Massanutten 2020-21

[marzNC]

Well it's a month later than last season, but Massanutten started snowmaking last night. It's just been too warm the last few weeks. Might have been able to blow on the upper mountain all day! Going to look really different on the webcams on Dec. 8.

No opening date announced yet besides "mid-December."

For last year's conditions and comments:
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/massanutten-2019-20.24254/

Also check out the Mid-A/SE thread for news about Mnut, Bryce, and Wintergreen. Also WV, which got help from the snowstorm last weekend.
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/i...kiing-pa-nj-dc-md-va-wv-nc-for-2020-21.25104/

 

[marzNC]

Starting to pay more attention to Massanutten conditions since I'll be there in about a week. The last few days have been really good for snowmaking, including all day for a couple days. The cold front brought in some ideal temps.

Upper Showtime opened for the first time today.

 

[marzNC]

Massanutten is having an unusual schedule for the lifts this week. I gather there may be a staffing issue. Starting yesterday, Lift 3 for Geronimo (blue near base) is no open for night skiing. Not surprisingly, tickets are selling out during the holiday period.

December 29, 2020 - Massanutten Snow Conditions as of 7:28am​

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We'll be open today from 9:00am - 9:00pm. Lift 3 and Geronimo will close at 4:30pm today. Fantastic day to get out and slide with sunshine and highs in the mid 30s. Snowmaking temps did not arrive as forecasted but looks promising for tonight. Due to capacity limits, we are SOLD OUT 12.29 and 12.30 for skiing and snowtubing. Buy in advance to guarantee your spot, available remaining tickets can be purchased online.​

 

[marzNC]

The end of the holiday week is a bit rainy so the slopes look pretty empty at Massanutten. But hopefully the cooler nights in the coming week will help preserve the base that was built up in the last couple weeks during the cold weather. Ideally might even be a little snowmaking possible at night before the weekend of Jan. 9-10.

 

[marzNC]

Better than expected conditions at Massanutten the last couple days after the warm spell late last week. Probably didn't get too much rain. The core trails have bases that are pretty deep. Even Lower Showtime has solid coverage. Upper Showtime is flat, but hopefully the cold nights this week will allow snow whales to grow. Much more fun when there are some contours.

By the afternoons, the "frozen granular" was pretty pushed around. Felt like deep "sugar" so needed a bit more concentration.

Monday was still a little busy with people who had been around for the holidays. By Tuesday, it was the usual first non-holiday week so quite empty. Since the weather was pretty good and it's College Week ($40 lift ticket), there were people who showed up around 3:30 even though the lifts closed at 5:00. Or perhaps there were people getting the Last Call ticket for $20 that's good the last two hours, either 3:00-5:00 when there is no night skiing, or 7:00-9:00 when lifts close at 9:00pm.

 

[marzNC]

Conditions at Massanutten today are really good! Snowmaking started up again late last night. Probably all night on Diamond Jim at the top. No more soft bumps at the top. Just groomed out fresh snow. Snowguns may stay on most of the day on DJ. They were off on the lower mountain by mid-morning.

Since it's pretty cold and the snow guns were on, there are very few people on the slopes. That will probably be true until Saturday. Although perhaps some locals will come on Friday after lunch since there is night skiing on the weekends.

 

[marzNC]

Sat morning the snow guns were on again. All were off by about 11:00. With the cold temps and limited day tickets, the slopes stayed pretty empty all day. More like a midweek day with really nice weather than a weekend. It's a great season to be a pass holder.

There was a snowboard race on DJ in the morning, but the trail stays open. Was getting a bit skied off by early afternoon. Upper Showtime stayed quite nice all day. My friend has a Special Value Pass so I ended up skiing 9:00-2:00, went back to the unit for a late lunch, and then skied again 4:30-6:00. It was pretty clear when 4:00 rolled around that people with the Value Pass or a night ticket were showing up.

 

[SarahXC]

The limited day tickets sound like they have found a good number at Massanutten. Cataloochee sold out of day tickets the last three days. I’m not sure what their number is but it was starting to feel pretty crowded by 11:30 am.

 

[marzNC]

The limited day tickets sound like they have found a good number at Massanutten. Cataloochee sold out of day tickets the last three days. I’m not sure what their number is but it was starting to feel pretty crowded by 11:30 am.

How many trails aren't open yet?

Mnut still only has the core trails open, so I think they really kept the number of tickets down. Will be interesting to see what happens next weekend when there should be far more people staying on resort for the holiday weekend. I'll be mostly skiing with a tween beginner. She's done ski school a few times in the last few years, so I'm hoping she can get onto the easiest blue after the first ski session.

 

[SarahXC]

How many trails aren't open yet?

They don’t have any features built yet in the terrain park but all trails are open. They have been cranking out the snow and mother is helping a bit too

 

[marzNC]

Massanutten will have Mass Transit and Yee Ha open soon! Another couple of nights of snowmaking could do it.

Snow conditions were great this morning after a night of snowmaking on the open trails. What was harder to predict was how empty the slopes were most of the day. Clearly Mnut sold a lot less lift tickets than usual. Lift 5 never had a lift line of more than 5 min. The base lifts were busy for about an hour in the early afternoon. But much less than the usual holiday weekend Sunday. It felt like midweek during the night session after 7:00pm. The snow was still decent on Lower Showtime and Geronimo since there were relatively few people all day.

 

[flykra]

Massanutten will have Mass Transit and Yee Ha open soon! Another couple of nights of snowmaking could do it.

Snow conditions were great this morning after a night of snowmaking on the open trails. What was harder to predict was how empty the slopes were most of the day. Clearly Mnut sold a lot less lift tickets than usual. Lift 5 never had a lift line of more than 5 min. The base lifts were busy for about an hour in the early afternoon. But much less than the usual holiday weekend Sunday. It felt like midweek during the night session after 7:00pm. The snow was still decent on Lower Showtime and Geronimo since there were relatively few people all day.

Now I feel like a brat. I left after 1 run down Showtime and 3 runs down Diamond Jim yesterday because I thought the conditions were so bad and there were too many people! I couldn't tell if I was just grumpy to begin with and now I think maybe that was it Glad you had fun!!!

 

[marzNC]

Now I feel like a brat. I left after 1 run down Showtime and 3 runs down Diamond Jim yesterday because I thought the conditions were so bad and there were too many people! I couldn't tell if I was just grumpy to begin with and now I think maybe that was it Glad you had fun!!!

Was it in the morning? My local friends switched over from DJ to Showtime after a few runs. The snow was better.

This long weekend I was skiing with a tween who started learning to ski at Mnut several years ago. Hasn't had many days on skis only skiing holiday weekends. but I had a chance to take up to to Upper Showtime for the first time this morning. With the overnight snowmaking, conditions were nice and per usual it was empty the first hour.

I'll be around for the rest of the week. Will be on Lift 5 or Lift 6 in the mornings. Probably mostly on Lift 5 in the afternoons. Paradice is my favorite trail but lapping DJ isn't my idea of fun for more than an hour.

 

[marzNC]

Was very happy to see snow guns on this morning. It was too warm when I went to bed last night. The surprise was that snowmaking has started on Paradice! Mass Transit is looking good at the top, which more work needed on the lower section. I would guess it will be open by the weekend.

 

[marzNC]

Mass Transit and Yee Ha opened on Fri, Jan. 22 after snowmaking started on Monday night. There were a couple mornings that were cold enough for the snow guns to stay on until mid-morning, at least on the upper section. Since new snow that deep needs to drain for at least a day and preferably 2-3 before being spread by a groomer, it was a little iffy to get open before the weekend.

The advantage of having Mass Transit and Yee Ha open is that for advanced intermediate and advanced folks is that it's possible to stay on the upper mountain while switching between Lift 5 and Lift 6. So no need to take the time to go down to the base and add another lift line and lift ride. Now that the Mid-Mountain Grill is open Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon from 11:00-4:15 and there is an indoor heated restroom, it's a great way to avoid any busy areas.

Snowmaking started on Paradice on Wed, Jan. 20. Only at the very top that night but cold enough to continue all morning. With the cold temps this weekend, Paradice should definitely be open by the weekend of Jan. 30. Today was plenty cold enough for snowmaking all day on the upper mountain. Paradice is the longest trail, and pretty wide in the middle. So it takes the most snow to be completely covered. Once that happens, it usually can stay open until late season.

 

[marzNC]

After another cold night, there might be enough snow to open Paradice today! Pacesetter is opening today. Plus it's still cold enough to keep snowmaking going for a few more hours. With deep bases built on all the core trails, Mnut points the snow guns high when they stay on after the lifts open. Usually won't run the guns on the easier trails in any case.

 

[marzNC]

Paradice is open! Still snowmaking on the upper sections of Geronimo and Southern Comfort. Since those slopes don't ever get busy until around 11:00, probably just trying to add as much snow to the base as possible. Makes a huge difference that Massanutten snowmakers don't have to worry about running out of water any more.

Goal is to be 100% open by next weekend. With the big snowstorm predicted and continuing cold temps, should be possible. Hopefully the deep bases will mean the season lasts into mid-March or even late March if the inevitable thaws in the next six weeks are relatively short.

 

[marzNC]

Well, the snow predicted for northern VA seemed to be gone from the forecast for the end of this week. But after a brief warm up there will be plenty of really cold nights for more snowmaking.

 

[marzNC]

Fair to say that conditions at Massanutten are stellar today! MacAttack is fully open. Pretty much a groomer but what really makes a difference for Sat morning is that the ski/board teams are practicing there instead of on Showtime or DJ.

Mnut lift tickets were sold out for Friday (yesterday) and are sold out for today, Sunday, and Monday. Funny what happens when the weather forecast in includes snow. Check in on Friday evening was very busy. The building I'm staying in has a full parking lot.

 

[LauraVa]

Agree. STELLAR TODAY!