It’s Sunday, and the storms have calmed down a bit, but that doesn’t mean you have to.
Beech has already surpassed its season total snowfall from 2023, and it’s only January 21, meteorologist Brad Panovich reported yesterday.
Snowfall has slowed throughout the region this morning, but we’ve got a few fresh inches of snowfall at Canaan Valley Resort, Timberline, Winterplace, Wisp, Beech, and Sugar.
And without getting too far ahead of myself. It’s looking that the heavy amounts of rainfall that were projected for next Thursday through Sunday are already easing up. It will warm up significantly – though that won’t be very hard, seeing as most of the ski areas have temperatures in the single and negative digits this morning.
Let’s get right into what you need to know this morning in the southeast:
Winterplace
There are 22 of 29 trails open this morning, and nine of the 10 lifts are spinning. Temperatures are cold: just 6 degrees, with a high of 21 today.
The resort got another 2 inches of natural snow ready to be enjoyed today. The conditions are great, the snow reporting team said.
We have added 4 more trails overnight including Turkey Chute, Nose Dive, Hickory, and the Almost Heaven Training Area. We really want to thank our loyal customers for their patience while Mountain Operations has fought tirelessly to bring you a safe and great product. The conditions are amazing! Get here!”
It’s a cold one for sure, so make sure to dress in layers and be sure to cover all exposed skin today while you’re out there. The Family Festival activities come to a close today.
The family race starts at 2 p.m. at the Panorama Glades. There will be a costume contest all day, and live music from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Snowdrift Lounge from Hannah & Her Empty Orchestra. Sophisticated Hound Brewing Company out of Princeton, West Virginia will takeover the taps at the Snowdrift Lounge all day, and food trucks from Aurora Coffee and More, Bayou Classics and Chipiggy will be there for lunch.
Sugar Mountain
There are 20 open trails at Sugar today. Our own Kenny Griffin dropped by yesterday morning to enjoy the goods.
Ober Mountain
There are eight trails, and three lifts open at Ober today.
Castle Run, Upper and Lower Bear Run, Ober Chute, Yeti’s Run, Mogul Ridge, Cub Way, and the Ski School Slope are open today. A terrain park is set up Lower Bear Run.
Ober Rocks was last night: a chance for skiers and riders to enjoy a discounted lift ticket and rentals, and later, a Journey cover band.
Next Thursday January 25 and Sunday January 28 are Ober Mountain college nights. Students can ski or ride from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for the cost of a $10 donation to Sevier Co. Food Ministries.
Beech
There are another 2 inches of fresh stuff for the taking at Beech this morning. There are 13 trails and six lifts open, to accompany a base of 66 to 78 inches.
The winter music series continues with Anthony Childress today from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Beech Mountain Brewing.
Discord user GKCLT was at Beech yesterday. Here is their report:
Solid day at Beech today… morning session til about 1 p.m. was not overcrowded at all with excellent snow basically all over the mountain. Not sure what happened after that point, but man, did it get busy fast. Only downside was the bitter cold, but both wind and visibility were super manageable… (The tree runs are) between Shawneehaw and Robbins. It gets pretty tight in there fast, but our group was the only one that seemed to want anything to do with that area today.”
Bryce
Bill Nabers. Ski patroller. Take it away:
Had the day off but it’s too good not to ski today. While cold and windy snow conditions are excellent, fun skiing, if you dress appropriately. We are 100% open! We are making snow on the unlit slopes even as I write this. At my house we have had 6.5 inches of snow this week. Considering the effect of snow falling on snow, I would put Bryce at 7.5″. (I can see the lights on the slopes from my house.). I’m putting the base at an average of 40″ with more being made. It is a great stretch to set up the next section of the season. We should have a good base to ‘weather’ the underdeveloped snow in the forecast late next week.
Good crowd today which usually happens when it snows in NoVa. Lots of tubers and ice skaters as well. Much laughter was echoing across our little valley today.
Congratulations to the ‘Nut for getting their slope “No Hessitation” open. Congratulations to Kenny Hess. I know that trail has been on your planning radar for decades. I look forward to skiing it in the near future.
Massanutten
Another day open, another operating at 100%. There is a base of 44 inches, and terrain parks open at Pacesetter Park and Lower Nutten-To-It Park today.
From the snow reporting team:
A stellar sunny day on tap with a high around 27. The snowmaking and grooming team did another incredible job and snowmaking will be shutting down mid-morning today. Diamond Jim and Slot will be closed this morning for SARA race event.”
Massanutten recently dropped a video showcasing the unveiling of No Hessitation: the first double-black diamond trail in Virginia. Reader MeiMei Ma dropped that on our Discord channel. Check it out.
Snowshoe
The ‘Shoe is 92% open this morning!
From the snow reporting team:
The snow stoke continues on this fine Sunday as we picked up another 1 inch of freshies overnight, bringing our total to a foot over the past 3 days. If you’re looking for wide open turns and minimal lift lines, head over to Silver Creek to see what all the chatter is about.”
Appalachian Ski Mountain
The Arbor Shred for the Cup Big Air Competition is scheduled for today. There are three categories – beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
All 13 trails are open at App today. All but one lift is spinning.
Laax Open 2024
When you’re done reading today’s report, head on over to Red Bull TV to watch the freeski slopestyle competition at the 2024 Laax Open.
In the men’s snowboard halfpipe final yesterday, Australian riders took the top two spots. Scotty James won gold, while Valentino Guseli won silver. Japanese rider Ruka Hirano took home the bronze, with American Chase Blackwell just missing the podium with a fourth-place finish.
For the women, Japan’s Miksuki Ono and Ruki Tomita took gold and silver, respectively. American Bea Kim landed her first podium finish with a silver medal. In her highly anticipated return to the halfpipe – her first since the last winter Olympics – Chloe Kim finished fourth.
Video Of The Day
Tom Brady. Ronaldo. Barry Bonds. Every once in a while, an athlete comes along and changes a sport forever. And for street skiing, that athlete is Henrik Harlaut.
The most decorated skier in X Games history released his film Salute in December 2022, detailing his dedication to skiing and unique lifestyle. And that is what I will leave you with on this Sunday morning.
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.