It’s Friday, and it’s raining here in downtown Raleigh. It’s a bit soggy in the mountains of the southeast, too, but there’s a chance that turns into snow for the ski areas in the North Carolina High Country.
What do you know about the Last Skier Standing?
No, that’s not what you call your friend who keeps their ski boots on the longest at the bar afterward. It’s actually the dumbest, hardest, greatest amateur ski competition around, and it takes place every year in New England. It takes days to complete, and usually ends with hardly anyone in attendance. And it is awesome.
The purpose is this: start and finish an ascent of 1,200-foot Black Mountain of Maine every hour, on the hour using skins on your skis or splitboard, and then transition your gear and ski or ride downhill to prepare for the next lap. The winner is the last person standing, and they must finish another lap to be crowned the last skier.
Justin Lagassey, a 32-year-old outdoor recreation teacher in New Hampshire, won the event this year, just a couple weeks ago. He battled lightning strikes and lactic acid to take home bragged rights for the next year. It took him three nights on the mountain to claim the crown.
Ilana Jesse, a Californian, set the new woman’s record with 37 laps. Jack Murphy set the splitboard record with 45 laps.
The contest is a bit of a legend in New England. Last year, the podcast The Dirtbag Diaries did an episode on it, following through the eye of pro skier Brody Leven.
“At the end of the 24 hours, I looked around and pretty much everyone was still there,” Leven said. “And I’m like, ‘What is wrong with these people?’”
You can listen to that episode here.
Here’s what you need to know to ski and snowboard in the southeast today:
Massanutten
Don’t forget that Sunday is Camo Day! Show up in your finest camouflage and save $15 on slope-use tickets Part of the proceeds will benefit Brain Injury Connections of the Shenandoah Valley.
There will also be a Mardi Gras party on Saturday. There’s some overcast skies and a few raindrops at The ‘Nutt this morning, but the sun should come out with a high temperatures in the low 50s later on. Yet again, Massanutten is 100% open.
The Pass Holder Appreciation Party will be held next Thursday, February 29.
Cataloochee
There’s a flash sale on next season’s passes happening now.
From March 1 through 3, you can buy an unlimited single pass for $590. A single pass with blackout dates will run you $480, and a weekday pass is $320.
“While we are ecstatic to be heading into March with service to 17 of 18 slopes, we are a little sad coming to terms with the fact that the season has only a few more weeks remaining,” the resort said on Instagram. “Keeping with our trend of thinking winter year-round and dreaming ahead to next season, we wanted to give advance notice that we will be accepting orders for 2024/25 Season Passes beginning March 1st! Passes for next season will also be valid for the remainder of the 2023/24 season from March 1st forward.”
Wisp
The 2024 Special Olympic Games will go off at Wisp Sunday, starting with an opening ceremony at 7:30 p.m.
“Athletes will be competing in winter events from Alpine Skiing to Snowshoeing from February 26 – February 27,” resort marketing team said on its Instagram page. “Want to get involved? Become an event volunteer; no experience needed! Contact: [email protected] to find the perfect job for you.”
Sugar
Temperatures are in the 40s today, and there are some raindrops on the ResortCams this morning. But that could transition to snow overnight and into tomorrow morning.
Snowmaking is not in progress, and The 2025 Spyder sample sale is going on now.
Timberline
From the snow report:
The mountain is 100% open! Last week’s low temperatures allowed us to refortify our base and expand coverage with several nights of productive snowmaking, which will cary us through the next two days of warm and rainy weather. We expect minimal loss of coverage in the next 48 hours, and temperatures drop once again on Saturday. You’ll find a slightly moist and compacted, machine groomed surface on the majority of our terrain. Off the Wall and The Drop are ungroomed.”
The Omni Homestead
There are four trails open today with a base of 14 inches. The final day for the 2023-24 season will be Sunday, March 3.
Not Skiing? No Problem
Miles Howard, a correspondent for The Boston Globe, recently was invited to a ski weekend with his friends. The only problem? He’s not a skier.
That turned out to be OK though. He wrote all about his experience with mountain coasters, pickleball, spas, and snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in his recent travel piece. Give it a read.
While everyone reading this almost certainly loves throttling downhill (on either one plank or two) the reality is that actually skiing is only a fraction of the experience. Chairlift rides, the drive up, a post-ski hot tub session, and of course, the 4 p.m. beer in the lodge are all equally important to contributing to the experience. I have a longtime friend who loves nothing more than skiing. She’s pregnant right now though, and was faced with a choice: avoid going to her happy place, or change her mindset. She chose the latter, and wrote recently about how she experienced her favorite ski area in an entirely knew way.
Video of the Day
It would be foolish to leave you with anything other than this documentary on The Last Skier Standing. This one follows the last race held in Jackson, New Hampshire before it was moved to Maine.
The Rest
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.