Massanutten 2018-19

[ilovepugs]

Enjoy and see you on Saturday! My weather luck has struck again! Woohoo!!!

 

[marzNC]

Great to hear! Enjoy the powder, while the weekend warriors live vicariously through you. :-)

Not exactly what I would call "powder," more like dust on crust in a few places plus sticky spots. But in the morning there were good sections to be found. But considering there was hardly any snow at all at the beginning of the week, it's a major improvement already.

In the afternoon, I played with my Floskis on the easier trails. Took a couple runs under the lights after dark. The skis do well in chopped up snow. But lack of visibility because of snow on goggles and being under lights meant there wasn't too much point to stay out longer.

 

[diymom]

I played with my Floskis on the easier trails.

So I just looked up Floskis. When did you get those?

 

[SuperSkiMom]

Not exactly what I would call "powder," more like dust on crust in a few places plus sticky spots. But in the morning there were good sections to be found. But considering there was hardly any snow at all at the beginning of the week, it's a major improvement already.

In the afternoon, I played with my Floskis on the easier trails. Took a couple runs under the lights after dark. The skis do well in chopped up snow. But lack of visibility because of snow on goggles and being under lights meant there wasn't too much point to stay out longer.

We recently did some night skiing at Bolton Valley filming our latest story. It was a lot harder than I remember. It too was snowing.

 

[marzNC]

So I just looked up Floskis. When did you get those?

Bought them over the summer at a pretty good discount. Met the inventor at Mammoth in May. Adrian made me a good deal.

The story is in my TR:
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/i...hood-meadows-squaw-mammoth.22840/#post-367329

The Floskis have demo bindings, so anyone could try them. But they are very heavy, so I won't fly with them very often. Could be useful during late season trips though because they can be adjusted for different snow conditions. In particular from all-mountain to powder. They carve like crazy with very little tipping.

 

[marzNC]

The official storm watch mentions 4-8 inches of snow for this weekend, Jan. 12-13! DJ, Upper and Lower Showtime all open today. Should be snowmaking temps most of the day. It's 19 degrees and blue sky on the mountain as of 8am.

Update as of 7:48am 01/11/19

Winter Storm Watch in effect for Saturday and Sunday with 4”- 8” snow expected. We’ll be skiing and riding on all 1,110’ of vertical drop with 6 trails for all levels of ability. Upper Showtime re-opens today and Pacesetter park will be next on the list. Shaping up to be one of the better weekends of the season to date. We’ll be open today from 9:00 am - 9:00 pm. SNOWMAKING IS IN PROGRESS!

 

[marzNC]

Great fun at Massanutten Jan. 12-13. Snow started falling around 1pm on Saturday. Official total was 6 inches by Sunday morning. There was at least 3 inches on our cars by 6pm Sat when we left the slopes for the condo, which was on mountain. Another 3 inches to clear off first thing Sun morning. Slopes were uncrowded since most of the people who ski Mnut don't really know how to enjoy fresh snow or chopped up powder.

Pacesetter, Mass Transit, and Yee Ha opened for the first time.

The Freestyle Demo tent was set up at the base of Lift 4, right next to the ramp to the lodge. Seemed to be busy most of the time. They brought a few snowboards, a small selection of women's skis, and a few more options for men. Included several Stöckli models, which was a bit of a surprise.

All in all, it was a fun weekend for three Divas.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

I was so happy to be welcomed home by snow! I'm looking forward to next weekend. Now, since the office is closed due to weather, I'm off to go snowshoeing on the golf course. Can't wait to see The Nutt on Friday!

 

[marzNC]

I was so happy to be welcomed home by snow! I'm looking forward to next weekend.

Going to be good for MLK Weekend for sure. Looks like snowmaking temps every night this week. Now that Yee Ha is open, that much easier to stay on the upper mountain to avoid the lift lines at the base. I said hello to a few Gold Clinic folks but didn't really spend much time with them since I had Diva visitors.

I noticed that there are working clocks at every lift. Some digital, some analog.

Oh yes, not that you need it but they have set up a maze for people waiting to buy lift tickets and rentals.

 

[marzNC]

Massanutten is 100% open! Paradice opened a few days ago. Guess they had enough cold nights (low 20s) this week to get Upper MakAttack covered enough. It's short but needs deep coverage to seed the big bumps. That means there should be bumps for Pres. Day weekend.

 

[marzNC]

Brr! It's cold at Massanutten today. Been a while since I've seen single digits in northern VA. Of course, the low snowmaking temps is also why the base depth has gone over 40 inches. The weekend of Feb. 2-3 will be really great for mid-Atlantic skiing, with highs in the 40s and no rain in the forecast.

These are the conditions and trail status for Jan. 31, 2019. Note the little "bumps" icon for Upper MakAttack. It's short, but definitely requires solid bumps technique to ski it without stopping or hesitation. Took me a few seasons to get to that stage when I started taking lessons related to learning bumps.

https://www.massresort.com/play/snow-sports/snow-conditions/

 

[marzNC]

Schools near Massanutten were closed on Friday, Feb. 1, because of the forecast for snow. Looked pretty busy on the slopes, perhaps partially because of the School's Out deal. Saw a few snowflakes around 1pm. Snow guns looked off even though it was only about 25 degrees.

People who get out early on Sat or Sun morning are going to have a really good time. Temps expected to get into the 40s, but lows in the upper 20s. Upper Showtime and Paradice are best in those situations.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

Last weekend we had the best conditions of the season. I skied Liberty on Friday and The Nutt on Sat. and Sun. Things got a bit soft and slushy on Sun. afternoon w/some stickiness on the flats, so I called it quits in deference to my knees. We will be near 70 degrees the next two days but cooling off again on Friday thru the weekend. We'll see what we see. We do often ski 2 different seasons in one weekend here.

 

[marzNC]

This weekend Massanutten is hosting boarder-cross on Pacesetter. Don't remember seeing that before. Good thing it cooled down enough for snowmaking.

Weather forecast for next week includes cold nights, so Pres. Weekend conditions should be quite nice.

 

[marzNC]

Looks like Pres. Weekend will be pretty good at Massanutten. They have re-built the base. Even a little snow forecast for Sat, but more importantly should be cold enough for snowmaking that night. Hopefully the rain clouds afterwards will be more in the valley than on the mountain. There are times when the clouds are mostly below because the Massanutten ridge splits them.

 

[marzNC]

Massanutten got a few inches of snow, but also sleet and then rain. Still I heard that conditions were pretty good even in the afternoon.

Massanutten is holding a Snow Moon Fest on March 1-3 that includes a variety of activities. There will be a demo tent by Freestyle of Charlottesville on Sat and Sun, 9:00-2:00.

Saturday, March 2
4K on the Fairway: A race/walk to benefit EAUS | At Mountain Greens Golf Course | 10 AM | Sign up info below!
USASA - GS/SL Snowboard Event | On Diamond Jim | 9 AM - 2 PM
Freestyle Ski Demos | At Base of Lift 4 | 9 AM - 2 PM
USASA - Rail Jam Event | On Geronimo | 6 - 8 PM
Torchlight Slope Parade & Fireworks | At Base Camp | 9:15 PM
Northern Lights Tubing | At the Family Adventure Park | 6 PM - 12 AM | Advance tickets required

Sunday, March 3
Arctic Plunge | Fundraiser to benefit Therapeutic Adventures | At Woodstone Rec Center Outdoor Pool | 10 AM | Sign up info below!
USASA - GS/SL Snowboard Event | On Diamond Jim | 9 AM - 2 PM
Freestyle Ski Demos | At Base of Lift 4 | 9 AM - 2 PM

All Weekend Long (March 1 - 3)
Make Your Own S'mores Kits | At Campfire Grill
Tap Takeovers | At Base Camp
Look for Theo The Bear at Movie Night, 4K on the Fairway, Torchlight Slope Parade & Fireworks, and the Arctic Plunge!

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

Hmm, I haven’t been able to demo anything this season so far. Maybe I’ll go back to M’nut to see what Freestyle has.

 

[marzNC]

Hmm, I haven’t been able to demo anything this season so far. Maybe I’ll go back to M’nut to see what Freestyle has.

If you go to demo, really does help to be there first thing in the morning. Note that since this is just a demo tent from one ski shop, there may only be 2-3 skis you want to try. But it's a free demo and you can certainly learn something. Can be a good opportunity to try the same model in more than one length.

 

[Ski Sine Fine]

If you go to demo, really does help to be there first thing in the morning. Note that since this is just a demo tent from one ski shop, there may only be 2-3 skis you want to try. But it's a free demo and you can certainly learn something. Can be a good opportunity to try the same model in more than one length.

Depending on weather forecast & road conditions, I might take a motel at Harrisonburg the night before for 9am check-in.

 

[marzNC]

Depending on weather forecast & road conditions, I might take a motel at Harrisonburg the night before for 9am check-in.

It's a good idea. @alison wong has done that. US33 is usually kept in pretty good shape. The roads at Massanutten are cleared by private contractors who do a really good job.