Explore decades of original reporting on Mid-Atlantic skiing and snowboarding, including resort news, feature stories, historical retrospectives, and firsthand reports.
How much will it cost to get on the slopes this winter? The question has become surprisingly difficult to answer as date-specific ticket prices, advance-purchase discounts, passes, rentals, lessons, food, and travel send each skier’s total in a different direction. DCSki examines the prices Mid-Atlantic skiers are likely to encounter during the 2026-2027 season and offers some practical ways to keep the bill under control.
By M. Scott Smith | September 1, 2026 Feature Story
Fall brings a different kind of activity to Mid-Atlantic ski resorts, with Oktoberfests, foliage chairlift rides, mountain biking, live music, arts festivals, and even a celebration devoted to Bigfoot. DCSki rounds up some of the events worth checking out this fall as the mountains begin their gradual transition toward winter.
By M. Scott Smith | August 30, 2026 Feature Story
Buying a ski pass used to mean choosing a home mountain. And that was pretty much it. Today, Mid-Atlantic skiers must sort through national products, regional passes, reciprocal agreements, limited-day packages, blackout dates, and prices that change several times before winter. It can be overwhelming! DCSki tries to break through the confusion by examining the leading options for 2026-2027 and the skiers each one serves best.
By M. Scott Smith | August 29, 2026 Feature Story
Skiing has become expensive, but bargains have not disappeared. DCSki looks across the Mid-Atlantic for the season passes, night tickets, family programs, lodging packages, and other offers that can still put skiers on the snow without draining the winter budget.
By M. Scott Smith | August 29, 2026 Feature Story
One of the strongest El Niño events in the modern record is developing ahead of the 2026-2027 ski season, increasing the odds of an active, moisture-rich storm track across the East. DCSki looks at the latest forecasts, lessons from past El Niño winters, and the factors that could determine whether that moisture arrives at Mid-Atlantic ski areas as snow or rain.
By M. Scott Smith | August 27, 2026 Feature Story
In 1996, just after graduating from college and before beginning his career, DCSki’s Editor hiked to Timber Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Nearly 30 years later, on the other side of that career, he returned to the same trail for a sentimental journey through a landscape both familiar and changed — and a chance to reflect on the decades in between.
By M. Scott Smith | August 25, 2026 Feature Story
Before webcams, navigation apps, digital lift passes, and group texts, Mid-Atlantic skiers relied on snow phones, paper trail maps, printed directions, and carefully chosen meeting places. This retrospective recalls the uncertainty and occasional adventure of skiing before the smartphone while considering how modern technology has made trips safer, easier, and better documented.
By M. Scott Smith | August 24, 2026 2 Feature Story
Every winter, Mid-Atlantic skiers scrutinize thermometers and webcams, wondering why the snowguns are silent at their favorite resorts. This feature story steps into the snowmaking control room to explore the weather, water, staffing, financial, and operational calculations behind those decisions -- and why resorts facing seemingly similar conditions sometimes make very different calls.
By M. Scott Smith | August 21, 2026 1 Feature Story
Mid-Atlantic ski resorts are preparing for the 2026-2027 winter season with new lifts, expanded snowmaking systems, improved skier facilities, and major lodging projects. DCSki takes a closer look at the enhancements and upgrades underway across the region at resorts such as Seven Springs, Wisp, Wintergreen, Snowshoe, and Massanutten.
By M. Scott Smith | August 19, 2026 3 What's New
After purchasing Snowshoe in 1995, Intrawest invested heavily in new lifts, terrain, snowmaking, lodging, and a mountaintop village. Featuring newly scanned photographs of the Western Express installation, this retrospective revisits the excitement surrounding Snowshoe’s transformation and the real-estate-driven strategy behind it.
By M. Scott Smith | August 16, 2026 1 Feature Story
