Massanutten January 2013

[marzNC]

Finally managed to get on the slopes at Masssanutten last weekend, Jan. 5-6. Pretty good conditions considering they didn't really start making snow that could last until about Dec. 21. Had DJ open at the top so that they could hold a race on Sunday. The Mnut ski team and the development team were probably very happy to be skiing since they missed out in Dec.

I brought a friend and her kids for their first ski weekend. All of them learned to ski with the help of Mnut's great ski school. The 6yo boy who plays ice hockey had the easiest time. His 4yo sister did better with a private lesson the second day. Their mom needed a few extra sessions for first-timers, but she learned to ski! Discovered that a beginner doing the Pathway program can repeat the first hour session in the teaching area with a magic carpet as many times as necessary on the same day for no extra charge. The goal is to learn to turn and stop with a wedge (snowplow, pizza) well enough that going up the beginner chair is reasonable. Session 2 is a few runs on Southern Comfort. Helps that the two beginner chairlifts have conveyor loading.

The weather was perfect for beginners. Cold enough for good snow, but warm enough during the day that there were no worries about cold hands, feet, or faces.

My daughter had fun meeting up with her friend from Richmond. They found the snow guns a bit annoying on Sat morning, but I was glad it was cold enough for them to be on a bit longer.

I had fun confirming that skiing without an ACL won't be a problem. Couldn't wait until Sat, so did a few runs on the short green Nuttin-To-It Friday night under the lights. DJ was a bit icy on Sat. Showtime was nice on Sunday morning. Per usual, no lift lines to worry about at Mnut on a non-holiday weekend. Chatted with a former Whitetail instructor on the lift who was checking out Mnut for the first time.

Looking towards teaching area, bottom of Lift 3 for Geronimo

Southern Comfort (long green) at 11am Sunday

6yo 2nd day in ski school, the Yellow group

Diamond Jim (black) at the top of Massanutten in the distance, still a little natural snow left from a few days ago, taken from Lift 5 (triple new in 2011-12) next to Showtime (blue)

 

[Jenny]

So glad that the lack of ACL isn't an issue for you.

 

[ScottishGirlie]

Looks fab! I haven't been on snow since Big Sky. I need snow!

Sounds like you all had a great time!

Good to hear that knee of yours is doing just fine.

 

[marzNC]

Spring skiing at Mnut today with temps in the 60's. With a major bonus . . . Freestyle of Charlottesville is doing a free demo tent this weekend, Jan. 5-6, 9:00-2:00 at the base of Lift 6. The real surprise was that they had skis from several brands in my size, meaning low 150's. The winner of the day was the Rossi Temptation 82 in 152cm. I had to wait on for them to come back in but well worth it. Did my first top to bottom non-stop run at speed on DJ on them to finish up the day. Guess I don't need to stick with my old short skis anymore.

By 9:30 the icy patches on DJ had softened up. Not exactly the best conditions for testing out mid-fats but still a pretty fun day. Only needed a light vest over a long sleeve base layer after 10.

Got to take a look at the new locker room. On the ground floor of the ski lodge right off the slope with a coded key lock on the door. $125 for the season or $50 for the week (this is a timeshare resort) for a pretty big metal locker in a heated space with a separate key. This replaced the day/night check that few people used. Also gave more indoor space for the kids' ski school.

Fog in the valley until mid-morning but blue sky up top

Hard to say if ParaDice will ever open this season. It's my favorite run.

 

[va_deb]

Great pics and TR, Marz! And what terrific luck to run into the demo opportunity.

Glad you had so much fun. Hopefully I can meet up with you there another weekend.

 

[SkiBam]

Great report MarzNC. I'm gathering that's you in the pic? Good to "see" you as we're going to be ski buddies. Can't wait!

 

[marzNC]

Yep, that's me in my southeast ski outfit for warm weather. Those purple pants don't go out west since they are not at all waterproof.

Feeling that much more ready for Big Sky after playing with a variety of skis at the correct length or longer. Been using my old K2 One Luvs, which are essentially 149cm. Didn't seem much point to wear out the bases of my Attraxion 8s.

 

[marzNC]

Back again. Wasn't planning on being at Mnut for MLK weekend but we got an offer from Mnut marketing a few weeks ago for a couple free nights for doing yet another timeshare "update" for owners. My husband decided he wanted to go. I was very happy at check in when we found out that we'd get a 1BR condo instead of a hotel room. Headed home on Sunday.

Snow conditions were variable. Much, much better than could be expected given how much melted during the heat wave. Snow guns were on most of Friday. The 20 automated snow guns are on Southern Comfort. It was about 31 degrees at the base at 8:30am. DJ was icy up top in first thing in the morning according to Marz Jr. I didn't get on snow until 11am. Per usual, the place was relatively empty because Sat is check-in day for many units. By then DJ was pretty good. Got crowded because Lift 5 shut down due to mechanical problems. Still wasn't running when we left mid-afternoon. Bottom on DJ got soft and sticky after lunchtime.

When we left around 2:30, the lift line wait at the bottom was probably 10-15 min. Ski school gets out at 2:00, so 2:15-3:30 tends to be the busiest time.

Southern Comfort (long green) Lift 4 at 11am, most of these people are not on line yet

Geronimo (green) Lift 3 at 11am, got longer when Lift 5 stopped running

Top of Diamond Jim (black) at 12:15pm, never had a line per usual

Instructor with Slopeslider group on Southern Comfort, great day for kids since it was in the 50's

 

[marzNC]

Looking forward to skiing ParaDice this weekend. Almost everything is open. Only MAKattack still in progress. That's a surprise because some years that never opens. Be interesting to see what kind of bumps can grow before it warms up again.

Check out the webcams for a preview. Will be a lot more white in my pics coming up.

 

[marzNC]

Had a fabulous long weekend, Jan. 25-28. Not only good to great snow conditions, had friends along and met a few folks in person for the first time on Sunday. Went from really cold on Friday to warm, but not too warm on Monday. There was round-the-clock snowmaking most of last week, so the place was 100% open for the first time this season. That included Upper MAKattack, the short black off Lift 5 that is allowed to bump up. Not much on Sat morning, but the bumps were pretty big by Sunday afternoon.

Was more crowded than usual for a non-holiday weekend because many schools in VA, MD, and western PA had Monday off. My daughter's NC Charter school had Monday off as well.

Pics from Jan. 26-28, 2013. Per usual, the only crowd in the mornings was at the start of Slopesliders (ski/board school for kids). They were at capacity all three days, although people who didn't have a reservation could get in by being around at 8:30am. Slopesliders can handle about 225 kids for skiing or boarding.

Sat, Jan. 26
The What-To-Do talk for parents of kids in Slopesliders (9:30-2:00), about 9:25am

Paradice (black) and all other trails opened a few days ago, just a few slick spots on Sat

Sun, Jan. 27
Mid-afternoon line for Geronimo and Nuttin To It (greens), Lift 3, was less than 3 min wait

Mon, Jan. 28 - no school for kids in VA and other places near Mnut
Showtime (blue) with top of Lift 6 still a bit in the clouds around 11am, blue sky an hour later

More pics in the album:
https://s453.photobucket.com/albums/qq253/marzlook/Mnut 2012-13/

 

[marzNC]

My friend's 6yo son got to do three days of ski school, called Slopesliders, last weekend. He was going up to mid-station on the second day with his Green class, on his 4th day skiing. He's completely hooked. Doing "french fry" turns most of the time. Skied with him for 2 hours in the late afternoon on Sunday. He only stopped because his lift ticket expired at 5:30pm. Good thing because I was on the tired side by then.

Hoping his family will be back again Pres. Day weekend.

 

[marzNC]

For those of you who are local to Mnut and over 50, the Senior Clinic on Thursdays and Sundays is a great deal. $30 for 2 hours with a very experienced Level 3 instructor. I know the instructor, Walter, because I've been watching him train Mnut instructors for years. He's been teaching at Mnut for 14 years, and taught at Canaan Valley before that.

The bonus for Jan. 27 was that no one else signed up. So I had a private lesson!

There is a 2-hour Ladies Clinic on Thursday mornings, $30. Taught by Julie, who is also Level 3. She is the head of the ski school.

I'm back at Mnut tonight. On my own for a couple days. The timeshare unit is good until Friday morning. Planning to do another Senior Clinic tomorrow afternoon. Rain is supposed to quit by early morning. Hope there is snow left somewhere on the mountain. The two green trails visible from the webcam--Southern Comfort, Geronimo--were shrinking yesterday with temps in the high 60's for a second day.

 

[marzNC]

Sheesh! While one reason I ski as much as possible at Massanutten is to get ready for trips out west, usually I don't get to check out cold weather set ups. With 20-30 mph winds and temps in the 20's today, I think even my Boot Gloves be worth using. I packed everything just for fun.

Enough snow in the middle of the night that local schools are delaying opening for an hour or two. Less than an inch, but hard to tell because it's blowing away instead of sticking.

 

[marzNC]

Oh yeah . . . skiing was okay yesterday. Rain was done early enough for grooming, snow was okay, snow making all day, took the Senior Clinic in the afternoon with Walter again. That was worth every penny.