Happy Boxing Day, and happy first day of Kwanzaa. I hope Santa brought you a new board, skis, beanie, mittens, or boots this year, and stuffed your stockings with goggles and hand warmers. And if he left you coal, well, you’re in charge of the parking lot tailgate session this season.
Shoutout to this guy at Gunstock Mountain Resort in New Hampshire. He was in line for first tracks one hour before the lifts started spinning on a 15 degree morning.
“We salute you, said Dana Nicgorski. “You are the spirit of winter.”
We are now in the stretch of time between Christmas Day and New Years Day. You know what that means. Like Andy Williams said: “It’s the most-busiest time, of the year.”
I’ve said it a few times before, but be patient with the Jerrys and the newcomers and the children out there.
As Joe Stevens has pointed out, a huge amount of revenue for these resorts comes from the late-December rush. There are plenty of people out there who will only get on the mountain for a few days in the stretch all season. And while that is frustrating to us regulars, it’s necessary for the lifts to keep spinning year after year. So be kind.
It’s wet and warm out there today.
As meteorologist Brad Panovich pointed out, there’s no natural snow in the forecast for the early part of this week. There’s a warm and wet flow coming across the south, which will dampen the slopes, like it is today.
But today and tomorrow are the last days in which there is no snowfall in the forecast, as we heading into the week. There might be a small, tight window for some snowmaking today in tomorrow in some parts of the region, but the colder air Thursday and Friday will allow snowmakers to capitalize on that, if they play their cards right.
A few members of our SkiSoutheast team will be headed to Snowshoe this week, and it looks like they’ll be greeted with snow showers on Friday and Saturday.
Let’s get into what you need to know around the southeast this morning:
Snowshoe
It’s a rainy day at Snowshoe, where temperatures are in the 40s and mist and fog is aplenty. Here’s what the snow reporting team had to say this morning.
A little underdeveloped snow never dampened our mountain spirit! We’ll be out catching the waves of this wintry surf while we await the arrival of some frosty goodness later in the week. Amidst misty slopes remember to keep a keen eye on your surroundings. Maintain a controlled pace and ensure visibility with bright attire. An attentive decent today ensures more powder-filled adventures ahead!”
Timberline
Night skiing is back this evening, after the team at Timberline got a much-deserved day off yesterday. Conditions are soft and spring-like, and all of the open terrain has been machine groomed.
There may be a few warm and rainy days ahead, but we do not expect to see any major loss of coverage. Snowmaking conditions roll back in at the end of next week, and we’ll be shooting for 100% open before our NYE celebrations.
Appalachian Ski Mountain
There are nine slopes and five lifts running at App Ski today. Temperatures will reach 47 degrees, and the ski area hasn’t made snow over the last few days.
Massanutten
It’s a good idea to grab a rain shell today if you’re headed to Massanutten.
Those aren’t even my own words, they came straight from the team at the ski area. Heavier rainfall will be later tonight, so get to the mountain early today. Temperatures are going to be in the upper 40s.
Bryce
There is a good chance that Locher Bowl and Revenuers is closed during the week after being opened for the weekend, thanks to the rain. Snowmaking will resume at Bryce soon, with the colder temperatures in the future.
Beech Mountain
The resorts winter music series continues tonight with the Shelby Rae Moore Band. That show will be in the Beech Mountain Brewing Co. Taproom, and kicks off at 7 p.m.
It’s a wet one at Beech today, and visibility doesn’t look great, so have your head on a swivel if you’re out and about today.
Don’t forget to block off your calendars from February 9 through 11.
For the first time since 2020, we are hosting a SkiSoutheast Resort Summit. This one will be at Massanutten Resort. The weekend is an opportunity to meet up with like-minded snow sports lovers from all over the southeast. The last one was held at Snowshoe, where a record number of 175 attendees made the trek to hang out.
Thanks to everyone that has already joined us on Discord.
Think snow!
Think cold!
Click here to join us on our new SkiSoutheast Discord channel. It is a great way to meet new snow loving friends and shares experiences, ask questions, and more!
And as always, email me at [email protected] with your thoughts and photos.