First of all – Merry Christmas Eve everyone. I already had my morning post written last night but after I sat down at my trusty SkiSoutheast Laptop and looked at some of the conditions out and about, I realized that some of you who are reading today’s snow reports would need some “counseling”.
I’m STILL going to post my previously written BLOG AFTER I post this update so if you guys like reading our morning FirsTrax news – then you’ll get two for the price of one visit today.
(CLICK TO READ THE SECOND POST)
As I slid my chair up to my keyboard to start the process of updating the snow report, the first thing I noticed was that the weather app on my table showed that it was 49° with light rain. Not good.
Then as I began touring each resort for the weather updates, resortcams and more…it was apparent that a lot of the mountains are seeing light drizzle and the forecast for some is for even a dash of heavy rain to mix in.
A lot of FOG is hanging over many of the mountaintops and FOG is not our friend as far as snow is concerned. Fog actually deteriorates snow more than direct sunlight on a cold day. That’s a story for another day.
However with the YUCK conditions, I thought it important to help spread the message that despite the rain, the slopes have plenty of good coverage. So today’s tour includes a lot of proof of that in the form of screen captures from the various LIVE WEBCAMS.
The TRUTH is that things look pretty s-p-r-i-n-g-l-i-k-e everywhere this morning and the slopes are narrowing in from the sides. I started to advise you guys of where the BEST snow is around the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, but then I thought about the fact that many of you already HAVE plans on where you’re headed so instead, we’ll give you the low-down on each and let you judge for yourself.
Also, you MAY want to read the SECOND BLOG POST this morning as I make some recommendations that could prove to be helpful to some of you.
LET’S GET TO IT…
Winterplace – 46° with on and off rain today and some snow forecasted for tonight. They have 20 of 27 trails open for day and night sessions with tubing and terrain parks open as well.
(As you can see by the image to the left, Winterplace looks pretty “WHITE” but just a little damp. )
Snowshoe Mountain – 45° and rain is falling as of this morning. They are open for day and night sessions with 36 trails open for your daytime fun and 7 on the Silvercreek side. They are reporting 28-48″ of base and Spring Conditions. That’s snow-reporting-eez for there will be some thin coverage areas out and about. However, Snowshoe has the best conditions in the region right now. Just check out all of the LIVE CAMS and make your own assessment!
Timberline – 37° and they actually ADDED two open trails to get them to 13 of 41 trails open on a base of 24″ for day sessions today.
(Timberline looks almost ready for prime time don’t they?)
Canaan Valley – 51° – 11 of 43 trails open for day sessions only today.
Wintergreen – 48° – They have 5 black trails open among their offering of 13 of 26 trails for day and night sessions. They’re open with tubing and terrain park fun as well. The snow looks pretty good at Wintergreen but all of the cameras were fogged over this morning, but when it clears check them out at: http://www.resortcams.com/webcams/wintergreen-slopeside/
Bryce Resort – 41° and light rain. I LOVE their positive vibe on their report. They posted, “It looks like it may be wet this Christmas Eve but the long range forecast looks fantastic for resuming snowmaking operations around New Year’s! Stay tuned for the latest information.”
Bryce is open with a base of 22-32″ on 6 slopes today for day skiing only.
Massanutten – 40° and light rain and open with a base of 26″ on 6 slopes. Ditto my positive vibe comments about Bryce for Massanutten’s team as they posted, “Open today from 9:00am – 5:00pm. Great day to try out that new rain gear! Rain showers with high’s in the mid 50’s. Happy Holidays!”
Mass will be open Christmas Day from NOON til 8pm
Appalachian – 45° – 9 slopes open for DAY SESSIONS ONLY on Christmas Eve. You may spot Santa on the slopes from 1pm – 4pm on Christmas Eve!
Please Note: ASM is closed for the Night Session on Christmas Eve, and is closed for both Day and Night skiing on Christmas Day. The Appalachian Ice Arena is open for afternoon sessions only.
Wisp – 37° – Light Drizzle – 10 slopes open, tubing, ice skating and the mountain coaster all look to be open until 8pm. (I challenge you guys to find a place where they show whether they are night skiing.) 8 of the 10 slopes open are greens but Wisp DOES have the fun-to-ski Squirrel Cage and The Face open (both blacks).
Beech – 49° – Light Drizzle – 8 slopes open and ice skating. They had Southern Star open yesterday but have had to pull that from their open terrain today. Beech was showing that they made some snow last night and upped their base by 2″ so the slopes should be pretty good.
Cataloochee – 48° – 11 slopes open with a base of 25-30″ and they are open for day and night sessions.
(As seen on the image to the left, Cat looks in good shape to weather this mild spell.)
Sugar – 47° and light rain is falling at 8:30am. Sugar dropped their base by 10″ over the last 24 hours to reflect a 22-60″ base and they also dropped one slope to now offer 11.
Sugar Mountain will close today at 4:30pm and will reopen tomorrow December 25th at 12:00pm. Tubing is open with sessions at 10am, 12pm and 2pm. Ice skating is temporarily closed and will reopen soon.
The Homestead – 53° and open with 2 slopes for day sessions only on a base of 10-26″ of groomed and wet granular conditions.
OBER – 52° and light rain. They are forecasted to hit 68° today! Ober is open for day sessions only today on 2 slopes.
Wolf Ridge – 47° – Closed Today and Christmas Day. They posted, “Due to heavy rain and wind, Wolf Ridge will be closed today. We will also be closed as scheduled on Christmas Day. All of us at Wolf Ridge wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing you soon.”
Sapphire Valley – 47° – NOT OPEN FOR SKIING. TUBING ONLY.
Check out the FULL SNOW REPORT HERE and feel free to drop me an email with your thoughts and reactions at: [email protected]