Spring doesn’t officially begin until March 20th, but despite what Punxsutawney Phil said 16 days ago – it sure feels like Spring. Last weekend I did the mid-Atlantic boat show in Charlotte where temps were in the mid 70s and here we are today with Spring-like upper 50s to mid 60s for high temps across the region.
DESPITE THAT, THINGS LOOK PRETTY DARN NICE AT ALL SKI AREAS ACCEPT OBER GATLINBURG.
We compiled a list of the ski areas ranked by the number of trails open. Only TWO ski areas in the region are at 100% and those are Snowshoe and Winterplace. There’s no great surprise there as they’ve simply had the better of the weather, snow and temps.
Beech, Sugar and App are all holding their own quite nicely and really ALL of the ski areas look in nice shape with little to NO thin coverage areas. The only exception to that would be Ober.
Cataloochee Ski Area is in good shape with the trails they have open, but they are playing on limited terrain from the 3/4th station down.
Here’s the list, by slopes open:
57 of 57 trails – Snowshoe Mountain – Looks great. 100% Open!
27 of 27 trails – Winterplace Resort – Looks great. 100% Open!
25 of 34 trails – Wisp Resort – Looks really nice.
24 of 47 trails – Canaan Valley – Looks great.
22 of 24 trails – Wintergreen Resort – Looks great.
22 of 40 trails – Timberline Resort – Great snow.
14 of 17 trails – Beech Mountain Resort – Looks darn nice.
14 of 21 trails – Sugar Mountain Resort – Looks darn nice.
11 of 12 trails – Appalachian Ski Mountain – Looks very nice.
11 of 15 trails – Wolf Ridge Resort – Looks nice.
9 of 14 trails – Massanutten Resort – Looks nice.
7 of 8 trails – Bryce Resort – Looks nice
7 of 9 trails – Omni Homestead – Looks nice. Upper Glades ungroomed.
7 of 18 trails – Cataloochee Ski Area – Looks very nice. Open 3/4th station down.
3 of 10 trails – Ober Gatlinburg – Ouch. Struggling to remain open for skiing.
2 of 2 trails – Sapphire Valley Ski Area – Looks okay really.
It is President’s Weekend and although the warm, mild temps will hold skier visit numbers down somewhat – it will be a ZOO at most of the ski resorts as this is the last long weekend of the season. The snow is plentiful and it will be soft if you have the opportunity to come up and play.
NOTABLES:
Sapphire Valley is hosting their annual Great Outhouse Races today. Kind of appropriate for the way this season has gone for the ski areas down that way…
OUTHOUSE RACES
We are Two Weeks Away from Our Annual SkiSoutheast Summit @ Snowshoe. Join Us! We are holding at (50) attendees so far and remember that Snowshoe is open with 57 trails.
Canaan Valley announcements:
*Special President’s Weekend Lift Hours: 9am – 6pm (Friday – Sunday)
Canaan Valley’s Totally Outrageous, Incredible, Amazing, Crazy, Wonderful PASS SALE starts today with a Season Pass being good for the rest of this season and ALL NEXT SEASON for $249!!! CALL THE SKI AREA FOR THAT GREAT OFFER! Toll Free: 800-622-4121
Canaan Valley added a new Tubing webcam where you can watch kids of all ages having fun. Check it out at: http://www.resortcams.com/webcams/canaan-valley-resort-tubing/
Timberline Resort announced, “Temporary Midweek Closing February 21st-23rd, Set to Reopen Feb. 24th-26th Weekend”
Closed – Oglebay Resort – “Awaiting help from Mother Nature”
LIBERTY SNOWFLEX is 100% OPEN!!!
You know it just has to be said with all of these warm winter days, that the little ski area that stays open year around at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia – is OPEN everyday. They’ve been a sponsor to this website for years and this is a great time to talk them up! Visit the site at: http://www.liberty.edu/snowflex/
Here are some notable videos to share:
Wintergreen Resort “Women’s Singles Line” or “Single Women’s Line”
Snowshoe Lower Shays Getting Groomed
Cupp Run Challenge
That’s it for me today. Email me if you want to share anything at [email protected]