Mid-Atlantic/Southeast skiing (PA, NJ, DC, MD, VA, WV, NC) for 2021-22

[marzNC]

Massanutten will make snow when temperatures allow in the next few days. Presumably to have some new snow to help the usual thin areas on Lower Showtime and Easy Street (Geronimo). When I left on Tuesday morning, the slopes were looking whiter than before because relatively new snow whales had been groomed out.

MASSANUTTEN SNOW CONDITIONS
UPDATED 07:34am 03/10/2022

Fog clearing to sunshine with highs in the mid 40's. Skiing and riding on 14 of 18 trails today with some narrow spots, ski with caution. Overnight temps dipped low enough for some quality grooming with snowmaking temps in the forecast for this weekend. We are planning to make snow this weekend and plan to ski and ride daily until Mar 20. Late season rates apply. Snow Tubing is closed on Wed and Thur this week.

Groomers smoothing out Upper MakAttack on March 8, 2022

 

[Mudgirl630]

While it's still pretty warm around my house, the leaves are starting to turn in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast mountains. Time to start news and discussion for the 2021-22 ski season related to skiing/boarding in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, southern New York, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, or North Carolina.

NC: Sugar, Beech, Appalachian, Cataloochee

VA: Massanutten, Wintergreen, Bryce
MD: Wisp
WV: Snowshoe, Canaan Valley, Timberline, Winterplace

PA, western: Blue Knob, Seven Springs, Hidden Valley, Laurel Mountain
PA, closest to DC: Liberty, Roundtop, Whitetail
PA, eastern: Elk, Montage, Jack Frost, Blue, Camelback, Bear Creek, Big Boulder

NY Catskills: Belleayre, Hunter, Windham, Plattekill

For the Mid-Atlantic discussion for 2020-21, click here.
Notes from Summer 2021 are here.

Southeast skiing? Sounds oxymoron.....

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

Impromptu trip to Liberty today. Front side of Liberty is losing snow at spots fast. Lower blue streak is closed. White Lightning is closed. The back side looks better but also has bare spots. Because of the slow season start, apparently the Sunday development groups have a make-up day this coming Sunday, plus members from other groups who had to miss a day due to illness.

 

[marzNC]

Southeast skiing? Sounds oxymoron.....

Not really. The elevation of the town of Beech Mountain and the summit of Beech is well over 5000 ft. West Virginia resorts average 75 inches of snowfall. Snowshoe has a base of 40 inches and Timberline is working with 24 inches. For groomed trails, that's plenty for another couple weeks.

The irony is that since southeast skiing was based on 100% snowmaking, the resorts that have survived have been continually investing in snowmaking infrastructure since the 1960s or 1970s. The amount of snow that can be made in 24 hours of non-stop snowmaking is amazing. Snowmaking continues into early March if Mother Nature cooperates.

My home mountain, Massanutten is celebrating 50 years. Mnut is actively cutting a new trail at the summit and intends to install a detachable quad in the next couple years. It helps a lot that Mnut was a 4-season resort from the start, with golf courses, outdoor pools, and other revenue-generating activities. Adding an indoor/outdoor waterpark by 2005 was completed before millions were invested in upgrading snowsports

 

[Marigee]

Word from management is that Whitetail will definitely be open until 3/20 @ 9:00 PM.

 

[marzNC]

The ski resorts that want to stay open until March 20 in VA and WV are getting a lot of help from Mother Nature in the next week. The amount of natural snow expected in the next 12-18 hours is substantial. Just as important, snowmaking on Sat night will help deal with thin spots. That will make it much easier to keep plenty of trails open for following week.

Sunday, March 13, should be a great day for spring skiing. Bryce moved their Winterfest to March 13. Driving on Saturday morning in northern VA could be a bit tricky.

Not often that it's worth looking at OpenSnow for snow forecasts in the region for mid-March.

 

[Lmk92]

Jack Frost was a slush fest today. Skiing slush is a whole different animal! Still so much fun, though.

 

[marzNC]

It's snowing hard at Massanutten as a few people wait for the lifts to open at 9am on Sat, March 12. From the webcams, looks like ski patrol hasn't given the go ahead quite yet.

The temperature was 50 at 3am and 30 by 7am after the cold front swept into northwest Virginia. There are large and small flakes blowing sideways. Must be at least an Inch or two already since the roofs are covered. Looks like a winter wonderland but of course most of the snow is on grass, except for the trails that were open yesterday.

 

[marzNC]

Montage is selling season passes for 2022-23 at the lowest price until April 1. Renewal for $399 or a new pass for $499. People who get a new pass can use it for the rest of the 2021-22 season. With the snow coming down today, could be a couple more weeks before Montage closes. The coverage was quite good when I was there with @Olesya Chornoguz on Feb. 26.

 

[marzNC]

Snowshoe is owned by Alterra and on Ikon, but is continuing to sell Snowshoe-only season passes that are pretty reasonable. There is an additional discount for parents who buy a pass for themselves and a kid or two. Silver Creek is the separate area that has night skiing. It was developed independently and incorporated into Snowshoe in the 1990s. The free shuttle bus makes it easy to go between the Main Basin and Silver Creek.

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

Montage is selling season passes for 2022-23 at the lowest price until April 1. Renewal for $399 or a new pass for $499. People who get a new pass can use it for the rest of the 2021-22 season. With the snow coming down today, could be a couple more weeks before Montage closes. The coverage was quite good when I was there with @Olesya Chornoguz on Feb. 26.

I have been getting Montage season pass for the last 4 years and it's a great mountain IMHO, My favorite in the NEPA area,

 

[marzNC]

My Mnut ski buddy, CB, had a good time on the snow this morning but it was pretty cold. The local seniors went in fairly soon because of the cold. I think Sunday morning is going to be really good after snowmaking and grooming.

The snow seemed to be slowing but then there was another burst in the late morning. I would guess the official depth may be as much as 6 inches.

 

[marzNC]

It was really cold at Mnut last night, in the low teens. Could see snowguns on at night for the beginner terrain. Also Showtime and DJ got more snow to add to the base in order to make it to the March 20 closing date. As I guessed, Upper MakAttack and Pacesetter are providing another route down from the top of the Ridge Triple, but without bumps and probably not a terrain park on Pacesetter either.

MASSANUTTEN SNOW CONDITIONS
UPDATED 10:13am 03/13/2022

10:00AM UPDATE: Patrol has dropped the ropes on Upper Mak Attack and Pacesetter. Both trails are now open.

4" - 5" new snow yesterday and overnight snowmaking have transformed us back to winter. Sunshine with highs near 40 will make for a splendid day on the snow. There are still some thin a narrow areas out on the hill so please ski with caution. We plan to ski and ride daily through March 20. Ready, set, we're not done yet!

 

[marzNC]

Check out the pics of snowmaking that was happening this morning in NC and VA. Mike Doble is at Timberline having a grand time this weekend.

Snowshoe was blasting the slopes as well last night. Silver Creek closes on March 20. Snowshoe Main Basin stays open until March 27.

March 13, 2022

What a Gorgeous "Spring" Day in the Mountains!

Okay, unless you’re a snow-loving, frigid-temperature-craving, soul – Sunday will not be offering what most people consider to be a typical, Spring day. Photo of the day is from the...

www.skisoutheast.com

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

Liberty was also making snow overnight to this morning (Sunday). It was busy today but it didn’t feel as busy as last year at this time when reservation was required, at least as judged by the lift lines. Hmm, on second thought, maybe it’s just as busy but there’s no more COVID protocols so the chairs are generally full.

 

[marzNC]

The demand in the southeast keeps increasing. Feels like a combination of new skiers/riders and people who have discovered that driving to ski for a long weekend can be a fun time.

Snowshoe is owned by Alterra. There are Snowshoe-only pass options as well as unlimited access with Ikon Base. There has been a Primo add-on for a while that provides fast access on weekends. The number of Primo passes is quite limited. Even though the price increased a lot for 2022-23, the Primo passes sold out in less than two hours when season passes went on sale late last week. Only people who bought at least Ikon Base were eligible for the Primo add-on.

 

[marzNC]

CB is doing WFH at Massanutten this week, so getting in some turns in the mornings. Looks pretty all groomed out. CB was part of the group that went to Taos in early Feb, so @TNtoTaos would recognize his skis. She and her TN ski buddy checked out Mnut last season.

Going to be warm during the day this week but cooling down at night. Keeping the core trails open until March 20 should be possible even with a bit of rain expected midweek.

 

[SquidWeaselYay]

Roundtop was a slushy good time yesterday. Closing is March 20th. Bummer.

 

[marzNC]

A bit late, but wanted to make a note about Whitegrass in WV. It's between Timberline and Canaan Valley. Since I'm not particularly interested in Nordic skiing or hiking for turns, I tend to forget about it. However, Whitegrass is unique for those who like to be moving on skis in quiet surroundings with not lifts in sight.

April 2021

Backcountry skiing White Grass, West Virginia, on a powder day. | John Briley

Travel story on backcountry and cross-country skiing at White Grass Ski Touring Center in Canaan Valley, West Virginia.

www.johnbriley.com

February 2022

Interview Series: Chip Chase, White Grass Ski Touring Center

In DCSki’s Interview Series, we take a look at interesting people who have a connection to the mountains. And there are few folks in the ski industry more interesting than Chip Chase, Founder of the White Grass Ski Touring Center in Canaan Valley, West Virginia. For over 40 years, White Grass...

www.dcski.com

 

[artistinsuburbia]

Still waiting on final word from Vail, but the rumor is that there will be a local epic pass that covers Vail owned resorts in PA. They have shut down Hidden Valley & Laurel Mountain for the season and have begun the transition here in Western PA. Seven Springs still running on white ribbons of death. Being as temps have been in the upper 60s to low 70s, have not clue how they are hanging on. Still no word on what will be offered on the full epic pass as they have not offered them for sale yet.