My son instructs at Liberty. He told me this morning (he was at Liberty Sat and Sun) that yesterday Feb 16, 2014, for the first time ever, all three Snowtime resorts sold out of all rental equipment and were so crowded they had to stop selling lift tickets. All three mtns were at full capacity at the same time.
Great for the resorts and now I feel much better about staying at home this weekend helping my wife with chores around the house:-)
My daughter was at Liberty yesterday and told me how crowded it was. They were even extending lift tickets. She said the lines on the backside were even crazy long. I am glad I stayed at home as well. I will be skiing on Tuesday though :)
Saturday and Sunday were both absolute crazy days at Whitetail. As JimK posted they sold out of rental equipment and before that the rental lines wrapped around the deck of the rental building out to almost the Magic carpet on Northern Lights. I cannot comment on the lines for the lift as I only got 1 run in from the top all weekend but the snow at the end of the day Saturday on that 1 run was still very good considering the crowds.
I went out on Friday as well. I have to say it was probably the best conditions I ever saw Whitetail. The morning before 11:00 AM was incredible!
My buddies house in Davis Wv......Wv Alpps in all its Glory!!
I can assure you that Thursday morning was better.
itdoesntmatter wrote:
I went out on Friday as well. I have to say it was probably the best conditions I ever saw Whitetail. The morning before 11:00 AM was incredible!
Epic conditions this past weekend at Timberline (and I missed the likely deepest days of Thursday and Friday.) It was ski anywhere and ski everywhere with fantastic deep pow in the trees (and trails earlier in the week.) 30 inches of snow fell in five days, on top of a bomber base.
It was busy on Saturday and Sunday, but I'm sure it was lot more manageable than most other Mid Atlantic areas. I got tons of runs in both days, with lift lines I'd say in the 5-10 minute range at worst. Mornings were quiet. I did quit at 3 PM on Saturday since beers were calling and I'm a lift line snob.
As always, President's Day (Monday) and the place was empty. Mostly it was ski right onto the lift with at most 3-4 peeps in front of you.
Timberline paid their bills and a bunch of us got in tons of great skiing. Nothing wrong with that.
itdoesntmatter wrote:
I went out on Friday as well. I have to say it was probably the best conditions I ever saw Whitetail. The morning before 11:00 AM was incredible!
I was out there friday as well. Unfourtenely I didn't get there until 10:30, my first hour was absolutely amazing (almost the best I've conditions I've seen there), and then the place became packed and the snow got quite soft. But I can't complain, the crowds and snow conditions encouraged me to mix up my trails a bit more than usual. (I usually spend most of my runs on Fanciful and Farside)
I heard ski patrol say there were more people there Friday afternoon than they have had on some Saturdays this year. This is the first time I have been there where I have had to wait in lift lines (10 mins WT Express, ~5 on the backside, and I would guess ~15-20 on Ez Rider), and honestly the lift capacity there is very appropriate for the trails they have. I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe on the trails.
From some of the posts above it sounds like the crowds only got worse over the weekend.
Certainly plenty of people at Massanutten this weekend. Lift lines for the two beginner lifts at the base got to be 15-20 min from 12:30-3:00. Per usual, not as much to deal with on Lift 5 and 6. Cleared out enough by 3:30 for my friends who are beginners to have a good time with their kids. Ski school for kids was full all three days.
Monday was great. Snow conditions were very good since it stayed cold Sunday and didn't warm up beyond mid-30s today. Pretty much no lift lines to worry about anywhere. Since a lot of VA schools were open to make up for too many snow days, that kept the numbers down lower than usual for a holiday Monday. Perfect conditions for beginner parents to enjoy skiing with their kids who learned plenty in two days of ski school.
The family and I were out at Whitetail on Saturday. Got there late (10:30) and the line for tickets streched out to the valet parking station! Luckily the line moved very fast and next thing we were on the slope. For how many people were there, the lift lines seemed to move quickly (high speed and expert), which was quite a surprise. On slope traffic didn't seem too bad either (as long as you timed your descent between the waves of youths). All and all, a very good day!
[Someone told me that the lift lines at Timberline were descent once you had your ticket (45 minute wait!) (not sure what day that was).]
Our family was at whitetail on Sunday. Get there around 9:30 and wait in traffic to parking lot for about 20 min. 50min. in line for tickets and another hour to get the rental stuff and on. We stepped on the snow at 12 sharp. Stayed in the EZ area the whole day (untill almost 9:30), was never line-free at the lift even after 9 pm. The kids (the younger one is 4) didn't complain and still had a lot of fun, but I wish I have stayed at home.
JennyL wrote:
Our family was at whitetail on Sunday. Get there around 9:30 and wait in traffic to parking lot for about 20 min. 50min. in line for tickets and another hour to get the rental stuff and on. We stepped on the snow at 12 sharp. Stayed in the EZ area the whole day (untill almost 9:30), was never line-free at the lift even after 9 pm. The kids (the younger one is 4) didn't complain and still had a lot of fun, but I wish I have stayed at home.
Glad your kids had a good time. As you've learned, it pays to get up earlier to beat the lines. The ticket window and rentals usually open an hour before the lifts start running. Being early also means no parking hassle. Better to eat breakfast or have a snack in the lodge while waiting for the lifts to open, than waiting in lines.
Where do you drive from? I gather Roundtop may be a bit farther for those who live in DC, but it's not as crowded as Whitetail. Good place for beginners I think.
marzNC wrote:
JennyL wrote:
Our family was at whitetail on Sunday. Get there around 9:30 and wait in traffic to parking lot for about 20 min. 50min. in line for tickets and another hour to get the rental stuff and on. We stepped on the snow at 12 sharp. Stayed in the EZ area the whole day (untill almost 9:30), was never line-free at the lift even after 9 pm. The kids (the younger one is 4) didn't complain and still had a lot of fun, but I wish I have stayed at home.
Glad your kids had a good time. As you've learned, it pays to get up earlier to beat the lines. The ticket window and rentals usually open an hour before the lifts start running. Being early also means no parking hassle. Better to eat breakfast or have a snack in the lodge while waiting for the lifts to open, than waiting in lines.
Where do you drive from? I gather Roundtop may be a bit farther for those who live in DC, but it's not as crowded as Whitetail. Good place for beginners I think.
+1 for this! This past weekend was crazy busy at Whitetail and even at 8:30 the lineup on Blairs Valley Road was starting and only got worse by the minute. If you have to do rental gear I would definitely recommend getting an early start if possible as it will really cut down on the stress of the huge crowds in the rental building and chances are if you have any issues with the boot size, ski size etc it will be much easier/faster to get the issue resolved than waiting until later.
Glad your kids had a good time and I would definitely suggest coming again any of the remaining weekends, the snow will still be there but not the huge crowds.
Regardless of where you ski, I would avoid renting at the resort - try to rent off mountain, the day before if possible. Things may go smoothly if you rent at the resort, but why take the chance? Much less stressful to find your closest ski shop and rent from there.
I ski Timberline and JohnL reported correctly. Ski school set records as did lift ticket sales for saturday afternoon. I understand that Whitegrass set nord records both Saturday and Sunday with 700 and 745 respectfully. The valley was full but the conditions were epic. I expect conditions to remain excellent even if a little rain must fall later this week. Looking forward to the next six weeks or more.
[Someone told me that the lift lines at Timberline were descent once you had your ticket (45 minute wait!) (not sure what day that was).]
Likely Saturday. At lunch, I looked out the lodge window and saw a massive line; I guessed it was for the lift tickets. One of the many perks of a season's pass. (I'm sure the lines for rentals were pretty bad also.)
Me and the 4 year old skied Blue Knob Saturday. Snow snow everywhere, he had a great time in ski school and daddy had a great time skiing just about anywhere I could point my skis. And absolutely stunned at the lack of crowds - maybe the Friday night weather turned some people off? We skied Whitetail on Sunday (and arrived 11am, ouch). I knew it would be bad - kind of like visiting Disney on spring break, you just resign yourself to dealing with the chaos. I was suprised that while the lift lines were long everyone was pretty civilized and things moved along relatively well. We shared a chair with another Dad and son who had skied Wintergeeen Saturday and they said the lift lines there were hell. The parking lot at Whitetail, however, was a disaster. They ran out of spaces, a hundred cars driving were circling looking for a spot and still had a huge line up to turn left off Blair Valley Rd. Total lack of planning and oversight. We parked at the golf course and took the employee shuttle, worked like a charm.
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