It’s Friday, a storm is coming, and Beech Mountain has opened up nearly all of its terrain.
There are 16 of 17 trails open this morning. Mix in a beautiful sunrise, and the mountain is looking top notch. Stefano Alessio had a video for us early this morning, and called the views “the best” he’s ever seen.
Meteorologist Brad Panovich is predicting worse-than-expected ice in the mountain valleys along western North Carolina and up into Roanoke, Virginia. “If you are in those areas I’d be ready for power outages or tree damage,” he said on his Facebook page.
As for Massanutten and Wintergreen, the National Weather Service is predicting total snow accumulations “in excess of five inches,” though there is some chance of ice accumulation as well.
Bottom line is this: roads will be slippery, so please take it slow out there while you’re driving, and keep an eye out for others.
I’m headed to Massanutten for the first time this weekend! If you see me, please don’t hesitate to stop and say hello. Snowguns are firing there, so hopefully, some more terrain will open up soon.
The HeArt and SOUL Winter Fest continues today. That will run through Sunday, and feature a wine tasting event, group yoga and hiking, a snow tubing party, and more.
It looks like another mountain town in the southeast has gotten national accolades. Travel + Leisure recently dubbed Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley is the second-best spot to consider if you plan to become a second homeowner. It attributes the close proximity to Massanutten as the big reason, of course, noting that the “6,000-acre four-season playground for visitors of all ages with 1,110 feet of vertical terrain” has more vertical drop than any resort in Virginia, Pennsylvania, or Maryland. And it of course mentions the close proximity to Shenandoah National Park.
What do you Massanutten locals and regulars think about this? I know that these lists can stir up some big feelings and controversy, oftentimes due to a lack of consideration for local culture or amenities by the publication and authors. Let me know your thoughts on the matter.
Let’s get into the southeast:
Cataloochee
Attention Cat riders and skiers: introducing, The Cat Classic 2024.
Big Brother Boards, Recess, and Maggie Valley Skis and Tees have linked up to present a video contest for Cataloochee riders.
Submit the best and most creative Cataloochee video up to a minute long for a chance at a cash prize. The clips must be filmed from January 1 and February 24, only at Cataloochee, and can be submitted via email to [email protected] or by tagging @TheCatClassic on Instagram.
And would you look at that: there are five features set up at the CAT Cage Terrain Park for you to get a start on:
- 24’ Mailbox Rail
- 8’ Jam Rail
- 8′ flat box
- 10′ Flat Rail
Mini Tube. There are 13 open trails today, including Alley Cat, Lower and Upper Omigosh, Upper Snowbird and Upper Turkey Trot.
Winterplace
Great news: Chair 1 is back in operation! If you were hiking up the terrain park to earn those turns, I salute you, but it’s time to give those quads a rest and ride a chairlift.
There are 17 of 29 trails open, six lifts spinning, and snowmaking is on.
Tonight is the start of the Friday Night Gates race league. Registration starts at 5 p.m. and the races start at 6 p.m. Head here for more information.
Tomorrow is also food truck Saturday on the slopes. Bayou Classics, Chpiggy, LLC, and Sunnyside will be serving up food.
Sugar
There is an impressive 78 inch base at Sugar right now, and that has led to 17 trails being open. It might get rainy and icy there this weekend, so hurry over to Sugar while the getting is good.
Wintergreen
New terrain alert! Upper Tyro, Tequila, and Lower Sunrise are all opening up today, expanding the Wintergreen open terrain to 10 trails.
“Snowmaking is going great and we are keeping an eye on a potential snowstorm this weekend,” the snowmaking team said today.
Timberline
Easy Does It and Upper Almost Heaven are set to reopen later today. Snowmaking ran from Monday night right until this morning, improving conditions and coverage across the entire mountain.
Snowshoe
It’s a cold one this morning at Snowshoe. We’re still looking at the calm before the weekend’s storm. Temperatures are supposed to rise to about 40 degrees at some point today.
More from the Snowshoe team:
We are under a NWS Winter Weather Advisory starting at 7 a.m. tomorrow, with 4-6-plus inches of snow expected through Sunday so if you’re here this weekend, you nailed it! The King of Greens, aka Logslide, opened yesterday and Grabhammer, one of our OG black diamond slopes, will open this morning as soon as Patrol gives us the thumbs up. We’ll have more trails opening as we roll through the weekend – Upper Shay’s Revenge, Spruce, and Bear Claw are all getting close so stay tuned via the Snowshoe app for updates!”
Omni Homestead
Snow sports are back again today, with one-trail open and a base of 10-12 inches. Snow making will continue throughout the day, so if you’re headed that way, don’t forget your goggles. There are two lifts spinning, and Kober’s is open for lunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“Our goal is to be open to the top tomorrow,” Omni Hotel’s Lynn Swann said in an email. “One lane of tubing is also open. All snow sports are open to the public and rentals are available.”
Feeling Good
I leave you today with the best song ever used in a snowboard video part. Ever. Period. End of discussion.
The rider: Legendary J.P. Walker, in the 2010 film Cheers.
The song: Feeling Good by Michael Bublé.
Streetstyle skiing and snowboarding is kind of like jazz, filled with improvisation and done best by true visionaries that see a staircase or a parking garage differently than you or I do. And J.P. Walker very well could be considered the Miles Davis of street snowboarding.
Don’t worry skiers, I didn’t forget about you. Allow me to introduce Henrik Harlaut.
Don’t forget: Massanutten Resort Summit. February 9-11. Be there. Sign up here.
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.