Much, much warmer temperatures await you today. Where our high yesterday in the morning ski reports was 0 thanks to Bryce, this morning we have a high of 22 at both Ober and Cataloochee. That is much better skiing weather if you ask me. Snowshoe came in with the low at -3, but it has already ticked up a notch to -2 in the past 30 minutes or so.
The weather yesterday caused a couple of the resorts to pause a bit. As we mentioned in yesterday’s First Trax, Beech closed the top of the mountain, and Snowshoe closed the Western Territory. We aslo learned a little later in the morning that Canaan Valley decided to close up shop completely (make sure you’re subscribed to our Twitter feed for the latest happenings). Not the case today as we are running on all cylinders again.
While the extreme cold was bad for humans, animals, and your house’s plumbing, it is great for making snow. Quite a few of the resorts added to their base. 
Appalachian put down another 2-4” to get to a whopping 40-70” base. Beech added 3-4” inches to 35-60”, and with the help of some natural Sugar is reporting a base of 40-80 inches. Bryce in VA added 3” to get to 35-45” and Ober in Tennessee added 4” to 34-40”. Ober is also now open to the top with the addition of Ober Chute –>.
The big news for today is that we have another resort to join the 100% open club – Massanutten. Massanutten joins Appalachian by having all of their trails and parks open for skiers and riders. Bryce has all of their runs open, but not their terrain park. Massanutten is not resting on their laurels however and is keeping their guns busy.
A few of the resorts are still juggling the open runs today so they can optimize snow making. Wintergreen has closed both of their terrain parks so they can build them up some more. Be sure to check your mountain for the specifics.
Every morning I get up before the sun and cruise the web in my efforts to bring you the best and most accurate information that I can. While surfing this morning I found an easter egg that I just have to share with you. This one comes from Snowshoe’s Burton Women’s Snowboard Camp this past Monday.
Anyone recognize the sticker on the chair?
Wind Chill Advisories are on tap at most of the resorts again today, but the air temperatures are much warmer – and climbing pretty quickly. We’ll see mostly sunny skies across our member resorts today with highs in the 20s and 30s. With 3 more inches on natural snow in the past 24 hours, Canaan Valley is looking a blue bird day right in the face.
The trip reports on the message boards are always fun to browse through to see what y’all are up to. If you haven't ventured to the message boards yet, you should to see what your fellow skiers and boarders are doing.
Take care out there today.
Tim Bahlke
Drop me an email at [email protected] to let me know what you think or with suggestions on what we could be doing better.