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Mid-Atlantic/Southeast skiing (PA, NJ, DC, MD, VA, WV, NC, TN) for 2022-23

marzNC

Angel Diva
With fall colors starting early in central NC, it feel like time to start news and discussion for the 2022-23 ski season related to skiing/boarding in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, southern New York, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, or North Carolina. Decided to add Ober Gatlinburg in TN too since it's on the Indy Pass.

Won't be posting about it much in this thread but worth noting that Big SNOW in NJ has an indoor slope with manmade snow that's open year round.

NC: Sugar, Beech, Appalachian, Cataloochee*

VA: Massanutten*, Wintergreen, Bryce*
MD: Wisp
WV: Snowshoe***, Canaan Valley*, Timberline, Winterplace*
TN: Ober Gatlinburg*

PA, western: Blue Knob, Seven Springs**, Hidden Valley**, Laurel Mountain**
PA, closest to DC: Liberty**, Roundtop**, Whitetail**
PA, eastern: Elk, Montage*, Jack Frost/Big Boulder**, Blue, Camelback, Bear Creek

NY Catskills: Belleayre, Hunter**, Windham***, Plattekill

* - Indy Pass Partners
** - Epic
*** - Ikon

For the Mid-Atlantic discussion for 2021-22, click here.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Snowshoe spent the summer working on a number of projects. Opening Day is planned for Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving.

There is a 2'Fer pass for $129 for any 2 midweek days during the season. Only a limited number are available. "Midweek" is defined as Mon-Thu. Guess Friday is officially considered part of the weekend. Snowshoe is owned by Alterra and Ikon holders get unlimited access. However, it's also possible to get passes that are only good at Snowshoe, including a pass for $269 for Silvercreek only (has night skiing).

" . . .

New Village Access from Grabhammer Lift

Another priority for us this offseason was to create an alternative to our Ballhooter Lift for accessing the Village. To accomplish this, we’ve removed the carpet lift from Skidder and relocated it just above the Grabhammer Lift (along Cross-Cut). Now, if you’re skiing with us on a busy day and wait times at Ballhooter starts to creep upward, you can ride up Grabhammer instead, hop right off of it and onto the carpet, which will drop you off straight across from the Junction Ale House.
. . .

New Mobile App

We’re stoked to roll out an all-new Snowshoe Mobile App for Winter 22/23! Download the app and boom, you’ve got all things Snowshoe right at the tip of your fingers. Track your runs and earn badges, check the Snow Report, navigate the mountain with live walking directions, purchase tickets and activities, and keep in touch with your ski buddies, all in real-time.
. . ."
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Liberty has a new GM, Chris Blackwell. He's coming from Afton Alps, which was his home mountain growing up. Also has experience working at Breckenridge. The previous GM became the VP of Vail Resorts’ Mid-Atlantic region in 2019. He's originally from central NY and spent quite a few years working at Vail Resorts ski schools in Colorado before moving to PA.

October 6, 2022
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
The new GM at Canaan Valley has a lot of experience working for WV State Parks. The locals seem excited for the upcoming season. With Timberline having done so many major improvements since the Perfect family bought it out of bankruptcy, CV really feels very tired and worn down. They need to get the ski area up to the same level that the Canaan Valley Lodge and Conference Center reached after a major rebuilding several years ago.

July 2022
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Ober Gatlinburg in TN has a new owner and will soon have a new name. It will become Ober Mountain as a 4-season resort. The new owner is a local successful business owner. The soon-to-be CEO is also local. The long-time owners who decided to sell bought the slopes at Ober in 1975, which had opened in 1962. Gatlinburg is a popular leisure destination next to the Smoky Mountains National Park. Ober is on the Indy Pass for 2022-23.

October 11, 2022

October 2017
 

TheGreenOne

Angel Diva
NJ has Mountain Creek, and NY/NJ border in NY, has Mount Peter

Both are OK if you are in tri-state and do not want to travel more than ~1.5hr radius, but all the ones near NYC suffer from heavy traffic on weekends. I always suggest going a bit more north... Windham/Belleyre/Platts

Mountain Creek, Mr. TGO used to go first-chair (hr prior to public) for pass holders and leave when the NYC charter buses would drop off many bus loads--when they'd be out of rental shop was perfect time to lunch and head back home. Mountain creek actually used Mr. TGO's picture for their triple play ads for two years... I kept telling him to talk to customer service to get me a free triple play card, but alas, they stopped using his and we missed that window. Also, the old parking attendant, a local Vernon gentleman, used to give out free premium spots if you got there very early! Probably not the case anymore...
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
NJ has Mountain Creek, and NY/NJ border in NY, has Mount Peter

Both are OK if you are in tri-state and do not want to travel more than ~1.5hr radius, but all the ones near NYC suffer from heavy traffic on weekends. I always suggest going a bit more north... Windham/Belleyre/Platts
Even though I include NJ in the list for this regional thread, that's mostly because some folks in NJ drive to ski in eastern PA. Also Big SNOW is a reasonable day trip for folks in Philly.

Fair to say that someone who lives south of DC is unlikely to drive up to the Catskills. They are more likely to drive to WV to ski at Snowshoe or Timberline. Or simply fly out west.

What I was surprised to learn when I started skiing in NC and VA is how many families who live in FL are willing to make the long drive to NC, WV, or even Massanutten in northern VA for an annual ski trip. Usually there are at least two kids and often 3-4 kids under age 14.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Pro-Fit in Leesburg is having a ski swap on Nov. 20.

For those who haven't been to Pro-Fit, an added feature for this ski shop is that they have a rolling carpet set up for people interested in lessons any time of the year.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Most of the lift ticket prices are on the websites for NC and WV. SkiSoutheast is compiling all prices into a table.

For those unfamiliar with the mountains in the southeast, note that night skiing is fairly common. Doesn't get that cold when the sun goes down. Even the larger resorts only exist because of 100% snowmaking on groomed trails. A few places have small areas with trees for those willing to deal with thin coverage after a snowstorm. Most runs takes under 5 minutes for an adventurous intermediate to finish skiing top-to-bottom without stopping but not really going that fast.

Snowshoe is on Ikon. Cataloochee, Canaan Valley, and Winterplace are on Indy.

Screen Shot 2022-10-30 at 2.13.08 PM.jpg
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
It's a lot of work finding all this information and posting it here. Thanks, @marzNC.
You're welcome. Not really that hard since I'm also paying attention to DCSki and SkiSoutheast because those cover my home region.

I'll be based at Massanutten in the first half of January per usual. Will include a couple days skiing Timberline. They have added lights so there will be night skiing to check out. With senior rates, Timberline is a great deal because of the 6-pack detachable lift to the top. Midweek that means a lot of skiing. Might not have enough snow in the trees yet, but you never know in the Canaan Valley of WV.
 

Lmk92

Angel Diva
I have my fingers crossed for all these resorts. The weather forecast isn't looking very good, with our third La Nina coming up.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
I have my fingers crossed for all these resorts. The weather forecast isn't looking very good, with our third La Nina coming up.
For what it's worth, last season was one of the best in terms of opportunities for daytime snowmaking in the southeast. The region had a good season overall, helped by the mid-March snowstorm. The mountains with 100% coverage with enough water for 72-hour non-stop snowmaking are ready to re-surface as needed as the season progresses.

I don't bother to pay much attention to long term forecasts. I start paying attention for the southeast no more than a week in advance. That's only if the TV meteorologist in Charlotte has forecast wintry weather. He pays attention to conditions good for snowmaking as much as he looks for potential natural snow.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Beech Mountain is pushing the timeline for starting snowmaking. Not for the slopes but for the tubing park. Latitude90 is a company in Québec that makes container snowmakers that can operate when the weather is too warm for standard snowguns. They are partnering with SMI, which is an American company that has supplied snow guns for many ski resorts for a long time. Beech has almost 100 fan guns from SMI. They can cover the 100 acres of skiable terrain relatively quickly.

What most people don't know is that the top of Beech Mountain is well over 5000 ft. Denver is at 5279 ft. The town of Beech Mountain next to the upper part of the ski area is at 5506 ft. It's the highest incorporated town east of the Mississippi.

Latitude90 has pictures of the pile of snow being created this week at Beech on their Facebook page.

October 2022
" . . .
One of the resort’s most popular amenities, snow tubing, got a new all-weather snowmaking system. This new technology extends the tubing season and allow the implementation of pre-booking. Latitude 90 is an enclosed snowmaking system that withstands ambient temperatures, winds, and humidity.
. . ."
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Anyone staying over on a weekend at Timberline after Dec. 26 will be able to do a little night skiing on the lower mountain this season. Lights were installed over the summer. Winter Season Hours will run until 8:00pm, with the lift to the summit closing at 4:30pm as usual.

The first weekend of Jan, Feb, and Mar will be College Weekends.
"Present your current, valid college ID at the ticket window to receive special college pricing: Daily lift tickets for $60.00 for a single day, $55.00 each for two days, or $50 for all three days; ski or snowboard rentals for $29 for a single day or $24 each for 2-3 days."
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Pro-Fit in Leesburg is holding their ski sale and swap on Sunday, Nov. 20. Proceeds benefit the Whitetail Ski Patrol. People interested in selling stuff need to bring it on Friday or Saturday.

" *Used ski equipment MUST meet industry standards. NO “straight skis” accepted!

SKI BINDING CHECK:
All ski bindings will be checked against the ski industry’s 2022 list of supported ski bindings when checked into the sale. The manufacturers stop supporting some bindings after a few years because they can start to fail and jeopardize skier safety. Therefore, ski shop technicians are not allowed to adjust the bindings because they don’t want to jeopardize skier safety either.
The Whitetail Ski Patrol seeks to support skier safety by preventing the sale of unsupported bindings at the Swap that customers will not be able to have adjusted or used safely."
 

TNtoTaos

Angel Diva
You're welcome. Not really that hard since I'm also paying attention to DCSki and SkiSoutheast because those cover my home region.

I'll be based at Massanutten in the first half of January per usual. Will include a couple days skiing Timberline. They have added lights so there will be night skiing to check out. With senior rates, Timberline is a great deal because of the 6-pack detachable lift to the top. Midweek that means a lot of skiing. Might not have enough snow in the trees yet, but you never know in the Canaan Valley of WV.
Did you happen to notice if all of those places had Senior rates?
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Did you happen to notice if all of those places had Senior rates?
They do, but I don't remember the age cut offs. That ranges from 60 to 70 at smaller resorts. I've seen 60, 62, 65, and 70. In general, over 80 is free pretty much anywhere.

By now all the websites should be set up for the upcoming season. Pretty sure Sugar is the only place in southeast that isn't selling tickets online, usually with a slight discount for advanced purchases. RFID has become more common too in recent years.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
For those who make the drive to ski at Snowshoe, they just announced a new lift for 2023-24 on their Facebook page.

November 11, 2022
“ANNOUNCEMENT TIME!!! We are extremely stoked to inform you that next spring we will be replacing our Powder Monkey chairlift with a brand-new fixed-grip, quad (4-seater) ahead of the 2023/2024 Winter Season. The new lift will increase uphill capacity, ease congestion in the Basin area, and improve access to our legendary Western Territory area.

The current Powder Monkey lift is a triple (3-seater), that was installed in 1977. This will be the first new chairlift on the mountain since the Soaring Eagle Express lift was installed in 2006.“
 

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