As the title of this article says, what a difference a day makes! Yesterday morning at this time ski areas across the region had been getting drenched for about 24 hours. That rain changed over to snow earlier than anticipated yesterday and gave the resorts an early March snowfall. I drove up from Charlotte this morning and was treated to a site I hadn’t seen in about a month…fresh snow on the mountain tops! It was a good way to start my day for sure. Then, I get in the office this morning to check the slope reports and I am stoked to see that almost all of the remaining ski areas who are open received a decent amount of snow. Here is a list of what they are reporting.
App – trace
Beech – 4”
Sugar – 4”
Snowshoe – 6”
Wisp – 7”
Wintergreen – 2”
Massanutten – 2"
Canaan – 5”
Timberline – 5”
Winterplace – 5”
The cams look awesome this morning. They look more like January images than those of early March. If you are lucky enough to ski or ride today I am incredibly jealous. I know I will be checking out all of the cams constantly today and I will more than likely be getting in a night session somewhere. Is there anything better than a March snowfall? Maybe, but after a month of some so-so weather this unexpected snow really has me pumped this morning. .jpg)
<<<It’s a winter wonderland on Beech Mountain this morning. This definitely doesn’t look like an image from March!
It also looks amazing up>>> on Sugar Mountain this morning!
While the snow did fall yesterday, it came a little too late for some of the resorts in the Southeast. We had our first round of closures this weekend as three ski areas closed up shop for the season. Cataloochee, Wolf Ridge, and Ober Gatlinburg all had their final day of skiing and riding this past weekend. Add in Sapphire to the mix, who closed last week, and that is almost a quarter of the ski areas in the region who are done for the year. That said, there is still the majority of resorts that are still open for business. Not only are they open, but they are all still going strong! Most of them are at or near 100% open with significant base depths. This snow is only going to help them and hopefully they will extend their season just a little bit longer. I know I’m not quite ready for spring!
If you didn’t make it to the Snowshoe Summit this weekend you missed out! We had a great time up there this weekend and a big thanks goes out to everyone at the Shoe who made it possible. I’ve only been there twice but that place is awesome! The customer service and accommodations are top notch. The snow conditions were very good considering the weather, with almost the whole mountain being open for us! I can’t wait to go back there next year.
<<<Good times were had this weekend at the Summit.
A big thanks also goes out to everyone who did make it up there to join us. We had a pretty large group who attended and it was very cool to see the amount of SkiNC and SkiSoutheast stickers and other apparel present on the slopes. I felt like everywhere I looked I spotted our logo somewhere. While conditions weren’t the greatest, everyone made the best of it and had a great time which is what it’s all about. You can check out SkiPink’s trip report of the weekend and in the next few days we’ll also have a recap video up on the front page.
Well that’s about it for this morning, here are the resorts..
Appalachian Ski Mountain – 22°- Open today on 100% of the mountain with a groomed surface. They received a trace of snow last night and were also able to make 2 inches! Look for them to continue to continue to make snow whenever possible up until their closing date of March 27th. They are looking to be in great shape right now. Ice skating is also open today.
Beech Mountain Resort – 16°- They are open today on 13 of 15 trails with a packed powder surface. They have 4 inches of fresh snow and their discounted March rates start today! You can get a full day lift ticket for just $20 and looking at the cams this morning up there, that is a really good deal. The riding should be awesome up there today.
Sugar Mountain – 22.6°- Open today on 100% of the mountain with a natural and frozen granular surface. They also received 4 inches of fresh snow yesterday, and just like Beech, their March madness rates kick in today so you can also get discounted lift tickets. Their Spyder Sample Sale is still going onas well. Tubing is closed today but skating is open.
Snowshoe Mountain – 14°- They are open on 59 of 60 trails today with a groomed and frozen granular surface. They received 6 inches of snow since yesterday morning and today should be an amazing March day of riding up there! Here’s what they have to say – " What a difference 24 hours makes! This morning it’s like we’ve gone back in time and we’re once again in a beautiful, white winter wonderland! Just about 6" of snow fell throughout the day yesterday, making it look like we’re mid-season again around the resort. That snow was groomed into our 59 open slopes and we should have some great packed powder conditions to start the day. We got lucky yesterday, as the forecast changed and temperatures dropped much sooner than expected, allowing snowfall to start just about 8am. We had a few hours of some crazy mixed precipitation, but steady snow was falling before Noon and didn’t stop until late into the evening hours. Our grooming team waited until the snow had stopped before going out and mixing it into our existing base. That will help improve conditions significantly after a period of some challenging weather.
But our snowmaking and grooming team have shown all year that they’re up to any challenge Mother Nature throws at them. We continue to ski and ride on 59 trails and while we do have thin spots in some areas, the snow is great. But once again, we don’t want you to just take our word for it, Amanda, one of our nearly 17,000 fans on facebook says, "This is correct we have been here all day and it snowed all day and has been great wonderful skiing conditions. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings. "
This new snow will help provide some great conditions for those ladies joining us this week for the Burton Women’s Snowboard Camp. Beginning Tuesday night, ladies only will be treated to 2 days on on-snow instruction, some fun evening gatherings, great swag from partners like Burton and Smith, as well as the chance to demo the latest and greatest women’s equipment from Burton. Our top-notch female instructors will help provide a fun, pressure free environment for ladies of all ages and abilities to progress their skills. Whether you’re just learning to link turns, or you want to elevate your skills in the terrain park, this camp is for you! Spaces still exist, camp registration is just $99 and lodging/lift ticket packages for the camp start at $162 for 2 nights lodging and 2 days of lift tickets, as well as breakfast daily. For complete details and to register for the camp, please call 877-441-4386!
Don’t forget, this week is the last week for night skiing, as Silver Creek will be closing for the season on Sunday, March 13th. The tubing hill will close for the season follow Saturday’s session. But value season pricing is just around the corner, and with this new snow we’ll be sure to be providing great conditions through the end of the season, scheduled for March 27th. And we have more great events coming up, including WV SKI FREE day on Sunday, March 13th and our Last Hurrah party and pond skimming event on Saturday, March 26th. Visit snowshoemtn.com for a complete list of events and great deals for the remaining 3 weeks for the season.
Finally, we can’t forget to mention that 2011.2012 season passes are now on sale. As the season winds down it’s time to think ahead. If you purchase your 2011.2012 season pass by April 30th you’ll save up to 28%. Plus, purchase before the end of THIS season, and come up and enjoy your last fix of fresh snow, and you’ll SKI FREE! That’s right, purchase next year’s season pass now, and SKI FREE for the remainder of this season! There’s still great snow to enjoy and plenty of time to do so. Visit snowshoemtn.com or call 877-441-4386 to purchase your passport to Snow Country!!”
Wisp Resort – 25°- Open on 29 of 32 trails today with a powder surface as they received 7 inches of natural snow AND they did make some themselves! Lift tickets are just $29 today per their Midweek Special. There will be tubing sessions today but no night skiing tonight. Ice skating is also open tonight.
Massanutten – 39°- Open today on 100% of the mountain with a groomed surface and 2 inches of new snow! They are still going strong! They day session will begin at 11am as will tubing. Both terrain parks are also still open with a number of features set up.
Wintergreen – 19° – Open today on 24 of 26 trails with a groomed surface. They received 2 inches of snow and they made some as well! There will not be night skiing again until Friday and tubing will reopen tomorrow.
Canaan Resort – 21°- Open today on 22 of 39 slopes with a frozen granular surface. They received 5 inches of fresh snow in the past 24 hours! They will be closed Tuesday through Thursday, but they will reopen on Friday for their final weekend of operation as they will close for the season on Sunday.
Timberline – 21°- Open today on 33 of 39 trails with a groomed surface. They also received 5 inches of snow over the past 24 hours! There will be no night skiing tonight, but they backcountry is still open.
Winterplace – 21°- Open today on 100% of the mountain with a groomed and packed powder surface. They have received 5 inches of new snow since yesterday and tubing will be open today. Discounted rates begin today as well!