Happy Thursday, folks. If you've been keeping up with all the buzz surrounding one resort in particular, you may think the temperature isn't the only thing getting hotter. It's been all in good fun, at least on our part (and for the sake of our SkiSoutheast community); but we've decided it's time to move on and get back to what we know and love–
In that case, today's article is going to be a hodgepodge of little tidbits, highlights, and interesting factoids.
Yes, temperatures are up in the mid 30s to 40s around the region, but the bases are still there, slopes still open, and skiers and boarders still on the mountains. Peeps out at Timberline today >> No red flags for the next few days, so start planning your trips.
Wintergreen Resort posted to Facebook yesterday, "Don't worry too much about this weekend – we have enough down to survive a little warm stretch with only a few thin patches and, as we all just saw, can recover in no time as soon as it's cold again next week." They currently have the most open terrain in Virginia!
Beech Mountain responded to visitors' concerns this morning on Facebook, as well, "Conditions are good today, we plan on them to continue to be for the weekend."
Speaking of Beech, they're currently featuring a 'Learn to Ski Challenge Poster Contest,' open to students in grades third through fifth. Prizes include ski gear and packages. The resort's certified instructors will do the preliminary judging, while Tim Humphries, professional snowboarder sponsored by FLOW, will do the final judging.
I kind of wish I was in grade school again… I once took second place in a coloring contest and all I won was a giant Easter basket. A set of goggles is much cooler 😉 Just kidding, hometown newspaper peeps, I greatly appreciated that basket and thought it was a pretty big deal – please don't take away my title.
App Ski Mtn has quite a bit planned for the weekend, with a jam-packed schedule of fun starting Friday night and lasting through Sunday afternoon. The first event is a Line/Ride Fresh Friday free jam session that will take place on a never-before-seen setup. An Ollie Pop contest will follow. Saturday is geared for the little ones, with the region’s first Burton Riglet Park Tour, and Sunday for the ladies, with the first “Ladies Park Session” of the season. Details on the festivities can be found here.
Massanutten tending to their guests outside and in – they have a brand new snow sports locker room. Seasonal locker rentals are $125; weekly rentals are $50. This indoor locker room is semi-private, heated, and has slope-side access!
Now onto something that caught my attention the other day… something we might not necessarily see in the southeast any time soon, but it's amusing to entertain the thought– traveling in a ski lift NOT above a ski slope. Follow me? The recently published article by John Roach of NBC News is titled "Skip the Subway, Take a Ski Lift to Work Instead." Can you imagine? The possibility is up in the air in Texas, and should the concept prove to be promising (emphasis on the question), I imagine many major cities looking into it as an alternative form of transportation.
The article's opening line starts, "The future of mass transit will come with sweeping views, private cars, and schedule-free travel if a proposed gondola-based system takes off from sketchpads at a design firm." Michael McDaniel and colleagues at FROG have been researching this innovative idea; "we started looking at what we were discovering and were like, ‘Wow this actually seems kind of feasible.'” The most obvious potential setback or alarm is cost, but you never know. I guess we'll have to stay tuned to see how it pans out. You can view the full article here.
That's it for today. I told you it would be a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Hope it was enough to hold you over until tomorrow.
Email me at [email protected].
*Front Image courtesy of Wisp Resort 2013