November 2021 Preview Weekend at Timberline Mountain, WV

by Jim Kenney

Timberline Mountain (TM) ski area in Canaan Valley, WV opened for a preview weekend on November 27 and 28, 2021.  As part of the preview weekend at TM the season pass holders were invited to bring a friend to join them for a free ski day.  My buddy John Lewandoski is a pass holder and he hooked me up for a free day on Sunday, November 28th.  Thanks John!  It was my first time skiing Timberline Mountain since the new owners took over the ski area in 2019.  I had a really great time.

This is old news for those who skied TM last year, but I found the new lifts and enhanced snowmaking capabilities at TM to be a huge game changer.  Friends tell me the new high speed six passenger chair cuts the trip to the summit from approximately 13 minutes to 4.5 minutes.  Compared to the old lifts the amount of skiing/vertical you can now log during a visit to TM is like night and day.  TM's always had great terrain, but it wasn't the best place for maximizing your on-slope mileage.  On Sunday I'm pretty sure I bagged a record for the most vertical I've skied on a personal first-day-of-the-season.

Since the Perfect family took over TM in 2019 they have continually worked on improving the snowmaking infrastructure and it looks like that foresight is really going to pay off for the 2021-22 season!  In roughly three days this past week they went from dirt to 40% of the ski area open, including four nice top-to-bottom trails for the preview weekend.  The snow quality on those trails (Salamander, White Lightening, Thunder Struck, and Dew Drop) was good and held up nicely throughout the day on Sunday.  Given that rate of progress, the entire trail network should be open within a week or two with just a little cooperation from Mother Nature.

The six pack can gobble up a crowd, but it wasn't really tested by the light crowd on Sunday.  Both the six pack and the quad chair feature a sharp paint scheme that mirrors the gold and blue colors of West Virginia University.  Both chairs were sourced from Doppelmayr, one of Europe's premier ski lift construction companies.

Empty six pack, photo by Jim Kenney

The locals and season pass holders came out for the preview weekend.  Who doesn't love a chance to ski in November?  White Lightening trail was the steepest open trail on Sunday.  I expect The Drop and Off the Wall black diamond trails to open soon.

November smiles on White Lightening trail, photo by Jim Kenney

Long time DCSki forum member @wgo starts his ski season the right way, photo by Jim Kenney

Instructors with the TM ski school took advantage of the preview weekend to do some practice clinics.  I skied from 10 AM to 4 PM and they were out there almost the whole time.  I don't think temps ever reached 40 degrees, but in the afternoon the sun came out.  Dew Drop trail was the place to be for some sweet late day turns in friendly manmade snow.

TM snowboard instructor doing some early season riding with Spruce Island Lake in background, photo by Jim Kenney

DCSKi columnist John Sherwood making afternoon turns on Dew Drop trail, photo by Jim Kenney

In addition to the lift and snowmaking improvements at TM, the base lodge has been totally remodeled and updated, including a significant expansion in square footage.  An exterior paint job has the building looking better and brighter than it has in decades.  There was even two or three inches of natural snowfall over the weekend to whiten-up The Valley.  TM is ready for the Holidays!

Local legend Redman cruising past TM's updated base area, photo by Jim Kenney

  
Timberline Mountain looking good at 5PM on November 28, 2021, photo by Jim Kenney

If the preview weekend is any indication, this should be a great season to visit Timberline Mountain, WV.  The mountain will have it's official opening on December 3rd.  Better get those skis and boards tuned-up!

Great stuff Jim. Thanks for visiting the Deer Valley of the Mid-Atlantic. Ha, ha.

I will add that Thunderstruck had some Minke wales on Saturday and some ice, which made it a bit more challenging that White Lightning. Wales were plowed down Sunday.

I was up there on Sunday also. Excellent skiing!