It’s Tuesday, and I’ve got some massive news coming out of Aspen, Colorado that concerns the southeast.
A new X Games event has been announced, and it will feature three riders that grew up riding in the North Carolina mountains.
The first ever Street Style competition will debut in Aspen on Saturday, January 27. North Carolina’s Luke Winkelmann and Zeb Powell will compete on the men’s side, and Tennessee native Brantley Mullins will compete on the women’s side of things.
Riders will be judged on originality, difficulty, creativity, style, and trajectory. Ten men and ten women riders will compete in 20-minute jam sessions, and the event will be broadcast exclusively on the X Games TikTok feed (which is a little bit weird, for sure. But hey, Gen Z is the target audience).
Snowboard Magazine’s Julia Spadaro has all the details for you in this story.
The southeast’s park skiing and riding scene has always had a heavy influence throughout snowboarding, and last year, it was put on full display with the Red Bull Rail Yard competition held at Appalachian Ski Mountain. The south is getting the shine it deserves. And with a brand-new competition catered toward the strengths of southern riders, there’s a good chance of seeing one of the locals up on the podium.
Atlantic Ale House at Beech Mountain will also have a watch party Saturday, starting at 4 p.m.
Let’s get into what’s going on in the southeast today:
Wisp
If you head to Maryland, you’ll be skiing and riding on 97% of the mountain.
East Ridge is now open!
Massanutten
Reader MeiMei Ma spent her morning at the upper mountain trails. Here’s her report:
Still quite cold. Nothing is flat anymore, there are big groomed out whales everywhere. So fun! MakAttack and No Hessitation bumps are growing.”
The resort is still 100% open! It will be sunny with high temperatures in the 30s today. Pacesetter Park and Lower Nutten-To-It Park are open today.
Timberline
From the snow reporting team:
Temperatures are on the rise after a cold weekend of winter storm weather. Saturday’s 15-20 inches of fresh snow has groomed in nicely, and you’ll a packed powder, machine groomed surface on the majority of terrain today. The Drop and Off the Wall are partially groomed for a more challenging terrain option.”
Cataloochee
The Cat is still 100% open. It’s 40 degrees this morning, with a base of 49-74 inches.
The Cataloochee snowmaking team has been named as a finalist for the Ski Area Management I AM A Snowmaker contest this year. The contest highlights hard work, determination and camaraderie of snowmakers, and recognizes their critical contributions to the alpine, Nordic, snowboard, and winter tubing industry. The contest launched in 2013, and eight teams have been chosen as finalists for this year.
- Bretton Woods in New Hampshire
- Cataloochee
- Copper Mountain in Colorado
- Gore Mountain in New York
- Greek Peak in New York
- Mammoth Mountain in California
- Panorama in Canada
- Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire (Where I learned how to ski and snowboard growing up).
Beech
There are 16 of 17 trails open for business yet again today at Beech. Only half of the lifts are in operation as of this morning.
Tonight from 5:30 to 7: p.m. is the Sustainable Education Series where local leaders in sustainability share insights on preserving and enhancing our community. Tonight will feature the Hunger and Health Coalition and Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture.
Winterplace
There are 27 of 29 open trails at Winterplace today, and six of 10 lifts spinning. Temperatures will creep up to 41 degrees, and be as cold as 15.
Family Fest looked like a huge hit!
And don’t forget that college students can get lift tickets for just $45 with a valid ID. Rentals are discounted too, for just $20.
If you missed it, meteorologist Brad Panovich recently dropped some footage from a visit to Winterplace during the storm.
Video of the Day
Craig Kelly is one of the most influential snowboarders in the history of the sport. He was killed on January 20, 2003 by an avalanche.
During the winter of 2013, a small group of Craig’s friends, industry insiders, and pro riders gathered at Baldface Lodge to ride and share stories about what he meant to them. This video from TransWorld Snowboarding takes a look into just how big his impact on the community was, and is still to this day.
The Rest
Don’t forget: Clear your calendar from February 9-11. That’s when Massanutten and SkiSoutheast will host team up to host our summit. It’s a great way to meet like-minded, snow-loving people, and possibly make some lifelong friends in the process.
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.