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

[marzNC]

It's been snowing in the NC mountains! The forecast for the next week includes snowmaking temps and more snowstorms.

Snowmaking temps for the southeast for several nights later this week. Driving in WV may be hairy next weekend, but for people who make it to Snowshoe or Canaan Valley, there will be plenty of snow on the slopes.

 

[KristinB]

I hope it continues to snow!

Went out to Wintergreen this past weekend - RFID was interesting. I kept having to change pockets because I could not get the card to read through my jacket. I finally just took the card out when I got in line and scanned it that way. My daughter did not have any problems with hers though!

Skiing was good (Isn't it always though?) Got slushy and bumpy in the late morning and afternoon. Got crowded from noon to about 3, when we left to purchase skis for my daughter. Night skiing was fantastic and very few on the slopes.

Very disappointed that Freestyle is no longer at Wintergreen. There is a place to buy some basic gear, and they carried about 6 pairs of Rossignol skis. The other shop is a store where you can buy Wintergreen trinkets, blackberry jam, t-shirts, swimsuits (which is totally needed in the winter) and that type of stuff. I wanted to get my daughter new skis, and I was directed to the Ski Barn at the bottom of the hill from Wintergreen. When I called, they informed me that they did not carry kids skis. We ended up leaving the mountain to go to Freestyle in Charlottesville to buy the skis and have dinner in the evening before heading back for night skiing.

 

[marzNC]

Went out to Wintergreen this past weekend - RFID was interesting. I kept having to change pockets because I could not get the card to read through my jacket. I finally just took the card out when I got in line and scanned it that way. My daughter did not have any problems with hers though!

Hmm, you had the RFID card completely separate from anything else? Can't be near a phone or any other RFID card. I won't buy a jacket that doesn't have a sleeve or breast pocket good for an RFID card any more. Mostly because I started skiing Alta regularly and it's been RFID for years. Kids at Alta are taught to "hug" the gate to get their jacket pocket close enough since it's often a breast pock that's too low.

Very disappointed that Freestyle is no longer at Wintergreen. There is a place to buy some basic gear, and they carried about 6 pairs of Rossignol skis. The other shop is a store where you can buy Wintergreen trinkets, blackberry jam, t-shirts, swimsuits (which is totally needed in the winter) and that type of stuff. I wanted to get my daughter new skis, and I was directed to the Ski Barn at the bottom of the hill from Wintergreen. When I called, they informed me that they did not carry kids skis. We ended up leaving the mountain to go to Freestyle in Charlottesville to buy the skis and have dinner in the evening before heading back for night skiing.

I heard Freestyle was pulling out, or was pushed out. That may be why they do more demo weekends at Massanutten now. Not only the first non-holiday weekend of Jan, but also Pres. Day weekend, and the first weekend of March. The shop in Charlottesville is one of the best in the region. I had my Intuition liners from previous boots re-molded to my current boots there last season.

Have you ever stopped in the Play It Again Sports in Charlottesville? A fair amount of children's ski gear in during the preseason.

 

[marzNC]

Skiing was good (Isn't it always though?) Got slushy and bumpy in the late morning and afternoon. Got crowded from noon to about 3, when we left to purchase skis for my daughter. Night skiing was fantastic and very few on the slopes.

Did you ski Highlands at all?

 

[Tennessee]

TR for Beech Mtn
Skied Beech today. After the ~4 inches of snow they got on Monday, the conditions were good. They plan to open two more trails from the top on Friday. With only two open today from the top it was still plenty fun. The biggest problem my friend and I had today was loading the new lift, lol! They installed race type gates and a moving ramp to get you in front of the chair. You have to ski down a little hill to get on the ramp which promptly throws you forward as you ski onto it and stick. Bet that trips up a lot of skiers! Seems like an unnecessary complication to a straightforward process. Oh well. Beech is improving in many ways but this had us flummoxed. Their snowmaking and grooming are very good. Ski Beech during the week and you will have a good time!

 

[marzNC]

TR for Beech Mtn
Skied Beech today. After the ~4 inches of snow they got on Monday, the conditions were good. They plan to open two more trails from the top on Friday. With only two open today from the top it was still plenty fun.

Thanks for the report! Haven't been to Beech for a while. Sounds like this week they will make progress for snowmaking on other trails.

They installed race type gates and a moving ramp to get you in front of the chair. You have to ski down a little hill to get on the ramp which promptly throws you forward as you ski onto it and stick. Bet that trips up a lot of skiers! Seems like an unnecessary complication to a straightforward process. Oh well. Beech is improving in many ways but this had us flummoxed.

It's called conveyor loading. Easier for beginners, but tends to confuse more experienced skiers who are used to having to work while loading a fixed-grip chairlift. Massanutten has had conveyor loading on the two base lifts for quite a while so I'm used to it. I had to coach a friend who joined me at Mnut for the first time over MLK weekend. He's an advanced skier who mostly skis out west. The idea is to do as little as possible when sliding down to the rolling surface, then come to a stop as soon as possible while actually going quite slow. At Mnut the beginner lifts stop less often than before. Although newbie boarders still tend to mess up.

When conveyor loading was added to the Supreme triple to help intermediates at Alta (before the new quad was installed), the advanced/expert skiers hated it because they would try to ski fast and almost end up off the end of the carpet.

Beech took an unusual approach by replacing an old detachable quad with a fixed-grip chairlift with conveyor loading. The old quad needed replacement. Quite a different price tag between the two types of lifts.

 

[KristinB]

Hmm, you had the RFID card completely separate from anything else? Can't be near a phone or any other RFID card. I won't buy a jacket that doesn't have a sleeve or breast pocket good for an RFID card any more. Mostly because I started skiing Alta regularly and it's been RFID for years. Kids at Alta are taught to "hug" the gate to get their jacket pocket close enough since it's often a breast pock that's too low.

I heard Freestyle was pulling out, or was pushed out. That may be why they do more demo weekends at Massanutten now. Not only the first non-holiday weekend of Jan, but also Pres. Day weekend, and the first weekend of March. The shop in Charlottesville is one of the best in the region. I had my Intuition liners from previous boots re-molded to my current boots there last season.

Have you ever stopped in the Play It Again Sports in Charlottesville? A fair amount of children's ski gear in during the preseason.

It just seemed to be my RFID....everyone else was cruising through, so I think it was my card. I preferred to just pull the card out then stop skiing to get a new card though! I tried different pockets with the same result, and there was nothing else in my pockets.

I believe they were pushed out and that they wanted to stay. Going to their store was a treat though! Ended up buying a few additional items while we were there!

No - I really like Freestyle because I know I am getting a boot and skis that fits my daughter. It is peace of mind for me. Good tip though!

 

[KristinB]

Did you ski Highlands at all?

No....not even sure they were open yet, to be honest. I stuck with the greens and then over to Eagles Swoop when the greens got a bit crowded. I had back surgery, which kept me from skiing last year. The doc did not say I could not ski yet, but said I could not fall! I was just skiing slow and easy to get back out there.

 

[KristinB]

Thanks for the report on Beech, Tennessee! Have not skied there in a while - might need to go check it out again!

 

[marzNC]

No - I really like Freestyle because I know I am getting a boot and skis that fits my daughter. It is peace of mind for me. Good tip though!

Completely understand for boots and skis. Play It Again Sports has relatively cheap accessories like gloves and goggles. It's not far from Freestyle on US29 heading north.

 

[marzNC]

Massanutten and Wintergreen got a little snow in the last 48 hours. Hoping they can make more snow before the upcoming warm weather. This weekend should be pretty good.

 

[marzNC]

Things are moving along at Timberline. The website has a new look. Be nice if it gets added to the Indy Pass.

 

[KristinB]

I have not skied Timberline - anyone know what the "new projects" might be?

 

[KristinB]

Massanutten and Wintergreen got a little snow in the last 48 hours. Hoping they can make more snow before the upcoming warm weather. This weekend should be pretty good.

I know.....I saw 70 for this weekend?!?!?! I want cold and snow! Sick of this warm weather!

 

[marzNC]

I have not skied Timberline - anyone know what the "new projects" might be?

Most important project is the replacement of an old lift. The website should be worth following in the next year or two. The folks who went to Timberline regularly in the past are pretty excited.

https://timberlinemountain.com/news-from-the-mountain/

 

[KristinB]

Most important project is the replacement of an old lift. The website should be worth following in the next year or two. The folks who went to Timberline regularly in the past are pretty excited.

https://timberlinemountain.com/news-from-the-mountain/

Thanks! Looks like they are making some good changes - will be interesting to watch how it progresses. Still working on skiing after the back surgeries and skiing locally (as much as this warm weather allows!) but would love to check Timbeline out next season!

 

[HikenSki]

Had surprising fun conditions at Snowshoe today. We figured it would rain all day but were surprised to find no rain and just overcast skies and light fog when we woke. Rain forecasted to start around 3pm. We donned our gear and headed out a little after 10am. Barely anyone on the slopes. Never had to wait for a lift, which meant our only breaks were lift rides. Nice soft conditions that weren't bumped up after an hour due to crowds. We could cruise without fear of being run over or have to weave around people. The fog came in heavy as did some light rain just as we started to talk about needing a real lunch and a break. Heavy rain forecasted all day tomorrow but snow expected Friday, 2-4". It'll be more crowded but we won't be stuck inside again. Yay to a great day on the slopes!

 

[EeveeCanSki]

Roundtop has suspended operations Thursday and Friday (2/6-2/7) of this week due to the incoming rain and will reopen on 2/8. This is per their Facebook page as of about an hour ago.

It was thin in a few spots on Saturday when we were there. The long range forecast is looking pretty grim for the next ten days or so...crossing fingers winter will come back end of Feb/beginning of March.

 

[artistinsuburbia]

We got around 7-10" of snow in the Laurel Highlands this weekend. So that has saved Seven Springs and Hidden Valley from the brink. 5 days of rain predicted. Hoping the weatherman is wrong.

 

[BlizzardBabe]

I skied Whitetail today in very sketchy conditions. It is never a good sign when you glance down at your boots on the lift and see mud spots. I skied every trail that was open and I found two that were acceptable - if only to work on drills. Still, I'm happy I was able to get out. The fact that sub-par conditions encouraged me to do drills for 3 hours is probably a good thing.

Oh, and then there was the pea-soup fog . . .