A number of shredders of resorts in the southeast are waking up to a pleasant surprise this morning.
That wave of rain that was supposed to move through the region turned to snow in some areas. West Virginia, in particular, is the big winner. Snowshoe has four fresh inches of snow this morning. So does Canaan Valley Resort and Timberline.
There’s five fresh inches at Wisp in Maryland this morning!
And the North Carolina High Country was blessed with a little bit too. Sugar and Beech Mountain each have an inch of snow this morning. Further west, Cataloochee received a dusting, and Massanutten is blanketed with about two inches at the peak, and an inch at the base.
Here’s what else you need to know throughout the southeast today:
Snowshoe
From the snow report:
Winter is back after a mid season nap! We’ve got 4 inches of freshies this morning and lower temperatures continue throughout the week so expect daytime snowmaking as we resurface and get the mountain looking her best for the season of love! Speaking of love, if you haven’t already locked down your valentine you still have one more day to spark the perfect connection. Imagine telling your love story and it begins with “We met on the chairlift!”
February 10 was National Ski Patrol Day. Snowshoe dropped a great video for those who need a reminder about the skier’s code.
Timberline
Fresh snow at T-Line overnight. Here’s what the snow report had to say:
Snow returns today with two to three inches of natural snowfall this morning. This fresh snow has been groomed in on all open terrain but Off the Wall and The Drop, which remain ungroomed today. You can expect varied conditions on the mountain today, with a wetter and stickier snow near the base of the mountain. Snowmaking resumes this evening. We’ll be refreshing conditions and expanding coverage ahead of Presidents’ Day Weekend.”
Massanutten
A pleasant surprise at the ‘Nutt to replenish the goods that we took during the summit. From the snow report:
The rain turned to snow this morning with 1 inch at the base of the mountain and 2 inches at the peak with snow continuing to fall. Thin and bare spots exist so please ski with caution! Patrol will be evaluating snow conditions and we may see some changes to the trail count as the morning progresses. Snowmaking temps are forecasted for tonight and tomorrow night with colder air arriving for the weekend.”
Retirement
If you missed it, Massanutten General Manager Kenny Hess is retiring after a long time at the resort, holding jobs from bartender to ski patrol director before settling in as the GM. Joe Stevens has an awesome story after a conversation with hm. You can read that here.
I got the chance to meet and talk to Kenny for a while toward the end of my Saturday at the SkiSoutheast Summit at Massanutten. I learned that he spent some time ski patrolling at Sugarbush in Vermont, one of my favorite resorts back up north. I also learned that he – like myself – is a big fan of the Grateful Dead. I also learned that he’s hiked and skied Tuckerman’s Ravine, like any east coast legend should.
And a shoutout to reader Rob McLaughlin. If he makes it out to Sugar Mountain today, as he said he was, he will be skiing for the 47th day this season. I salute you, Rob.
Out West
Powder Mountain was awful yesterday. I should have gone to Colorado.
(I have been advised by the locals to give this advice).
I’ll have a bigger recap for everyone in tomorrow’s report, seeing as I’m headed back out there today. But I rode from 9 a.m. to 7:45 p.m yesterday. I can’t even give you an accurate number of runs, because my watch and phone both died. But I’d put the count somewhere near 20. Night riding in Utah was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Every single run we took, we would see the sun set a little bit more and the moon make its presence known a little bit more.
The Rest
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.