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Mid-Atlantic/SE skiing (PA, NJ, DC, MD, VA, WV, NC) for 2019-20

marzNC

Angel Diva
For those in the DC area interested in off-season lessons, Inside Ski at Pro-Fit in Leesburg is worth checking out. Started up in 2017 and well organized. I did a private 1-hr lesson that fall as a perk for helping with the funding to finish the installation. Definitely a workout. Having a mirror was helpful to see how minor adjustments make a big difference. Too far away from my house for regular lessons though.

Look here for comments from Divas who have done more than one lesson in the last year or two.
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/yay-new-boots.24094/page-2#post-395577

The other facility in the southeast with MaxxTracks is in Winter Park, Florida. WinterClub also has a ski simulator.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Since I included NJ in the list of states for MidA/SE, guess it's worth mentioning that Big SNOW at American Dream in the Meadowlands, NJ, is set to open in early Dec. Snowmaking started a week or two ago. Check out their Facebook page for video of what it took to lift the groomer in order to get it into it's "barn" near the 16-story slope. Haven't found any numbers yet for how many sncwguns are being used to get the slope covered.

https://patch.com/new-jersey/mahwah/american-dreams-giant-indoor-ski-park-begin-making-snow
" . . .
In advance of the indoor ski and snowboard park's Dec. 5 opening, Big SNOW has started grooming 5,500 tons of snow needed to fill the 180,000-square-foot, 16-story, climate controlled venue, the park announced Tuesday.
. . .
Since the Snow Cat Prinoth Husky X model weighs over 12,00-pounds, it needed to be lifted 16 stories over the building in order to be dropped onto a platform so it could get inside the venue.

Altogether it'll take two months to shape that much snow, a park spokeswoman said.

Big SNOW American Dream, which is being billed as North America's largest indoor ski and snow park, will feature four acres of slopes, a 160-foot vertical drop, a graduated degree of pitch ranging from 0% at the base to 26% at its steepest and 1,000 feet of length for skiers.
. . ."
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Parents with 4th or 5th graders at home who ski in PA might want to consider getting a PA 4th&5th Grade Passport. Price is $35 before Dec. 1 and it's open to residents of any state. When going with an adult who also buys a lift ticket, can use the passport to get up to 3 day tickets at a pretty long list of PA ski areas/resorts.

PA locations participating:
The following resorts are participating for the 2019-2020 season (subject to change): Bear Creek Mountain Resort, Big Boulder, Blue Knob Resort, Blue Mountain Resort, Camelback Resort, Elk Mountain, Hidden Valley Resort, Jack Frost Mountain, Laurel Mountain, Liberty Mountain Resort, Montage Mountain, Mount Pleasant, Mystic Mountain, Roundtop Mountain Resort, Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Shawnee Mountain, Ski Big Bear, Ski Sawmill Family Resort, Spring Mountain, Tussey Mountain and Whitetail Resort.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Snowmaking has started in NC! Cataloochee, Beech, and Sugar fired up the guns because of a cold snap. Typically Cat and Sugar vie for first-to-open honors.

My daughter was complaining it felt like Boston this morning when she went to class in Asheville. It was in the high 20s.

I'm planning to ski in the NC mountains the weekend of Dec. 7-8 so early openings will mean more terrain by then. :becky:
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Laurel Mountain had a 1-day sale today, Nov. 1. The deal is for 2 tickets or getting an additional ticket for the 6-pack. Apparently they saw snowflakes this morning. :snow:

https://www.laurelmountainski.com/ski-ride/first-snowfall-sale/
Two All-Day Lift Tickets for $90
Savings up to $26

Valid for any all-day session, excluding holiday periods. Holiday periods include Dec. 26, 2019 - Jan. 1, 2020; Jan. 17-20, 2020; Feb. 14-17, 2020. Cannot be combined with any other discount or offer. Vouchers must be redeemed by the end of the 19-20 winter season.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Most likely the last complete list for 2019. Just learned about the 7Springs Ski Club swap on Nov. 9. Apparently the Warren Miller film is being shown that day too.

Oct. 5, 2019: Ski Haus, Annapolis, MD
Oct. 5-6, 2019: Alpine Ski Shop, Sterling, VA - benefits Timberline Ski Patrol
Oct. 11-14, 2019: Alpina Ski Shop, White Haven, PA (by Jack Frost)
Oct. 11-20, 2019: Appalachian Pre-Season Sale and Swap, Boone, NC
Oct. 16-19, 2019: Buckman's Tent Sale, King of Prussia, Montgomeryville, Reading, Whitehall, PA
Oct. 19, 2019: Massanutten Ski & Snowboard Swap, Massanutten, VA (near Harrisonburg)
Oct. 17-18, 2019: Liberty Swap & Fall Fest, Carroll Valley, PA (near DC)
Oct. 26-27, 2019: Whitetail Swap, Mercersburg, PA (near DC) - benefits Whitetail Ski Patrol
Nov. 2, 2019: Roundtop Swap during Oktoberfest, Lewisberry, PA (near Harrisonburg)
Nov. 2, 2019: Baltimore Ski & Snowboard Swap, Towson, MD

Nov. 2-3, 2019: Freestyle Ski Swap, Charlottesville, VA
Nov. 2-3, 2019: Alpine Ski Shop, Sterling, VA - benefits Timberline Ski Patrol
Nov. 9, 2019: Willi’s Ski Shop/Mon Valley, PA (near Seven Springs)
Nov 17, 2019: Pro-Fit Ski Swap, Leesburg, VA - benefits Whitetail Ski Patrol
Nov. 29, 2019: Wintergreen Ski Swap, VA - benefits Wintergreen Ski Patrol
Dec. 7-8, 2019: Cataloochee Ski Swap, Maggie Valley, NC
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Cataloochee opened today! The North Carolina ski season has official started. :thumbsup:

Sugar didn't make enough snow to get open. But expectations are that both Cat and Sugar will be open next weekend, Nov. 9-10. Since Cat is staying closed Mon-Thu to build more base, won't be surprised if Sugar tries to get open before Fri.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Snowmaking in NC and WV this morning! The cold front blew thru central NC last night. High around my house near Raleigh is supposed to be 47 today, with a hard freeze in the high 20s tonight!

Cataloochee is getting mentioned all over the country about opening on Nov. 3. Most likely becoming part of the Indy Pass has something to do with the news going well beyond the southeast.

Apparently Canaan Valley got as much as an inch of snow as the storm moved thru. There is snow in the forecast for Bryce, Massanutten, and Wintergreen for next week!
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Big Boulder (PA) started making snow last night.
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Elk and Blue will start snowmaking tonight, supposedly.
 

HikenSki

Angel Diva
Anyone interested in a thread for Snowshoe in the Conditions section? @HikenSki , @SarahXC ?

I'm not planning to make the drive to Snowshoe this winter, but happy to post every so often about upcoming snowstorms in WV. Easy to see when I look at the Ikon pass locations on OpenSnow.
I’m OK with Snowshoe within this thread.

They’ve been blasting with everything they can all day. Going to be able to put down a nice base over the next week.
 

Ski Sine Fine

Angel Diva
DC metro finally had a hard freeze overnight. Alas, not a hint of snow, man made or otherwise, on the PA hills (Liberty & Whitetail). It’s really still too early for us, but reading all the other early openings makes me think we’re behind. Funnily, I had to restrain my joy in public to the news of cold weather finally arriving ... people were looking at me “are you out of your mind?”
 

HikenSki

Angel Diva
DC metro finally had a hard freeze overnight. Alas, not a hint of snow, man made or otherwise, on the PA hills (Liberty & Whitetail). It’s really still too early for us, but reading all the other early openings makes me think we’re behind. Funnily, I had to restrain my joy in public to the news of cold weather finally arriving ... people were looking at me “are you out of your mind?”
I don't restrain my enthusiasm. Heehee. I was cheering when I heard how cold it was going to get and saw them blowing snow at Snowshoe. Of course, my colleagues gave me the stink eye. LOL.
I am keeping fingers crossed I can get in a ski day before we head to FL for the Christmas break. Would prefer PA so don't have to trek to The Shoe for a little time on the snow.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Alas, not a hint of snow, man made or otherwise, on the PA hills (Liberty & Whitetail).
Snowtime was never really known for pushing for early openings. It seems clear that Peak Resorts wanted people to think about driving up to Hunter before mid-December.

7Springs and HV started snowmaking already.

For Massanutten to start snowmaking this early is new. I think it's a combination of a lot more automated fan guns, plus pretty much unlimited water. Thanksgiving being late also means that if snow tubing can be open that weekend, it's likely to be fully booked.
 

HikenSki

Angel Diva
Massanutten to start snowmaking this early is new. I think it's a combination of a lot more automated fan guns, plus pretty much unlimited water. Thanksgiving being late also means that if snow tubing can be open that weekend, it's likely to be fully booked.
Maybe I'll have to think about Mnut for a mid Dec visit if the PA reports aren't ready to go yet.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Maybe I'll have to think about Mnut for a mid Dec visit if the PA reports aren't ready to go yet.
When Mnut opens, DJ from the top of Lift 6 is always part of the mix these days. It has just over 800 vertical by itself, which is almost as much as the total vertical at many PA ski areas. Mnut's total vertical is 1100, more than anyplace in PA. If they can get Upper Showtime open too, skiing off from the top of Lift 5 is actually quite a lot of fun.
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
It seems clear that Peak Resorts wanted people to think about driving up to Hunter before mid-December.

Boulder is a Peak Resort though. I would guess it's probably more of an issue of location. Boulder is farther north and at a higher elevation.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Boulder is a Peak Resort though. I would guess it's probably more of an issue of location. Boulder is farther north and at a higher elevation.
I don't know much about who goes to JF/BB on a regular basis or when they usually start snowmaking. More aware of folks who were/are season passholders for the former Snowtime locations: Whitetail, Liberty, Roundtop. The temperatures there for the coming week are pretty much the same as for Massanutten. Wintergreen hasn't started snowmaking either. So for this period, feels more like a business decision than a function of weather.

For my late Nov/early Dec ski safaris in recent years, the ski areas that had the most potential on the way to Lake Placid or Boston were Hunter, Killington, and Loon.

When does Montage usually open? Do you have a season pass there again?
 

tinymoose

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I don't know much about who goes to JF/BB on a regular basis or when they usually start snowmaking. More aware of folks who were/are season passholders for the former Snowtime locations: Whitetail, Liberty, Roundtop. The temperatures there for the coming week are pretty much the same as for Massanutten. Wintergreen hasn't started snowmaking either. So for this period, feels more like a business decision than a function of weather.

For my late Nov/early Dec ski safaris in recent years, the ski areas that had the most potential on the way to Lake Placid or Boston were Hunter, Killington, and Loon.

When does Montage usually open? Do you have a season pass there again?

Boulder is almost always the first in the Poconos to open, although Blue and Camelback usually are not too far behind. My first ski days have usually always been at either Blue or Boulder.

Montage is usually a little later than others, although they've been opening earlier and staying open later the last few years with the new management. And yes, we're still doing passes there again. Jack Frost always opens late and closes early, but that's always been a business decision since they've been connected to Boulder forever. More expensive to run two resorts right next door to each other when you can just open one early and keep one open late. Boulder is the one with the trail lights so makes sense to open and close it first/last b/c of its night skiing potential.
 

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