Check the snow report page for all of the resort slope conditions at a glance. See: https://www.skisoutheast.com/skireports.php
Ahhhh this morning is another one where it is somewhat mild and wet. It’s killing me, it really is. I hate it when the weather is like this because then I feel like I am the bearer of bad news with these morning reports. It is definitely improving though. The App LIVE cam is actually showing clearing conditions and a little bit of sunshine is actually peaking though.
There is colder weather in the not so distant future. In fact, it looks like tonight will see snowmaking resume at many of the ski areas as a cold front made its way through the region last night. You can see on the temperature graph of our Sugar Mountain station exactly when that front passed through overnight. 
<<< I think it’s pretty easy to tell when that cold front moved though!
Temperatures will continue to drop throughout the afternoon. You can tell the colder air has already made it’s way into eastern Tennessee by looking at the morning temperature at Ober Gatlinburg. As of 8am this morning the temperature out there was 40 degrees. Compare that with the morning temp at Canaan Valley in West Virginia (several hundred miles north and a good 500 feet higher in elevation) where it was 46 degrees. That doesn’t happen very often.
Another front moves through Saturday night as well, ensuring that colder temps stick around through Monday. So yeah, things will turn around quickly over the next few days. I say turn around quickly but really it’s not even that bad right now. We are seeing some trails dropped from a few places this morning and base depths have been lowered by an average of 4-6”, but in general the coverage at the ski areas is looking pretty good on the cams right now all things considered. This weekend should provide some quality conditions everywhere.
If you are heading out to get some turns in this weekend, there are a few events taking place worth noting. Here in North Carolina, the town of Blowing Rock is having its annual Winterfest this weekend. It’s a pretty big event which includes a chili challenge, a polar plunge (no thanks),
hayrides, and many other festivities. Appalachian Ski Mountain will also be taking part in the event. Here is what they say on their site:
Appalachian is excited to be part of the Town of Blowing Rock’s Winterfest Celebration this season! As part of Winterfest, Appalachian Ski Mtn will be hosting a special Family Night on Friday Night, January 27 – complete with a special late-night ice skating session, s’mores roasting by the rinkside bonfire, Special Learn to Ski/Snowboard packages, and more!
ASM will also host a Snowman Building Contest on Sunday, January 29. Appalachian has designated a special snow-play area on Avery’s Appal and will have it stocked with plenty of snow for Sunday’s Snowman Building Contest.
Families and Groups of up to 5 people can sign up for the Contest beginning at 9:30 in the Main Office on the lower level of the Base Lodge. Registration for this event is FREE, but limited to the first 25 groups of people that sign up, so don’t be late!
Appalachian will supply standard Snowman accessories (coal & carrots), extra flair is encouraged and can be brought in by the groups registering.
The Snowman Building Contest will be held from 10:30 until Noon and awards for Snowmen will be given immediately thereafter.
See the entire line-up of fun events at the Blowing Rock’s Winterfest site, and our Events page!
ATP will also be hosting the Red Bull ThingamaJIB on Saturday, January 28 – this will be an event you don’t want to miss!
For this event, ATP will be preparing one of the most unique, fun, creative, and elaborate park setups in our history, and to top it all off Red Bull is giving away a $1,400 cash purse for this event – sick!
The Categories included in the event are: Open Snowboard, Open Ski, and a Women’s Division. These three divisions will be judged separately, but will be all grouped together then divided into two groups that will each have a 45 minute jam session on the entire course. 10 Snowboarders and 10 Skiers will be chosen from the jam sessions to advance to a finals round, which will be a 30 minute jam on ATP’s centerpiece setup for the event.
Cash prizes will be awarded for both Open Snowboard and Open Ski divisions: $400 for 1st Place, $200 for 2nd Place, and $100 for 3rd Place.
Make plans to be here Saturday for this truly unique session with our friends at Red Bull.
It sounds like a pretty fun weekend over there. The Thingama-Jib contest especially sounds interesting. Just so you know, they have AppalJack closed today in preparation for that event.
Up into West Virginia, Snowshoe has a pretty big weekend lined up as well. The West Virginia Open takes place tomorrow. They’re also having a US Airbag Demo which sounds pretty sweet. I would love to try out one of those and huck some crazy stuff. There is no way I would ever try any flips or inverted tricks without one. Here is the official statement from Snowshow about the weekend festivities:
Mountaineer Parks is hosting the WV Open on Mountaineer at Silver Creek. Cash purse, prizes and an airbag demo make this an event you just can’t miss! US Airbag will have the demo from Friday, January 27th until Sunday, January 29th. Come perfect those landings and take your riding to the next level. WV Open will be on Saturday, January 28th. Get ready! .jpg)
Friday, January 27, 2012
4-8 pm
Registration for Slope Style Event – Depot
$25 per participant
9am-4pm*
US AirBag Demo – “Soft landings for super heroes.” Check out this awesome new attraction to the Snowshoe WV Open. There is a separate fee and waiver to try out the airbag, cash only please. Be prepared to catch air like never before!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
12-2pm
Registration for Slope Style Event – Silver Creek
$25 per participant
2-4pm
Practice – Mountaineer Park Open
Participants must wear their number bibs during practice
5pm
Slope Style Event – Mountaineer Park
9am-5pm*
US AirBag Demo – “Soft landings for super heroes.” Check out this awesome new attraction to the Snowshoe WV Open. There is a separate fee and waiver to try out the airbag, cash only please. Be prepared to catch air like never before!
8 pm
Awards Ceremony – Mountaineer Terrain Park Deck
1st – Cash Purse!!!
2nd – Board or Ski
3rd – Season Pass for 12/13 Season
Sunday, January 29, 2012
9am-4pm*
US AirBag Demo – “Soft landings for super heroes.” Check out this awesome new attraction to the Snowshoe WV Open. There is a separate fee and waiver to try out the airbag, cash only please. Be prepared to catch air like never before!
US AirBag fee:
$5 for 2 jumps
$10 for 5 jumps
$25 for 15 jumps
*US AirBag Demo dates and times are dependent on weather.
Like I said, improving weather conditions and some fun events will make for a pretty great weekend at the resorts. I’m hoping to see a ton of pictures over on the messageboard so take your camera and post them up!
As always, Mike will keep you up to date on things this weekend. Talk to you guys Monday!
Email me your comments, thoughts, photos, vids or anything else you like at [email protected]