down for a while!
Usually US29 is cleared and treated fairly well. But the road up the mountain to Wintergreen can be a problem. After a blizzard dump a few years ago, there was supposed to be a demo day. I rode up Lift 6 with a rep who gave up and ended up skiing at Massanutten instead.
Nothing in Raleigh . . . yet, as of 8:30am. Schools in Wake County closed for the day. Unfortunately, may end up partially in the ice zone although mostly supposed to be snow.
Guys, do you think it's worth going to either Massanutten or Wintergreen just for Friday's morning? Seem like it will warm up quickly on Friday.. Also, I don't have a 4WD, will I be able to get up to either of those resorts on Friday's morning?
Also, where is the website of Fearless Canaan Weatherman? Does he has one?
chaga wrote:
TomH wrote:
Chaga - does Bob Lefler have a web page or other means to receive his Canaan Valley weather reports?
Thanks
no he should maybe though! he just sends to a handful of local business folks who would be impacted by weather. (and added me cuz i work for county schools)
He just updated though and increased his numbers. WBOY evening news also did to 5-10".
:)
eastcoastrider wrote:
Guys, do you think it's worth going to either Massanutten or Wintergreen just for Friday's morning? Seem like it will warm up quickly on Friday.. Also, I don't have a 4WD, will I be able to get up to either of those resorts on Friday's morning?
Where are you coming from? Massanutten is not too far from Interstate 81 (about 10 miles east on rt 33) and there is not much of a climb once you get to the actual resort. I am guessing it will be a little easier to get to than Wintergreen.
wgo: from Fairfax, VA. It will definitely be easier to get to Mass.. I am also tempted to go to the valley as it's only 30 minutes more than driving to Massanutten from here but seem like Shenandoah will receive more snow than WV Alps for this one.
I am hoping to ride for only 4 hours before it warms up. Seem like the high temp that day will be in the 40's while the low on Thursday's night will be in the 20's. Not really sure how quickly will it warm up.
wgo wrote:
eastcoastrider wrote:
Guys, do you think it's worth going to either Massanutten or Wintergreen just for Friday's morning? Seem like it will warm up quickly on Friday.. Also, I don't have a 4WD, will I be able to get up to either of those resorts on Friday's morning?
Where are you coming from? Massanutten is not too far from Interstate 81 (about 10 miles east on rt 33) and there is not much of a climb once you get to the actual resort. I am guessing it will be a little easier to get to than Wintergreen.
As an individual who has gone and come from both areas during snow events, I would say the nut would be the easiest drive in. the warm up somebody mentioned won't affect the snow too much since it's going to be quite cold Thursday night. You won't be skiing pow-pow on Friday at either place. Look for groomed and it could be fast groomed if the storm dumps goop.
eastcoastrider wrote:
Guys, do you think it's worth going to either Massanutten or Wintergreen just for Friday's morning? Seem like it will warm up quickly on Friday.. Also, I don't have a 4WD, will I be able to get up to either of those resorts on Friday's morning?
You are less likely to have driving issues getting to Mnut than Wintergreen. The road inside Mnut is kept clear by local contractors with pickup trucks fitted with plows. They work all night long if necessary. The sections up to the ski slopes that are a little steep are very short. US33 is a 4-lane, divided US highway that gets the full treatment during snow events. By Friday morning, getting to Wintergreen should be possible depending on how early you plan to get there. But that requires mountain driving for a few miles.
I expect US29 to be fine on Friday morning. I plan to be north of Lynchburg by mid-morning . . . on the way to Mnut with friends. If that hadn't been planned months ago for the holiday weekend, I'd be at Mnut this afternoon. But I'm a retired ski nut living in central NC. :-)
Just for fun . . . pics from the Feb 2010 blizzard at Mnut. I arrived very early in the morning as the snow was starting to come down on Feb. 5. For that storm, I drove the 4x4 pickup. It snowed all day and most of the night. I was aware of the pick up plows that were clearing non-stop.
Feb. 6, 8:30am, outside the Summit unit up on the mountain
Feb. 6, 3:30pm
Feb. 7, 7:30am
Feb. 7, 3:00pm in the owners parking lot near the ski lodge
just a fair warning for you Marylanders!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CEtbfag_-U&feature=player_detailpage
marzNC wrote:
eastcoastrider wrote:
Guys, do you think it's worth going to either Massanutten or Wintergreen just for Friday's morning? Seem like it will warm up quickly on Friday.. Also, I don't have a 4WD, will I be able to get up to either of those resorts on Friday's morning?
You are less likely to have driving issues getting to Mnut than Wintergreen. The road inside Mnut is kept clear by local contractors with pickup trucks fitted with plows. They work all night long if necessary. The sections up to the ski slopes that are a little steep are very short. US33 is a 4-lane, divided US highway that gets the full treatment during snow events. By Friday morning, getting to Wintergreen should be possible depending on how early you plan to get there. But that requires mountain driving for a few miles.
I expect US29 to be fine on Friday morning. I plan to be north of Lynchburg by mid-morning . . . on the way to Mnut with friends. If that hadn't been planned months ago for the holiday weekend, I'd be at Mnut this afternoon. But I'm a retired ski nut living in central NC. :-)
Marz,
Do you take US-29 north to US-33 and head over the Blue Ridge, or do you pick up interstate 64 to interstate 81?
He doesn't need a website, it's posted right here on dcski :) here is his update from this morning:
I'm sticking with my last night's snowfall forecast calling for a very tight southeast to northwest with 4-to-8 inches in the southeast corner of Tucker County, WV to 3-to-6 inches in Canaan and 1-to-2 inches in the Parsons area. I know the National Weather Service has the county under a Winter Storm Warning for 6 to 10 inches but I don't see that.
While there are a couple models predicting this large 6-to-10 inch snowfall amount over Tucker County, I heavily weighted the climatology of these coastal storms. Historically, when Tucker County is near the western edge of the storm's precipitation shield, the Eastern Continental Divide (the Allegheny Front) acts as a high wall to impede further westward movement of the heavier precipitation. The Divide acts as the same wall on upslope events, only in those cases, it's the eastern edge of the mountaintop snows. I may be wrong with this thinking....only time will tell.
With that said, this is a tough call with such small distances producing such large snowfall differences. A small change of 25 miles either way in the storm track could yield the 6-to-10 inches publicly forecast.
Your Fearless Canaan Weatherman"
fishnski wrote:
just a fair warning for you Marylanders!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CEtbfag_-U&feature=player_detailpage
I was working in Annapolis yesterday with a team of people that drove in from a few hours away. They got an email warning that a blizzard was coming and that they all needed to go back home before that happened. It amazes me what a few inches of snow does to the area.
NWS just upped their totals for Mnut: 6-10" tonight and 6-10" on Thursday.
Was asked earlier...and there was some talk on how wet this storm would be and I responded that I thought that it would start out as some good cold snow then the atlantic would warm it up for awhile but by AM thur at an elevation like at Wintergreen it could be a decent type snow...for a little while till it warmed back up during the day....as of 445pm it was 11 degrees at the top of Wintergreen...even colder than i figured!...Summers can be long so.let it Snow..let it blow!
wgo wrote:
Marz,
Do you take US-29 north to US-33 and head over the Blue Ridge, or do you pick up interstate 64 to interstate 81?
From NC, neither. I cut over just north of Lovingston on Rt 6 to Rt 151 to US250 to get over to the Shenandoah Valley. Sometimes I take US340 and sometimes I get on I-64 after crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway.
If you take I-64, can avoid Harrisburg lights by getting off at Exit 235 for Rt 256 to Weyers Cave. Turn left onto Rt 276 - Keezletown Road and that takes you to US33. Flat road with little traffic and a bit shorter, so the amount of driving time is the same.
In Feb. 2010 I dropped off my daughter with friends in Charlottesville and drove over on US33. Snow had started so there was some on the road in the mountains. Not too bad. However, when the friends came a couple days later, they stuck with the Interstate. Still took longer than usual because of the snow still on the road.
AndyGene wrote:
I was working in Annapolis yesterday with a team of people that drove in from a few hours away. They got an email warning that a blizzard was coming and that they all needed to go back home before that happened. It amazes me what a few inches of snow does to the area.
Just spent hours getting home in the Raleigh area, usually takes 30 min. Had an appt that was just a little too late in the day. Everyone who was at work this morning decided to go home at lunch when it started snowing. Every hill on major city streets was a mess with people getting stuck because they were driving too slow. There isn't enough equipment around here to handle widespread snow at 1 inch an hour for several hours. The contrast to what I saw on PA and NY highways this winter is pretty clear.
Driving in Lake Placid last Wed after 6 inches of snow was a piece of cake. Even the sidewalks get cleared up there.
Raleigh is getting sleet now on top of 4-5 inches of snow, with the possibility of freezing rain later. A lot of NC will be shut down until after Friday when things can melt off.
Foot of the light stuff here at T-Line with another 6" due today. Anyone know if T-line opens at 8:00 or 9:00 during the week??
TomH wrote:
Foot of the light stuff here at T-Line with another 6" due today. Anyone know if T-line opens at 8:00 or 9:00 during the week??
...opens at 9 during week, but no reason to hury, the ski report says only 2" last night....
Thanks Tucker. Of course their webpage only says opens at 8:00. Maybe 2" after they groom everything.
..you could be on to something, the snowreport also says 90% of mountain groomed...
Massanutten report says "Powder Day, minimal grooming, 13" overnight, snow continuing through this afternoon" as of 7:30am. Won't be many who get to enjoy it, but those who do will have a blast.
Massanutten report says "Powder Day, minimal grooming, 13" overnight, snow continuing through this afternoon" as of 7:30am. Won't be many who get to enjoy it, but those who do will have a blast.
Edit: hmm . . . now posts are getting duplicated too.
SS claiming 14 with up to 5 more today. This damn work thing is messing up my ski schedule. Damn condo sitting there empty right now.
marzNC wrote:
wgo wrote:
Marz,
Do you take US-29 north to US-33 and head over the Blue Ridge, or do you pick up interstate 64 to interstate 81?
From NC, neither. I cut over just north of Lovingston on Rt 6 to Rt 151 to US250 to get over to the Shenandoah Valley. Sometimes I take US340 and sometimes I get on I-64 after crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway.
If you take I-64, can avoid Harrisburg lights by getting off at Exit 235 for Rt 256 to Weyers Cave. Turn left onto Rt 276 - Keezletown Road and that takes you to US33. Flat road with little traffic and a bit shorter, so the amount of driving time is the same.
In Feb. 2010 I dropped off my daughter with friends in Charlottesville and drove over on US33. Snow had started so there was some on the road in the mountains. Not too bad. However, when the friends came a couple days later, they stuck with the Interstate. Still took longer than usual because of the snow still on the road.
Just noticed that VA DOT has put cameras on US33 at Skyline Drive, as well as at the intersection with US29 north of Charlottesville. So can take a look before deciding whether or not to drive over the mountains that way. Several cameras on I-64 between Charlottesville and I-81.
marzNC wrote:
marzNC wrote:
wgo wrote:
Marz,
Do you take US-29 north to US-33 and head over the Blue Ridge, or do you pick up interstate 64 to interstate 81?
From NC, neither. I cut over just north of Lovingston on Rt 6 to Rt 151 to US250 to get over to the Shenandoah Valley. Sometimes I take US340 and sometimes I get on I-64 after crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway.
If you take I-64, can avoid Harrisburg lights by getting off at Exit 235 for Rt 256 to Weyers Cave. Turn left onto Rt 276 - Keezletown Road and that takes you to US33. Flat road with little traffic and a bit shorter, so the amount of driving time is the same.
In Feb. 2010 I dropped off my daughter with friends in Charlottesville and drove over on US33. Snow had started so there was some on the road in the mountains. Not too bad. However, when the friends came a couple days later, they stuck with the Interstate. Still took longer than usual because of the snow still on the road.
Just noticed that VA DOT has put cameras on US33 at Skyline Drive, as well as at the intersection with US29 north of Charlottesville. So can take a look before deciding whether or not to drive over the mountains that way. Several cameras on I-64 between Charlottesville and I-81.
Cool - what's the URL? I did not see a link to the camers on the VA DOT page.
http://www.511virginia.org has the Skyline Dr. camera. Right now it looks pretty hairy.
dinozaur wrote:
http://www.511virginia.org has the Skyline Dr. camera. Right now it looks pretty hairy.
Thanks. Road conditions page is pretty useful as well:
http://www.511virginia.org/mobile/?menu_id=conditions
The VA 511 website is one of the better ones. PA 511 is helpful too.
Any reports on the roads up to Timberline???
Anyone ski Whitetail today? Looking to see how the roads were in case the Gov is closed tomorrow I would get a day in on the way out to wisp. Either way should be a great wisp weekend.
I called whitetail and they said the roads were being plowed, but we're not great. I asked about after daylight tomorrow from 70 and they said they should be clear. I have something to go to this evening, so I need to sleep a bit, but I'm hoping to be on the slopes by 10 am and gonna hope for the best on the roads. I'm assuming I'm going to have to shovel round two at my driveway before I can leave...
sailandski22 wrote:
Anyone ski Whitetail today? ...
I went for a few hours (a long lunch). I came from north of Whitetail and Blairs Valley Rd. going by the golf course was rough, as were the previous several miles. Much easier going home. Tomorrow the roads will be fine and the slopes will be groomed out. No reason to hurry tomorrow. Even if they leave a run or two un-groomed, it will be really chopped up and heavy. It was surprisingly crowded today - not lift line crowded, but a lot for a midweek powder day.
dinozaur wrote:
http://www.511virginia.org has the Skyline Dr. camera. Right now it looks pretty hairy.
Here's another useful VDOT site to track the progress of plow ops www.vdotplows.org
ParkCrewDrew wrote:
From the Blue Knob website
Feb. 13, 2014 - Open 10am to 9pm
We got 12" to 15" by this afternoon and expecting another 4-6" by tomorrow morning.
We should have everything open tomorrow. Ski patrol is checking very thing out and will open slopes after checking.
That means that the black diamond glades should be opened tomorrow or Sat. at the latest.
Come on up and ski, it's really fantastic conditions.
Warning that Blue Knob often keeps Extrovert closed after new snow in an attempt to get the new snow to bond to the frozen base.
Also, I love BK's glades, but even with over a foot of snow the steeper one's are rock ski only due to erosion. (The snowmaggedon year of 2010 was an exception.)
Well the 12" of natural they alread have + 12" more from this storm. Things should be looking real good at BK.
ParkCrewDrew wrote:
Well the 12" of natural they alread have + 12" more from this storm. Things should be looking real good at BK.
Looks like you are a boarder, so you won't sink in as much. That will help a lot.
Trust me, I've got ton's of miles in those glades, even with 18" storms.
JohnL wrote:
ParkCrewDrew wrote:
Well the 12" of natural they alread have + 12" more from this storm. Things should be looking real good at BK.
Looks like you are a boarder, so you won't sink in as much. That will help a lot.
Trust me, I've got ton's of miles in those glades, even with 18" storms.
oh ok. I just foget that skis don't quite float as much as a snowboard in deeper snow. My peronal rule of thumb is 12" of fluff works in most circumstances. 24" for steeper stuff. Having an old crusty ice base makes it even better.
Blue Knob just updated their Facebook saying 26 of 34 trails are open, but also say "We had several more inches of snow overnight, this in addition to the 12" -15" that we received yesterday!".
Not sure if I should have headed out there this morning or not.
Posting from the expert chair at Massanutten. Snow conditions are good, and the weather is great. Surprisingly crowded: I guess lots of families getting an early start on the holiday weekend.
lifts are slow, but Paradice and DJ are solid runs. Substantially cheaper than the Snotime resorts (without an Advantage card).
dinozaur wrote:
Blue Knob just updated their Facebook saying 26 of 34 trails are open, but also say "We had several more inches of snow overnight, this in addition to the 12" -15" that we received yesterday!".
Not sure if I should have headed out there this morning or not.
| See, this is what's terrible about BK. I've never been because condition reports are always flakey. This morning they say not all trails are open, then they announce mid-afternoon that "34 of 34 slopes and glades open" on their website. Every other resort posts trail reports by 7:30am. Now I regret not going. Meanwhile, Canaan Valley updated their website early morning saying that all trails are open and roads are passable. Get it together BK. |
And I truly doubt they actually drop the ropes on all the glades
was at Blue Knob today, decision to open the rest of the mountain came at 9am.
lots of great stuff ontop of an inch of crust that if you break thru you find the dirt bottom.
still about as good as it gets
firing up the petex welder.
imp
Reisen wrote:
Posting from the expert chair at Massanutten. Snow conditions are good, and the weather is great. Surprisingly crowded: I guess lots of families getting an early start on the holiday weekend.
lifts are slow, but Paradice and DJ are solid runs. Substantially cheaper than the Snotime resorts (without an Advantage card).
I was a whitetail today. (with an advantage card) In general I avoid weekends and tend to ski Fridays, so I usually have walk on or very short lift lines. This place was packed today, from what ski patrol was saying it was at or above usual Saturday crowds. That said conditions were great early and then the snow softened up really quickly as the day went on. Despite the lift lines (even on experts choice) I got in 20 runs on the 4 hr flex, so not a bad day.
On a side note this is the best base I have ever seen there, hopefully they can get another cold stretch after this week and grab at least another month out of the season.
imp wrote:
was at Blue Knob today, decision to open the rest of the mountain came at 9am.
lots of great stuff ontop of an inch of crust that if you break thru you find the dirt bottom.
still about as good as it gets
firing up the petex welder.
imp
Ski on Imp!
dinozaur wrote:
dinozaur wrote:
Blue Knob just updated their Facebook saying 26 of 34 trails are open, but also say "We had several more inches of snow overnight, this in addition to the 12" -15" that we received yesterday!".
Not sure if I should have headed out there this morning or not.
See, this is what's terrible about BK. I've never been because condition reports are always flakey. This morning they say not all trails are open, then they announce mid-afternoon that "34 of 34 slopes and glades open" on their website. Every other resort posts trail reports by 7:30am. Now I regret not going. Meanwhile, Canaan Valley updated their website early morning saying that all trails are open and roads are passable. Get it together BK.
BK spends a lot of time bombing their trails and PA law says they can't fire motar rounds until after dawn. I've found that once things are safe on a trail and avy risk is minimal they tend to get things open. Safety is their number one concern, as it should be. Trails are steep in Western PA, thats for sure...
Fred has posted that 10 more inches are coming between tonight and tomorrow. All the new glades will finally be open!
Reisen wrote:
Posting from the expert chair at Massanutten. Snow conditions are good, and the weather is great. Surprisingly crowded: I guess lots of families getting an early start on the holiday weekend.
lifts are slow, but Paradice and DJ are solid runs. Substantially cheaper than the Snotime resorts (without an Advantage card).
JMU closed for the day. I assume the other schools were closed too. So a lot of locals took advantage of the "snow day" deal. $25 lift tickets.
Did you check out MakAttack off Lift 5?
Had a good time on Geronimo in the evening once it cleared out with my friend's 7yo son. His second ski season and first day on the slopes.
Could get another inch or two tonight. Regardless, it's going to be busy tomorrow.
