I don't think I'll be able to be able to ski Massanutten this Saturday as I had hoped. If the weather holds up, how long do they usually make snow? The 10-day forecast has a few promising looking nights, particularly leading up to weekends.
Following up -- looks like Massanutten didn't open (m)any blues over the weekend. Are they going to keep making snow? I thought I might be able to go this coming Saturday, but it's not looking good.
wfyurasko wrote:
Following up -- looks like Massanutten didn't open (m)any blues over the weekend. Are they going to keep making snow? I thought I might be able to go this coming Saturday, but it's not looking good.
We skied there Friday night and Saturday and only Showtime was open, unless you count the one terrain park as blue. The two blacks, Diamond Jim and Para Dice were open and they skied really nice, but MAKAttack was not. So it was basically one blue and two blacks.
Since we knew were going I was watching the conditions every day leading up to this past weekend and it just did finally get cold enough to make snow either Thursday or Friday, and they blew from (I think) overnight Thurs/Friday straight through to Saturday mid-afternoon. Not super fun to ski through but if I have to pick between that and sparse coverage I'll take the former every time.
I'm just now looking at the 10-day forecast and it again looks promising for snow-making in the latter part of the week.
https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Massanutten+VA+USVA0962:1:US
I had a good time this past weekend but it definitely would have been better if the rest of the blues and blacks had been open. They just had zero coverage on those runs - nada.
I think they'd be hard pressed to open any of them given what the forecast is showing. Mnut and Wintergreen just don't seem to get the same natural snowfall that the WV resorts do (or even Sugar and Beech in NC for that matter).
Since I probably can't make it to Snowshoe again this season I'll probably have to try a quickie trip to Sugar/Beech or maybe Winterplace. I wish I could take my kids to Wintergreen but they haven't opened much of the Highlands or even all of the Big Acorn side.
OTOH, remember, was it last year or the year before (?) when February sucked but March came roaring in and saved the season. Hoping for a similar March this year.
Keith_Moon wrote:
OTOH, remember, was it last year or the year before (?) when February sucked but March came roaring in and saved the season. Hoping for a similar March this year.
2018 was a dreary spring, but I did get to Whitetail on the 22nd that season because they were still open and I had just been hired to a new job starting the next Monday.
That's disappointing about the blues at Massanutten not opening. It's been a crummy winter around D.C. At least I had a really good day at Elk.
Keith_Moon wrote:
OTOH, remember, was it last year or the year before (?) when February sucked but March came roaring in and saved the season. Hoping for a similar March this year.
March 2017.... snowshoe got 6 feet of snow and reopened lower shays on 100% natural snow... those weekends were some of the best conditions I've ever seen at snowshoe.
Massnutten snow conditions report for 2/18/2020 implies they will be firing up snowguns later this week:
"Mostly cloudy today with some very light precipitation moving in later, highs near 50. Snowmaking temps are forecasted for Wed, Thur, and Friday nights this week."
Mnut has the Snow Moon Fest the first weekend of March. That includes a demo tent by Freestyle of Charlottesville. Something else is planned for the following weekend I think. So I expect snowmaking until then if there are opportunities.
Wintergreen seems like they are committed to snowmaking this week:
"SNOWPOWER returns on tonight with some round the clock snowmaking"
Hopefully they will continue to make snow as conditions allow.
Interesting to see that WT is not blowing snow this morning even though the temp is around 20. They did yesterday when it was around 30 until it go too warm. Not sure if they are trying to give skiers a better experience without snow blowing in their faces thinking it will be a busy day today (probably the last good cold day for a while and a Friday), but I would think they'd be blowing all they could while the temps allow like all the other resorts are.
Winter is back at Massanutten! Snow guns were on all night and I expect them to be on pretty much all day on the upper mountain. Diamond Jim will be closed both Sat and Sun morning for USSA racing, Feb. 22-23.
marzNC wrote:
Winter is back at Massanutten! Snow guns were on all night and I expect them to be on pretty much all day on the upper mountain. Diamond Jim will be closed both Sat and Sun morning for USSA racing, Feb. 22-23.
Is this racing different from what was going on last Saturday? They were racing but non-racers could still go down that slope, just to the side of the racing course but on the same run (Diamond Jim).
Keith_Moon wrote:
marzNC wrote:
Winter is back at Massanutten! Snow guns were on all night and I expect them to be on pretty much all day on the upper mountain. Diamond Jim will be closed both Sat and Sun morning for USSA racing, Feb. 22-23.
Is this racing different from what was going on last Saturday? They were racing but non-racers could still go down that slope, just to the side of the racing course but on the same run (Diamond Jim).
This is the U16/U19 champs for Southern Alpine Racing Assoc (the mid-A region of USSS). For everybody's safety, DJim will be clsosed during this race.
Always a bummer when terrain is closed, especially when not everything else is open but races like this are an important part of the local skiing landscape. Pretty cool the U16/U19 SARA champs are being held at MNUT, glad the weather worked out.
Keith_Moon wrote:
Is this racing different from what was going on last Saturday? They were racing but non-racers could still go down that slope, just to the side of the racing course but on the same run (Diamond Jim).
The Mnut race teams train every weekend. That's when only half of DJ where the gates are places is close, while allowing public skiing on the other half. Several years ago the lower section of DJ was widened to make that possible. When I first started skiing at Mnut, DJ would be closed for a couple hours for race training. But back then Paradice was usually open by Christmas so it wasn't a big deal.
Not having enough cold temps to get Yee Ha and Mass Transit open is what really changes the nature of skiing the upper mountain. With those open, it's much easier for advanced skiers/boarders to go between Lift 5 and Lift 6.
wgo wrote:
Always a bummer when terrain is closed, especially when not everything else is open but races like this are an important part of the local skiing landscape. Pretty cool the U16/U19 SARA champs are being held at MNUT, glad the weather worked out.
My impression is that Mnut has been hosting SARA Championships for quite a while. Apparently the All Class Giant Slalom scheduled for mid-Feb at Wintergreen had to be cancelled due to lack of snow.
PSIA/AASI clinics are scheduled at Massanutten for Feb. 26. That's been happening in late February for quite a while too.
In short, there are a number of reasons that Mnut snowmaking continues well into March when Mother Nature cooperates after Pres. Day.
marzNC wrote:
My impression is that Mnut has been hosting SARA Championships for quite a while. Apparently the All Class Giant Slalom scheduled for mid-Feb at Wintergreen had to be cancelled due to lack of snow.
Ok, thanks. Honestly I think DJ sets up better for racing than anything at Wintergreen. Explains in part why Mnut focuses so much on getting DJ open and keeping it open. Seems like Wisp takes the same approach with Squirrel Cage.
marzNC wrote:
wgo wrote:
Always a bummer when terrain is closed, especially when not everything else is open but races like this are an important part of the local skiing landscape. Pretty cool the U16/U19 SARA champs are being held at MNUT, glad the weather worked out.
My impression is that Mnut has been hosting SARA Championships for quite a while. Apparently the All Class Giant Slalom scheduled for mid-Feb at Wintergreen had to be cancelled due to lack of snow.
The location for champs is rotated among all capable SARA team/mountians. Next weekend Snowshoe hosts the U10/U12/U14 champs.
marzNC wrote:
Keith_Moon wrote:
Is this racing different from what was going on last Saturday? They were racing but non-racers could still go down that slope, just to the side of the racing course but on the same run (Diamond Jim).
Not having enough cold temps to get Yee Ha and Mass Transit open is what really changes the nature of skiing the upper mountain. With those open, it's much easier for advanced skiers/boarders to go between Lift 5 and Lift 6.
Indeed, I really wish those would have been open last weekend, but there wasn't even a trace of snow on them.
Keith_Moon wrote:
marzNC wrote:
Not having enough cold temps to get Yee Ha and Mass Transit open is what really changes the nature of skiing the upper mountain. With those open, it's much easier for advanced skiers/boarders to go between Lift 5 and Lift 6.
Indeed, I really wish those would have been open last weekend, but there wasn't even a trace of snow on them.
I only saw Mass Transit and Yee Ha listed for snowmaking once this season. There have been a few seasons in the past 15 years when those two trails and Upper MakAttack never opened. It's tough when warm temps in Jan and Feb mean having to essentially start over on Geronimo and Lower Showtime. Mnut seems to aim for the longest season practical on core trails, as opposed to being 100% open for only a couple weeks. Most of the Mnut market isn't good enough to ski off Lift 6. Of course, that's one of the key reasons Mnut is my home mountain instead of Wintergreen or Beech or Sugar.
Bonzski wrote:
marzNC wrote:
wgo wrote:
Always a bummer when terrain is closed, especially when not everything else is open but races like this are an important part of the local skiing landscape. Pretty cool the U16/U19 SARA champs are being held at MNUT, glad the weather worked out.
My impression is that Mnut has been hosting SARA Championships for quite a while. Apparently the All Class Giant Slalom scheduled for mid-Feb at Wintergreen had to be cancelled due to lack of snow.
The location for champs is rotated among all capable SARA team/mountians. Next weekend Snowshoe hosts the U10/U12/U14 champs.
Besides Mnut and Snowshoe, what are the other host mountains for the SARA Championships?
marzNC wrote:
Besides Mnut and Snowshoe, what are the other host mountains for the SARA Championships?
Timberline hosted a few years back when the lift broke. I know there were racers in the chairs when this happened.
Great feedback on this thread. While I had hoped to go to Massanutten tomorrow, had I gotten there and found that Diamond Jim closed, I'd have been really upset. The Lift 6 runs are the appeal of Massanutten to me. The view is pretty good too.
It sounds like they gave up on the blues for the season which probably keeps me from going with my 11 y/o. It's a shame, but next year, I'll try to make it happen. It's dependent on who I wind up skiing with more than anything else.
wfyurasko wrote:
Great feedback on this thread. While I had hoped to go to Massanutten tomorrow, had I gotten there and found that Diamond Jim closed, I'd have been really upset. The Lift 6 runs are the appeal of Massanutten to me. The view is pretty good too.
It sounds like they gave up on the blues for the season which probably keeps me from going with my 11 y/o. It's a shame, but next year, I'll try to make it happen. It's dependent on who I wind up skiing with more than anything else.
All depends on what you want. I much prefer to lap Paradice even when DJ is open. DJ should be open by lunch time.
I have skied many days over the last decade with kids and adult intermediates just riding Lift 5 and didn't get bored. I like being able to ride to the top while someone I'm riding with gets off at mid-station. While it's nice when Lower MacAttack and Main Street are open, we tended not ski them very often any way.
marzNC wrote:
wfyurasko wrote:
Great feedback on this thread. While I had hoped to go to Massanutten tomorrow, had I gotten there and found that Diamond Jim closed, I'd have been really upset. The Lift 6 runs are the appeal of Massanutten to me. The view is pretty good too.
It sounds like they gave up on the blues for the season which probably keeps me from going with my 11 y/o. It's a shame, but next year, I'll try to make it happen. It's dependent on who I wind up skiing with more than anything else.
All depends on what you want. I much prefer to lap Paradice even when DJ is open. DJ should be open by lunch time.
I have skied many days over the last decade with kids and adult intermediates just riding Lift 5 and didn't get bored. I like being able to ride to the top while someone I'm riding with gets off at mid-station. While it's nice when Lower MacAttack and Main Street are open, we tended not ski them very often any way.
11 y/o rolled his ankle, so I sadly do not have to take into consideration the slopes availbale for him. That puts Massnutten back in play for next weekend.
wfyurasko wrote:
11 y/o rolled his ankle, so I sadly do not have to take into consideration the slopes availbale for him. That puts Massnutten back in play for next weekend.
Oh dear! My friend's son broke an arm over the holiday weekend. Don't know what that means for their spring break trip to Alta yet. He learned with the help of Mnut ski school starting in first grade and is heading into high school next fall. Could enjoy a lot of challenging Alta terrain last spring.
I'll be at Mnut next weekend. May use the Indy Pass at Bryce on Sat morning, 2/29, but plan to ski Mnut late Sat afternoon into the lights as well as Sun morning before I head back to NC. Given the SkiSE forecast for last next week, could be really good snow conditions.
wgo wrote:
Ok, thanks. Honestly I think DJ sets up better for racing than anything at Wintergreen. Explains in part why Mnut focuses so much on getting DJ open and keeping it open. Seems like Wisp takes the same approach with Squirrel Cage.
Turns out that Wintergreen is hosting the college championships this weekend.
"We welcome the USCSA to Wintergreen on Sat & Sun. There will be 10-12 local colleges participating in the competition. The race will take place on Sunrise which will be closed to the public until the afternoon on Sat & Sun."
Massanutten is holding a party for season passholders on Sun, March 15. I expect them to keep making snow between now and then any time there is cold enough temps.
Late season rates start on March 9. Indy Pass on sale until Feb. 29 for $139 is good for 2 days each at Mnut, Bryce, and Canaan Valley.
Season pass sales for 2020-21 starting on March 1. Bonus for early buyers are two 50% off lift ticket vouchers.
It was 32 degrees as I got to the Massanutten slopes around 5pm. Snow guns were already on for Upper Showtime, Pacesetter, and starting up on DJ and Southern Comfort. Didn't ski, just stopped by to take a look before heading to my condo in the valley. Bonus was finding that the General Store has the new edition of Southern Skiing for sale.
Snowguns on all day on Paradice (stick guns), DJ (fan guns), and Showtime. Very good conditions on Paradice and DJ in the late afternoon. Fresh tracks on the flat section at the top of Paradice after 5pm. Only issue was that it was pretty cold. But that's a good problem to have at this point. Needed extra layers I don't normally wear at Mnut. Should be great tomrrow considering it's early March.
