Good Morning! We’re halfway through the week folks! I tell you, being off work for a little more than a week for the holidays really hampered my ability to get up and get going in the morning. Normally, I’m up at 6 or a little before to walk the dog, then I’m showered and ready to go by 7. This week it hasn’t gone quite as smoothly. The magical little snooze button on my alarm and my hand have become best of friends. I woke up late on Monday, kind of got it together yesterday, and then today I didn’t wake up from my 15th snooze-button-nap until almost 6:30. It’s like that little bit of time off has me all whacked out. So, it efforts to make my morning a little bit easier today I programmed the coffee pot to make coffee bright and early so it would be ready to go. It’s funny, a cup of coffee doesn’t do for me what it used to. I think now it requires at least two, and maybe three, depending on just how strong it is. I would like you all to know that in the 3 days since starting my resolution to be healthier (I didn’t start until Monday, starting a resolution on a weekend is like setting yourself up for failure) I have been to the gym twice and purchased a grocery load of good-for-you foods. So, if I can work on this waking up early thing and get back in a routine, this year might start looking up just a little bit more.
With Wednesday and Thursday of this week come a wee bit of snow and precipitation. It probably won’t add up to much total accumulation, maybe an inch or two in the West Virginia area and less and you move south. After a mild (compared to previous temperatures) New Years temperatures are cold again and it looks like the Arctic air is here to stay into next week. With the Arctic Air sticking around ski areas should have no problem continuing to make snow. The warmer (comparitively) period last week didn’t allow for snowmaking, but what it did do was allow water reservoirs to build back up in preparation for upcoming cold temperatures. It doesn’t matter how cold it is, if there’s no watter, snowmaking can’t happen! So to sum it all up, cold air is here to stay for atleast the next week, so snowmakng ops can continue and conditions will stay great!! To check out the full forecast for the upcoming weekend and to hear more about the Arctic Air we’re settled into click here.
Here’s a look around…
North Carolina
Appalachian Ski Mountain – 26°- Open today on 12 of 12 slopes after overnight snowmaking added another 1" of snow to the mountain. App is also open for ice skating!
Beech Mountain – 24°- Open today on 100% of the mountain with packed powder conditions! Beech’s Beer Festival is coming up on January 22 which will coincide with the SkiNC summit!!
Cataloochee – 30°- Snowmaking is in progress on a limited basis during skiing hours. Cat is open today with 16 of 16 slopes and 5 lifts. Day, twilight, and night skiing are all available today and Tube World is open with the last session beginning at 8pm.
Sugar Mountain – 26°- Open today on all 20 of their slopes and trails with 7 lifts open. Note that the Tubing Park will close today on January 5th following the 2pm session and will reopen for the 10am session on Thursday, January 6th.
Wolf Ridge Resort -29°- Open today with 11 runs and 2 lifts. Snowmaking continues mostly on closed slopes only! It’s homeschooler day again today at the Wolf and they are offering some great specials! Reminder that the Upper Lodge is closed through the week and will reopen for the weekend on Friday!
Virginia
Bryce Resort – Open on seven slopes with a 35-70 inch base today for skiing and riding both day and night sessions! Only one tubing session tonight at 6pm!
Massanutten – 23°- Snowmaking overnight means the conditions are great on all slopes at Massanutten!! The MOuntain is 100% including both terrain parks! Wednesday and Friday are College Days…get a lift ticket for $30 and rentals for $20 rental for 8 hours!
Wintergreen – 23°- Open on 23 of 26 trails serviced by 4 lifts. Overnight snowmaking efforts continue to build base depth and provide great surface conditions. Upper Wild Turkey, Lower Cliffhanger and Big Acorn will remain closed so they can concentrate snowmaking in these areas and minimize the impact on open terrain! The Plunge Tubing Park is open today from 2pm-9pm. TERRAIN PARK: The Progression Park is open with: small and large propane tank rails, small battleship, small flat down rail, 2 small jumps, medium jump, and 2 progression tables. The Advanced Park is open today with: big battleship rail, propane bonk hip, big table top, mid table top, gas tank rail, down box rail and a 30ft flat rail. Keep checking this report for updates.
West Virgnia
Canaan Valley – 12°- It’s been a couple of natural snow-free days at Canaan but snow is creeping back into the forecast so I am sure that will change tonight or tomorrow! Canaan is open today on 11 trails and snow making is in progress!! Something kind of cool…The Ski Club of DC is celebrating its 75th anniversary this weekend!! Cross-country skiing/snowshoeing is closed today due to lack of coverage!
Snowshoe Mountain – 18°- More terrain back open today following serious snowmaking ops!! With 53 trails and 12 lifts you’ll have no trouble getting around the mountain and having fun!! Here’s what our favorite Snowshoe lady Laura Parquette has today say today, "After a couple of days of concentrated work by our snowmaking and grooming team to get some new snow mixed in and our snow resurfaced, Snowshoe continues to offer phenomenal conditions. We’ve reopened Lower Shay’s Revenge and Camp 4 today, and now have all but Mountaineer reopened. Mountaineer will remain closed through the weekend as we continue to pound it with snow in anticipation of a large terrain park build some time after Friday. Spruce Glades is also getting extra attention during the overnight hours, as we prepare for Saturday’s West Virginia Open Slopestyle Competition. Spruce will be closed on Friday for a build and open only for the competition on Saturday. Spectators are welcome to watch the freestyle action from the Terrain Park Shack, entering from Gandy Dancer. Lower Shays is groomed and ready for action this morning. Our grooming team has been working on it for a couple days now, and we have an exciting video to share with you in the coming days of what it takes to push out the snow on that extremely steep slope. Cupp Run will continue to see daytime snowmaking as we take advantage of cold temperatures. That will be the only place that we have snowmaking occurring on open terrain today. We’re looking at another sunny but cold day, which means our snow surface should stay firm throughout the day. We do have some natural snow in the forecast as we close out the week, and that will only make things even better around here."
Timberline – 12°- Open today on 30 of 29 trails. Snowmaking continues and conditions are only getting better!! Rail Jam this weekend!
Winterplace – 21°- Open today on 25 of 28 trails with 6 of 9 lifts operating, like all the other areas Winterplace has been making snow with fury to build base and keep surface conditions great!!
Maryland
Wisp Resort – 18°- Open today on 28 of 32 trails with 9 lifts for skiing and riding for the day and night session! Midweek Specials offer locals rates to everyone! Terrain Parks, Ice Skating, Tubing, and the Mountain Coaster are all open today!
Tennessee
Ober Gatlinburg – 28°- Open today with seven slopes and three lifts. Ober has built up to a 28-52 inch base and surface conditions are groomed and loose granular. Ice skating, tubing, and the terrain parks are all open!!
THINK COLD!! THINK SNOW!!
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