For Dec 20 at 2:00:

I looked at cams in WV, VA, MD and Western PA:

Snowshoe easily has most on slope activity, incl line at Ballhooter lift.

Next comes Massanutten

3rd is Wintergreen and 7Springs

All the rest have not much activity

will be interesting to see activity at Laurel Mt. tomorrow

Be sure to put your slope report on DCSki when you finish skiing/boarding each day

Merry Christmas!

MorganB

Whitetail today from 1 to 4:30.  Slopes were empty and the snow was tasty!  There are several features in the park, jumps rails, ramps . . .  Homerun, Angel and Fanciful were open.  Road the lifts with several folks who had over 3 days alread!  There was a very nice roller on skiers left on Homerun that made if a lot of fun.  Wanted to swing by Sidewinder, but they were blowing on the green hill and I did not want to ride the slow lift through the snow!!  Looks like they will open Exhibition and Snowpark tomorrow, they had groomers ready to go.  

SO HAPPY TO SKI BEFORE CHRISTMAS.19 RUNS, 35.4 MPH, 16.9 K OF VERT ON DAY ONE :-)  

wojo wrote:

Whitetail today from 1 to 4:30.  Slopes were empty and the snow was tasty!  There are several features in the park, jumps rails, ramps . . .  Homerun, Angel and Fanciful were open.  Road the lifts with several folks who had over 3 days alread!  There was a very nice roller on skiers left on Homerun that made if a lot of fun.  Wanted to swing by Sidewinder, but they were blowing on the green hill and I did not want to ride the slow lift through the snow!!  Looks like they will open Exhibition and Snowpark tomorrow, they had groomers ready to go.

SO HAPPY TO SKI BEFORE CHRISTMAS.19 RUNS, 35.4 MPH, 16.9 K OF VERT ON DAY ONE :-) 

I was also at WT from noon to 4.  I'm not as young as I once was so I feel a need to break myself in on the easy slope so I rode through the blizzard of snowmaking to Sidewinder which is a very gentle trail and made cruising enjoyable.  After that, I spent the day on Fanciful and Angel Drop which were in fine shape and mostly empty.  There were a few times where there was someone in front of me at the lift line but we're talking less than 20 second waits on those few occaisions.  It was fantastic.  And they have announced that SnowPark and Exhibition are now open.

I have no idea how many runs I made - how to you get those stats you posted?

The Colonel wrote:

For Dec 20 at 2:00:

I looked at cams in WV, VA, MD and Western PA:

Snowshoe easily has most on slope activity, incl line at Ballhooter lift.

MorganB

Agree - a lot more folks than I expected for mid week

Ballhooter Time Lapse

Pretty good sized line at the bottom of Ballhooter lift.

wgo wrote:

Pretty good sized line at the bottom of Ballhooter lift.

and you can ski right up to both lifts at Silver Creek at 3:30.  IMO, SS does a poor job of directing "traffic" towards Silver Creek.

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

wgo wrote:

Pretty good sized line at the bottom of Ballhooter lift.

and you can ski right up to both lifts at Silver Creek at 3:30.  IMO, SS does a poor job of directing "traffic" towards Silver Creek.

Sssssssssshhhhhhhhhhh !

Woody

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

wgo wrote:

Pretty good sized line at the bottom of Ballhooter lift.

and you can ski right up to both lifts at Silver Creek at 3:30.  IMO, SS does a poor job of directing "traffic" towards Silver Creek.

They were in the process of installing a TV down by Ballhooter, look behind the go pro tarp. I suspect it will eventually show a webcam loop that includes the silver creek camera 

Yes! The TV is installed and active, but it cycled through all of the cams at SS and SilverCreek, as well as promoted activities/events at SS, so I don't see it being a big nudge to people to go to Silver Creek.

I was at SC all day.....longest lift line was less than 10 deep.

Pretty substantial line at the ballhooter lift, per the web cam. More than I would expect on a non-holiday midweek day.

To get more people over to SC there they need faster lifts in SC and faster and more frequent shuttles.  Maybe a gondi from the lakeshore to SC, that woudl be cool.  Right now it is a significant effort and chunk of time to make the transition, at least it feels that way.   

and no one at T-line or CVR,  I enjoy Snowshoe but never get that discrepancey in visitor numbers

pagamony wrote:

To get more people over to SC there they need faster lifts in SC and faster and more frequent shuttles.  Maybe a gondi from the lakeshore to SC, that woudl be cool.  Right now it is a significant effort and chunk of time to make the transition, at least it feels that way.   

Totally agree. Herding skiers on crappy old school buses is a PITA.  Takes forever to load / unload the bus.  They should have an express service to / from the Boathouse to SC.  No other stops.

pagamony wrote:

To get more people over to SC there they need faster lifts in SC and faster and more frequent shuttles.  Maybe a gondi from the lakeshore to SC, that woudl be cool.  Right now it is a significant effort and chunk of time to make the transition, at least it feels that way.   

Not sure it's the slow lifts at SC that keeps people away.  I feel it's more about convienence of basin trails to their beds, and yes the PITA time suck bus ride.  Most people don't go but those that do seem to like the trail variety, quality, etc.  A gondi to/from SC would be effective...from lake or Shavers center.

What would you say is the average time lost assoicated with taking the shuttle to SC? Will be there with my family in a couple weeks (Monday/Tuesday) and we would like to ski SC, but I am thinking we will just drive over after lunch on the second day. Otherwise we will employ the basic line avoidance strategies previously described in these forums.

I agree a gondi would be cool, but I cannot imagine that ever happening.

wgo wrote:

What would you say is the average time lost assoicated with taking the shuttle to SC?

Depending on where you load and the crowds it could be 30+ mins.  It's such a shit show.  The guy that wants off the first stop is usually sitting in the last seat and vice versa.  It turns into a fire drill moving bodies all over, trying to walk up / down those narrow bus steps in ski boots carrying skis and poles.

Don't forget the "Jones family" on their annual ski trip.  Little Johnny can't carry his stuff so dad is bogged down.  His sister Mary is cold / crying and Mommy is about ready to lose her marbles as they stumble along in everyone's way.

I should not be like this but every time I take that shuttle it seems like a cluster f**k.   

I've driven in the past but I believe they charge for parking now.  

Maybe others have had better experiences and I'm turning into a bitter old ski snob????

I do believe they charge for parking at SC. When I was there last year I swung by SC on the drive down just to take a look. It appeared to me that the closer you parked to the slopes the more it cost. I am not sure if there was a "free" area.

They do charge for parking. I was there last year and I turned around and left because it was to expensive in my opinion. It may have been $20. Correct me if I'm wrong on that.

Ballhooter line is growing at noon .......  but at least it started to snow :)

http://citynet.net/snowshoe/cam.cfm?feed=3

wgo wrote:

What would you say is the average time lost assoicated with taking the shuttle to SC? Will be there with my family in a couple weeks (Monday/Tuesday) and we would like to ski SC, but I am thinking we will just drive over after lunch on the second day. Otherwise we will employ the basic line avoidance strategies previously described in these forums.

A Mon/Tues won't be as bad as what BlueDon described which is typical for weekends & holidays. SS is aware of the problem, Frank (SS Pres) was at the village bus stop several evenings last week herding the cattle. It's always good to see sr management getting involved.

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

 trying to walk up / down those narrow bus steps in ski boots carrying skis and poles.
 

Are you saying that the shuttle buses aren't even outfitted with a rack on the outside to carry skis?

wgo wrote:

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

 trying to walk up / down those narrow bus steps in ski boots carrying skis and poles.
 

Are you saying that the shuttle buses aren't even outfitted with a rack on the outside to carry skis?

If I recall some may not and the ones that do - do not have the capacity for each person on the bus when it is full.

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

wgo wrote:

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

 trying to walk up / down those narrow bus steps in ski boots carrying skis and poles.
 

Are you saying that the shuttle buses aren't even outfitted with a rack on the outside to carry skis?

If I recall some may not and the ones that do - do not have the capacity for each person on the bus when it is full.

I noticed they added more racks this year, including slots for boards.  Twin tip skis still can be a problem.