With the cold spell that looks to hit starting next Sunday for a few days what do people think the chances that Whitetail and Liberty will attempt to make a good bit of snow? They both have pretty good bases right now and a good 48 hours or so of snowmaking could really build their bases up to stay open again through late March.
Laurel is making snow now!!!!!!!!!!!!
imp wrote:
Laurel is making snow now!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is a good sign! They must be getting enough skier visits to make it worth while.
Whitetail, Liberty, and Roundtop have all said they will be making snow tonight. Just check they're websites - they're pretty good about saying when snow will be made.
I may hit the slopes again yet. How long does Massanutten keep blowing snow?
As I type this, Whitetail is making snow.
wfyurasko wrote:
I may hit the slopes again yet. How long does Massanutten keep blowing snow?
I've seen Mnut blow snow into mid-March if the forecast leading up to a weekend is promising. Late season rates start March 4. I would expect them to be open for at least two weekends after that. Assuming no huge warm up. The special discount for military, police, firefighters, etc. is on March 10
Massanutten Heroes on the Hill Ski Day
March 10, 2019 | FREE slope-use ticket with any valid military, police, firefighter, or EMT ID! Police, Firefighters, EMTs, Active Military, Non-Active Military, Veterans, and their dependents receive a slope-use ticket (up to 4 passes total). Must present valid military, police, firefighter, or EMT ID for discount.
Snowshoe making snow!!!
Go go Canaan Valley..blasting snow Feb 26!!...heck of a cold snap coming in.and this time canaan isn't laying down like the past..love it!!!....
That is really interesting to see CVR making snow now when normally they don't after President's Day weekend, though their natural snow totals are way down this year I imagine. If resorts continue to make snow through the cold spell starting on Sunday it should be another great March for skiing in this area even if temps warm up some. Last year at this time the bases all looked awful from such a warm February and some of the resorts really did a ton of snowmaking in early March which carried them through until the end of the month. This year's bases everywhere are so much better and could really be solidified with solid snowmaking for the final weeks of the season.
mdr227 wrote:
....what do people think the chances that Whitetail and Liberty will attempt to make a good bit of snow?
Since we're all just guessing among friends here, I'll say that 2 of those 3 will close on the second Sunday of March, 3/17. One will stay open one or two more weeks. My "opening" guess was about 10 days off in December. Hopefully I can recoup all I lost in the DCSki pool from December. I think snowmaking going forward is more about re-surfacing and covering the unattractive non-white spots than it is for base building. There are parts of Whitetail & Liberty where the base is more than a yardstck deep, and other spots where dirt is poking through in the middle of a run. I saw the dirt last night, and sure it got covered up overnight w/ fresh blasts.
I think Roundtop will be the last to close, given they have the deepest base of the 3. They've also seemed to be more aggressive in their snowmaking this year. I haven't been to Whitetail since Christmas, so I can't comment on their base, but I don't think Liberty has as much snow as they're claiming. My last visit saw a lot of thin spots and brown snow. Up until the last snow storm, I was still seeing some of them on the back side on the webcams.
I don't know that ST resorts will close early this year, especially if they have the cold weather to keep snow down. We had a very crappy start to the season this year. Whitetail only had 9 trails open over the holidays, and Liberty and Roundtop were barely open. Whitetail limped a long, with Roundtop and Liberty unable to hang on until we got mid-January's cold snap. They lost a month which is killer, plus they really couldn't do much with the very lucrative Christmas holiday week. That's a huge profit hit.
Then we also had the government shutdown. While it didn't affect season pass holders as much, it hurt the typical day tripper as money they might have had to take a day or two on the slopes was now needed to meet basic needs. Some people were whining about WT and others not giving discounts or free skiing to the furloughed workers :rolleyes:
I don't know about RT and Liberty, but WT said they had some of the furloughed workers working temp jobs around the mountain, and they got free skiing while they worked.
So, I'm thinking we'll see a bit longer season this year, mainly to try to make up for the crappy start.
Laurel made some snow low on the mountain and the mound at the top of the lift is huge. Skiing should be good into March. It all depends on Mother Nature as snowmaking winds down at most spots. I think Laurel will close because of lack of skiers not lack of snow. It was groomer heaven today, even had some sunshine.
Tomorrow should soften up a bit.
7springs made good amounts of snow overnight and till about noon today. Nice groomer runs. Icy if you get off the groomed spots.
These updates on snowmaking efforts are one of many features that make the DCSki group such a great Mid-A ski community. I'm hoping that predictions of extending the season beyond mid-March are correct, and I agree that the season's poor start may provide an incentive to our region's areas to stay open longer than they might otherwise.
Many thanks!
Woody
I hope wintergreen takes advantage of the snowmaking opportunity. I was there this AM. Coverage still good, but with the extended snowmaking chances next week I am sure they could push well into March.
Peak owns the ST family of resorts, now. In the past there appeared to be a gentlemen's agreement between the mountain managers as to which of the 3 would remain open longest. Now that these mountains are part of a larger operating group, I would imagine that the new ownership would have more to say about when/ if to close; in addition to when/ if to make new snow. In general, all of the former ST owned resorts closed with a lot of snow. Which leads to the observation that some years closure came only as a result of diminished workforce and guests, weeks went by (sometimes with natural snowfall) with enough base to mock those of us who live at the foot of the hills. If any of us were upset by the delayed opening in December, we should make our voices heard through strong use of these local hills in late March. It can be tough to think about skiing when grass is greening and warm season sports have begun, but at 90-100 days, we should enjoy our short and bittersweet skiing seasons to the maximum!
yotestang wrote:
... Which leads to the observation that some years closure came only as a result of diminished workforce and guests, weeks went by (sometimes with natural snowfall) with enough base to mock those of us who live at the foot of the hills. If any of us were upset by the delayed opening in December, we should make our voices heard through strong use of these local hills in late March. It can be tough to think about skiing when grass is greening and warm season sports have begun, but at 90-100 days, we should enjoy our short and bittersweet skiing seasons to the maximum!
Great observation. Laurel finished its snowmaking last night. High use Deer Path got the most loving as did the chair load/unload area. A great white snow whale awaits at the top for deployment. Top of the mountain saw some loving too.
It was in the 40s today with lots of sunshine .When I at closing Lower Wildcat never softened up.
Bases are deep on all trails. We'll see who shows up to take advantage. I know I will.
yotestang wrote:
.....but at 90-100 days, we should enjoy our short and bittersweet skiing seasons to the maximum!
Fully agree.
ST/Peak opened on Dec 22, so to get to 90 days is Mar 22-ish, which is a typical good year (3rd Sunday), with lesser years closing the Sunday prior.
With such a good cold spell next week if the ST resorts can make snow for a night or two to freshen up the base and help with any of the thaw/freeze that may occur this weekend they can all easily stay open until March 17 (if not later) with all of their trails open. Through next weekend temps will remain in the 30s/40s max and even after that doesn't appear to be a big warmup, just gradual. Next week could be some of the best skiing of the season locally especially if the PA resorts get some natural snow on Sunday night. What will be nice for those of us going without kids is the crowds midweek should be really light as there likely won't be any school cancellations other than possibly on Monday in some areas.
Wintergreen's latest blog post talks about skiing well into March, so that's encouraging.
camp wrote:
yotestang wrote:
.....but at 90-100 days, we should enjoy our short and bittersweet skiing seasons to the maximum!
Fully agree.
ST/Peak opened on Dec 22, so to get to 90 days is Mar 22-ish, which is a typical good year (3rd Sunday), with lesser years closing the Sunday prior.
I think that's a bit of an oversimplification. While the mountains "opened" on Dec 22, WT was the only one that had a good bit that was actually skiable (2 blues and most of the beginner terrain open over Christmas at WT). RT had a fair amount, and Liberty only opened with 3. WT was also the only one that managed to stay open nearly the entire time until mid January, with a day here or there. RT had closed a good bit of that time, and Liberty was only open a few days.
What we had until mid-January at ST resorts is what can be described as preseason football. The "real" season didn't start until mid-January when the snow gods finally blessed us with cold temps to sustain snowmaking long enough to get a lot open.
ST essentially lost a month, with a big holiday week in there, and additional pain with the gov't shutdown. I think they'll need to stay open as long as they can to salvage the season from a financial standpoint. Good new for us with extra time on the slopes.
Snowshoe closing around 3/24 makes sense for them. They had much better snowmaking weather in the early season, a great snowmaking system and were able to cover things very quickly and very well. They were able to make their money when others weren't - and perhaps even was able to do better due to the other mountains' misfortunes. Given its remoteness, it makes sense as more of a destination or weekend place. Demand falls off with fewer people willing to take a ski vacation that late in the season - and you have a recipe for not needing to stay open.
ST hills are close enough that people could skip work and take a snow day - or get some runs in after work plus have the normal DC/Baltimore day trip crowd. I think the demand can stay with them a lot longer and make a later closing more viable.
superguy wrote:
Snowshoe closing around 3/24 makes sense for them. They had much better snowmaking weather in the early season, a great snowmaking system and were able to cover things very quickly and very well. They were able to make their money when others weren't - and perhaps even was able to do better due to the other mountains' misfortunes. Given its remoteness, it makes sense as more of a destination or weekend place. Demand falls off with fewer people willing to take a ski vacation that late in the season - and you have a recipe for not needing to stay open.
I agree, every time I looked at the Boathouse Webcam the Ballhooter lift was busy - even on week days. If their numbers are near mine, they had one of their best seasons. My condo was booked EVERY night from 12/16 - 2/28. ZERO vacancies. And my calendar shows only 3 open nights in March.
Selfishly, I hope they do extend. I live on the PA/OH border and the weather will basically suck here until mid April. I may as well go skiing in Snowshoe on the 3/31 weekend.
It is my hope that with the changing annual conditions and resorts taking longer to ramp up to getting all their terrain open, that they'll be trying harder to keep the lifts spinning well in to and possibly through March when possible. If we could only have great late spring skiing conditions without huge crowds, that will be excellent. Can I have it both ways? LOL! If they continue to build it but critical, walk up ticket paying critical mass does NOT come, they won't keep building it.
Check out the webcams during mid-week. Even though today is a beautiful day, 7S/HV/LM are empty. Mid-week skiing at these resorts will end sometime soon. Nobody shows up.
Anybody know how Winterplace might fare as far as late season snowmaking goes? At this point will they even make any more?
Keith_Moon wrote:
Anybody know how Winterplace might fare as far as late season snowmaking goes? At this point will they even make any more?
Haven't followed Winterplace in quite a while in terms of snowmaking after Pres. Day weekend. They usually do something special for Boy Scouts the first weekend of March so definitely try to have enough snow for that weekend.
Did have a very good late season trip about 10 years ago with my daughter and her friend. I skied with the girls from 9:00-11:30, took a long lunch that included a horse trail ride at the nearby WV State Park where we had a cabin for the weekend, then we skied from 4:00-8:00 under the lights. After the sun went down, the soft snow set up very nicely. Day time temps were in the 60s.
Midweek skiing has always been sparse there. That's nothing new - even with 7S being more of a "destination" spot that others.
superguy wrote:
Midweek skiing has always been sparse there. That's nothing new
I think that is probably true for most Mid-A resorts. Wintergreen and Massanutten have always been empty midweek when I have gone there, regardless of whether it was December, January, February, or March.
For those here who are oriented a bit more to the south, Sugar, Beech, Cataloochee, Appalachian, Wintergreen and Winterplace are all blowing right now. I'll be heading up to WP this weekend.
Wintergreen was blowing snow yesterday too, I would take that to mean they are going to try to stay open at least through the 23/24.
Was up at Whitetail for a quick trip this morning (amazing how many runs you can get in there starting right at 8:30 on a weekday) and it looks like they may be done for the season with snowmaking unless they blow some tomorrow or Thursday. I think the 5 inches of natural snow was enough that they didn't need to blow any during this cold spell. The crowds were light, but better than I thought they would be. Perfect day to be out there with bright sun, temps in the 20s, little wind and great snow conditions.
Seven Springs is still making snow. Guns were on yesterday afternoon when stopped by Willi's to burn some store credit.
Wisp was blowing all day yesterday and today. Have to give them credit, quite the turnaround from two years ago when they threw in the towel.
RodneyBD wrote:
Wisp was blowing all day yesterday and today. Have to give them credit, quite the turnaround from two years ago when they threw in the towel.
I remember that. The must have gotten some pretty negative feedback. Good to see the more aggressive approach this year.
Keith_Moon wrote:
For those here who are oriented a bit more to the south, Sugar, Beech, Cataloochee, Appalachian, Wintergreen and Winterplace are all blowing right now. I'll be heading up to WP this weekend.
Wintergreen for me midweek for a half day.
So many resorts making snow still this morning (7springs, SS, Massanutten, Wintergreen, Wisp, etc.) and many of those places had some good natural snow lately along with potential snow on Friday. Massanutten has said it will try and remain open through the 24th and you have to imagine most of the other resorts will too unless there is a huge warm spell that turns people away. They will all certainly have plenty of snow still. I can't remember this late in the season (even the cold March we had last year) where so many places still have 100% of their terrain open and the conditions are still so good.
Wintergreen was great yesterday! A brief report and a few pics can be found over at pugski:
It's official, Mnut will be open March 22-24. Daily Ops end Monday, March 18.
UPDATED 08:29am 03/08/2019
We plan to operate daily through Mar 18, close Mar 19-21, and re-open Mar 22-24. Please check back here for any updates or changes.
Laurel is aiming for daily operations until March 17 and should easily reach that goal. Maybe weekend ops after that depending mostly on demand. I think there is enough snow to last much longer. 7S will go into April.
Conditions were good last weekend at Wisp, and have probably gotten better since then. I-68 cameras from this morning seemed to show some snow so hopefully they'll get a bit more. Can they stay oprn through April 7? Doubtful but I can dream.
Also talked to a snowmaker here. They won't be making snow tonight and he thinks they're done for the season, but he said that's not etched in stone. Most of the portable snow guns are put away but there are still some around and hooked up.
Blue Knob was still making snow as of this morning, shown on their FB page.
Liberty was showing thinning on its webcams on the back side. I bet they'll be the first ST resort to close. I think Roundtop could last into April with its base.
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