Conditions will be pretty good, despite the mild weather. The Photo of the Day is compliments of Wisp Resort, who opens for the season today.
CHECK THE SNOW REPORT for all of the deets, but here are some notables:
Let’s start today’s post off with the obvious. Good LORD it is warm; um, sorry Joe Stevens – MILD! I saw high temperatures yesterday in Banner Elk at 70°! That is NOT good.
Friday was a remarkably mild day. Numerous mountain locations set record high temperatures. Some of these exceeded previous record highs by 3-5°, and for some, it was among the 5 warmest December days on record.
What IS good, at least good-ish, is the fact that despite that news, we have EIGHT of the SIXTEEN ski resorts open for skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing and ice skating. There are 34 slopes open at 4 resorts in North Carolina; 28 slopes open at 2 ski resorts in West Virginia; and both Wisp Resort in Maryland and Bryce Resort in Virginia are open today as well – Wisp with 5 slopes open and Bryce Resort for 4.
Even Ober Gatlinburg in Tennessee is open for snow tubing this weekend, thanks to their SNOW MAGIC, limited refrigerated snow making system.
We’re going to give TOP BILLING today to Timberline Mountain in West Virginia, as well as Wisp Resort in Maryland since they are celebrating official, opening day weekends. But HATS OFF to ALL of the resorts today. Even those who are not open just yet, because all of them have been keeping their snowmaking fingers on the trigger and making snow whenever possible for what has – so far – been limited snowmaking windows.
Winterplace Resort has made an impressive amount of snow, anticipating their opening day to be around December 18th.
Weekend Three is Here
This is also WEEKEND THREE of the 2021-2022 ski & snowboarding season and so far, weatherwise it will be a good one in terms of the conditions at those resorts that are open.
All of the resort’s snowmaking crews have their eyes on Monday night as temps are expected to drop to 22° up at Snowshoe, Timberline and Canaan; and 26° +/- at the mountaintops of North Carolina and portions of Virginia. We’ll see how much snow they are able to blast on the slopes, because unfortunately we are expecting some rain to hit Monday and really a good portion of next week. The North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia mountain locations are really only looking at ONE night of snowmaking temperatures over the next seven days as we head into next weekend.
The West Virginia and Maryland mountains have a more favorable weather pattern over the immediate week ahead as lows are expected to get down to 19° Monday night, 26° Tuesday night and be borderline for snowmaking a couple of additional nights in the next week. While there are strong chances for some rain Sunday night and Monday, snow showers are in the forecast for Monday evening and again Tuesday night and Wednesday.
So if you’re a skier-weather-chaser, your best bet is to get into West Virginia and Maryland over the next few days. Meteorologist, Brad Panovich is giving us some hope that this mild pattern may flip in the second half of December.
NEXT WEEKEND is looking pretty good in terms of no rain…and that bodes well for the eight ski areas that are open today…to be operating in good, early season condition for next weekend. Of course, the weather here in the mountains can turn on a dime, so stay tuned for updates right here on YOUR SOURCE for all things snow in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic.
Can’t Make This Stuff Up…
I always have to shake my head at some of the emails and social media posts that hit us. Appalachian Ski Mountain posted a sweet shot – the one below – on Friday and that photo IS from Friday. That photo prompted Sierra Mayo to ask, “(I’m a) first time visitor this coming Sunday! Do the roads up to the resort require 4 wheel drive?”
Um, Sierra, unless you are planning on driving on the slopes, the answer is no.
SOME EVENTS AND PROMOS
Despite the mild temps, there IS still a lot happening at the resorts. Some skiing, snowboarding; tubing is open at several locations as is ice skating and more. CHECK THE SNOW REPORT
Here are some news shares:
WISP RESORT
The moment you’ve been waiting for…Wisp Resort is thrilled to announce that we will be opening for the 21.22 winter season this weekend!! Our winter season will kick off with Snow Tubing on Friday, Dec. 3rd from 4pm-8pm and with Skiing and Riding to follow on Saturday, Dec. 4th from 9am-4pm. The featured terrain on Saturday will be Squirrel Cage, Wisp Trail, Grouse Way, Sunset Boulevard, and Central Park Terrain Park. SEE YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN SOON! Be sure to check the Hours of Operation and Mountain Report at http://wispresort.com.
We have received lots of emails from people loving the aggressive earlier opening this season. Hats off to Wisp.
TIMBERLINE RESORT – Their just showing off now!
Timberline Mountain’s Opening Day is here! We’re kicking the 2021/2022 season off with 55% of the mountain’s terrain open! With the additional snowmaking since Preview Weekend, we have expanded our snow base to create wider coverage on open terrain. We’re excited to welcome skiers and snowboarders to another great season at Timberline Mountain!
The Opening Day festivities continue tonight at the Slippery Slope Bar and Grill! Come grab some food and drinks and enjoy live music by Chaga Tea Project from 8-11pm!
WINTERGREEN RESORT
Wintergreen Resort is not for skiing or snowboarding, however, we felt we should help out with their search for staff.
We are looking for motivated individuals to join our Food and Beverage Team here at Wintergreen Resort! Come to work with the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains as your office. We have several dining locations and open positions including line cooks, servers, bartenders and kitchen staff!!
We have positions available in other departments as well including rental shop, snowmaking, ski operations, snowsports school, and more. Did we mention free skiing! Apply today!
https://www.wintergreenresort.com/Wintergreen-Careers/
Editor’s Note: We have to tell those of you who might be looking for work, EVERY ski area in the region is in need of ‘warm bodies’ to feel positions at their resort. Call the resort of your choice and tell them to put you to work. Many offer free skiing, and more.
BRYCE RESORT
They are open TODAY with 4 slopes and 3 lifts.
They also reported aa fantastic Ullr celebration last Friday night to kick off opening weekend. The video below is shared compliments of Bryce Resort.
BEECH MOUNTAIN RESORT
Several of us are planning on heading to Beech Mountain Resort on Sunday to make some early-season turns. If you’re up there, look us up.
RECklESS RAIL JAM “Wheel of Tricks” kicks off this Sunday, Dec. 5th, at 11 a.m. Registration is in Group Sales from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Spin the wheel and determine your trick! Snowboard categories include beginner, intermediate and advanced. This event is free with a valid slope ticket or season pass. Discounted tickets for competitors are available through Group Sales.
Prizes coming in from Recess NC Rome Snowboards Dragon Alliance Van Snow Autumn Headwear 686
CANAAN VALLEY RESORT
Every Green Circle, Blue Square, and Black Diamond at Canaan just got a fresh signage upgrade these last few days. We love the new look and can’t wait to start making those turns!
Now we need the slopes painted — snowy white.
MASSANUTTEN RESORT
We are happy to share that snow tubing will open this Saturday (December 4) and Sunday (December 5) only from 9 am – 5 pm! Tickets are available for purchase in-person only at the Family Adventure Park for Saturday. We will reassess midday Saturday if we’re able to stay open for Sunday and if we can, we will have pre-sale tickets available for Sunday starting at 2 pm on Saturday.
OBER GATLINBURG
I had a blast on the ice bumper cars a year or so ago. The video below does not do it justice! But check out this video from Ober. If you have not visited this Smoky Mountain ski resort, you really owe it to yourself to check it out. They have the only aerial tram from the downtown area up to the ski area and they have an Olympic size ice skating rink (indoors), a mountain coaster and tons more.
OMNI HOMESTEAD
It’s here! Our annual season pass sale is back! Save $70 on season passes for skiing and snowboarding. Now through Tuesday, November 30, adult passes are $129 and children’s passes (for ages 12 and under) are $99. See you on the slopes! https://thehomestead.ltibooking.com/
Tentative opening date is Dec. 23. We’ll post updates as they become available.
While on Omni, is there a more Christmasy place than at The Omni Homestead Resort!?!?! The best Christmas tree, the best Santa…just a winter wonderland.
SNOWSHOE MOUNTAIN
Adventure awaits—only days left to turn it on. December 9 is your very last chance to buy the Ikon Pass: bit.ly/OnSale2122
Shameless Promotion
SkiSoutheast Store….
If you’re looking for Christmas gift ideas for that snow, ski & snowboarding person in your family or circle of friends, check out the Online Shop at SkiSoutheast. We have beanies, mugs, Snow News is Good News hoodies and more. Check it out: https://www.skisoutheast.com/shop/
As most of you know, ResortCams.com and HighCountryWeather.com are sister websites to our SkiSoutheast.com website. Together, they boast 9.4 million visitors and 70 million pageviews each year.
We do hope that you will follow us on Facebook and Instagram as we are seeing HUGE growth is our reach on social media.
That will do it for me today. We are truly thankful for you, our readers. Check back tomorrow for more!
Email me at [email protected]
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