It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend. And that means the crowds are going to be crowdin’.
I talk about ski and snowboard films a lot. And while these movie often succeed at showcasing the most talented athletes in the world on snow, at the end of the day, the goal of the ski film is to get the viewer excited to go skiing and snowboarding.
Sometimes, watching a pro backflip into a couloir isn’t very relatable.
But with the busiest weekend of the year ahead of us, we could all use a little bit of stoke this morning. Allow me to introduce Nidecker’s “Left, Right.” It’s a snowboard film about turning.
“It all starts with a turn. It’s the first thing we learn and it’s the last thing we master,” narrator Mike Basich says to start the film. “It’s a foundation. A signature. An art. A science. And when you boil it down, all snowboarding is, is left and right.”
Jumps are great. Spins are great. Flips and rodeos and methods and grabs are great. But snowboards were invented for turning. And this film showcases that beautifully.
Here’s my other favorite quote from the film:
Hard snow, soft snow, high mountains, tree lines, far lanes and backyards. The search for the perfect turn takes us many places. But show me the rider who doesn’t dream of powder snow, and I’ll show you a heart that has stopped beating.”
Make sure to buy those lift tickets ahead of time. Cataloochee is already sold out of tickets for today’s daytime sessions.
Let’s get into what you need to know about the southeast today:
Snowshoe
It’s snowing at Snowshoe! There’s still a wind advisory in place, so while all 12 lifts are spinning right now, that could be impacted. There are a lot of trails open these days – 41 of them to be specific. Camp 99, Gandy Dancer, Gangway, Heisler Way, Grabhammer, Knotbumper, and J-Hook are just to name a few.
Timberline
No natural snow at Timberline overnight, but it looks like the flakes are already coming down this morning.
Once again: there are 19 trails open and four lifts. About an inch of accumulation is expected throughout the day, with the snow showers happening off and on throughout the day. The Drop is the only trail not open.
Winterplace
A huge upgrade at Winterplace: there are now nine lifts spinning, and 19 trails are open of 29.
The forecast is calling for winds as high as 40 miles per hour. And snow showers off and on all morning. MLK weekend is among the most popular weekends to ski in the country, so keep your head on a swivel out there.
Appalachian Ski Mountain
Everything is open at App!
There are three parks open with three jumps, six jibs, and a cat track.
Here’s a list of all the features available:
Appaljam:
Medium Jump
Large Jump
Appaljack:
Small Tube
Up-Flat Box
OG Rail
Skinny Box
A-Frame Flat Bar
Top:
Juice Box
Small Jump
Beech Mountain
It looks like the rain cleared up just in time for the long weekend.
Don’t forget: Adaptive Ski Week starts on January 16 at 8 a.m. The Beech Mountain Race Series begins January 18.
Omni Hometead
Homestead has a 12-inch base with four open trails open to the top for skiing and snowboarding. One lane of snow tubing is also open.
From Lynn Swann:
Today and tomorrow from 12:30 – 3:30 p.m., join our friends from Aperol Spritz for Après with Aperol at Kober’s. Drinks include Hot Buttered Wild Cider, Hot Franny, Mesquite & Maple Old Fashioned, Espresso Martini, Aperol Paloma and an Aperol Spritz Group Serve Tower that serves 4 or 8.”
Bryce
Bill Nabers kept it short and sweet in our last exchange:
Very nice skiing.”
There are four lifts spinning and seven trails open.
Hatley Pointe
I’ve been super excited at the updates from the Hatley Pointe team, and was fired up – like many others – when they announced that snowmaking would begin the week of January 4. When that didn’t happen, it left a lot of us wondering if the resort formerly known as Wolf Ridge would happen this year.
Here’s the latest update from the team:
“In an effort to remain as transparent as possible as we prepare for our inaugural season at Hatley Pointe, we want to provide an update about our snowmaking. We were projected to begin making snow by January 4th, however we have run into technical issues with the equipment in our pump house. This has caused further delays for our snowmaking efforts. We have been working on this issue and believe it will be resolved very soon.
We know our guests are eager to see snow on the mountain, and we can assure you that the moment we are capable of blowing snow, we will begin, and will not stop until the slopes are covered! As always we appreciate the support and patience from our community and we promise to communicate with everyone about a projected opening once a date is firm.
For those who wish to track our progress we have restored our live feed from the base of the mountain. You can view our feed here and watch for the first signs of snow from our crews!”
Out West
If you’re still thinking about planning a trip out west, well, Utah might be the spot.
Snowbird Resort is going through a crazy storm right now. The ski area has gotten four feet of snow in just the last week, and 19 inches of snow in the last 48 hours. Another 70-80 inches of snowfall is forecasted for the next four days.
Personally, I can’t recommend Snowbird enough. For those who prefer their skiing and riding steep and deep, it’s the place to be.
I’ve been to the Bird twice. The first time was while things were still a little bit weird due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was fun, but the runs were a bit icy early in the season. My friend and I took the legendary tram up, but the runs down were a bit treacherous
The second was last February. My Utah trip brought me to Snowbird, Brighton, and Powder Mountain. Those are three of my favorite places to ride, but all for different reasons.Powder Mountain has some of the most amazing terrain. Powder stashes everywhere, and truly enough space to make the mountain feel like a canvas waiting for your paint brush.
Brighton is amazing for a bunch of reasons, but what stands out the most is how it is a bastion for snowboard culture. If you’re riding at Brighton, you’re riding the same stuff that the best riders in the world are enjoying.
And Snowbird – aside from the steep runs that make you feel like you’re going 100 mph on a firm snow day – has some of the best natural beauty out of any ski resort I’ve ever been to.
The Rest
Don’t forget: Clear your calendar from February 9-11. That’s when Massanutten and SkiSoutheast will host team up to host our summit. It’s a great way to meet like-minded, snow-loving people, and possibly make some lifelong friends in the process.
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.