I'm heading to Massanutten for the first of several trips in the next couple months. Seems it might be possible that Mnut will get 100% open this season. Last year Lower Paradice (the steeper section) never saw any snowmaking. With the storm coming this weekend, perhaps there is hope once the other upper mountain trails are open that Paradice will come into play.
Massanutten started up snowguns this afternoon by 4:30pm. I'm guessing they would like to get the blue trails on the upper mountain open by the weekend. Perhaps even by Friday, Jan. 5, which would be great for the DCSki meetup happening that day.
Jan. 4-8 is being promoted by the resort for as a "festival" long weekend called HeART & Soul.
It's been total rollercoaster weather for Mnut in the past week. At least Mueller's Mile did get open for last weekend. Upper Paradice and Ridgecrest were looking good but that was before the rain on Jan. 9. I'll be back at Mnut on Jan. 11, so will get to see what damage was done.
Mnut didn't open at all on Jan. 10. The announcement was posted at 8am: "Due to forecasted heavy rain and high winds Massanutten will not be operating today. "
Massanutten, Upper Paradice (leads to Ridgecrest) on Jan. 7
In case people missed it, check out the pictures by JimK of Massanutten taken during the Jan. 5 gathering. Looked like everyone had a great time.
Massanutten was able to make some snow on the upper mountain last night. Conditions were good on all the open trails today, Jan. 11. Per usual Showtime had better snow than DJ. Mueller's was good fun after the top flat section thawed out a bit.
I paid more attention to the shadows after 2:30 in the afternoon. While it got up into the 40s, didn't feel that warm in the shade.
Took a few runs on Meadow when the Creekside lift was down for a little while for a minor fix. That's served by a long magic carpet that replaced the old J-bar. Although it was re-graded to create Meadow (used to be the big terrain park), this was the original beginner trail in the 1970s.
Views from Ridge Triple of Showtime and Mueller's Mile around 2:30pm
Had a great day skiing at Mnut with my friend's teen yesterday, Jan. 12. Better snow conditions than I expected given that they haven't been able to make snow for a few days. We mostly lapped the Peak Express after she got warmed up (first day of the season). In the afternoon, we were out 1:30-4:30, pretty much non-stop. It stayed cool enough even though temps were in the 40s because of the cloud cover. Light rain started around 5:00pm.
This morning was not nearly as crowded as I feared. Perhaps because it was spitting rain first thing in the morning. We were ready for first chair at 9:00. A few locals loaded Creekside a few minutes earlier. When the clouds started cleaning, the temp went from 40 to 36 by 10:30am. Never had to wait for Peak, even when the Mnut ski/board teams were using it for training. A line for four chairs clears fast with a detachable lift. Took a run on Upper Showtime before heading in. That was pretty frozen so wasn't worth repeating. Mueller's Mile was more fun. We quit around 11:30 for a long lunch in the unit I have on the mountain. The lodge wasn't crowded at all at that point.
For people who want a hot lunch, there is a new ramen bar on the ground floor. It's pretty good. Also expresso coffee.
Teen is doing homework. We're heading back later and plan to ski into the lights.
I think the fact that Meadow (green with long magic carpet) is open helps keep the line shorter on Creekside. Creekside serves the long green, and also gets people up to Peak Express. Hoping that Easy Street (was Geronimo) gets open in the next day or two.
Views of Southern Comfort, Jan. 13, 11:30am
Good fun this morning on the upper mountain before it started to get crowded on Mueller's Mile around 10:30. Talk to a long time ski patroller in the afternoon and it sounded like they had a lot of work there. Per usual, the best snow was on Upper Showtime. DJ was still pretty slick.
The surprise was that Upper Paradice and Ridgecrest were open! They are clearly still building up the base so can't say the snow was much fun. When the guns were back on in the late afternoon, had to be careful of the sticky sections. Still, it was nice to have another way down from the summit. Since Mass Transit and Yee Ha aren't quite ready to open yet, it felt like some of the speedsters who took Upper Paradice in the morning didn't realize they'd have to go all the way to the base to get back to Peak Express. After the initial flurry of early birds, there weren't many people riding Peak who weren't obvious intermediates for a little while.
With Easy Street still not ready, there were plenty of people willing to hike a little to head over to Meadow. After counting a few times, I think the average number of people on the long magic carpet is 30. That trail is meant to be a "perfect slope" since it's wide, doesn't have a double fall line, and has enough pitch for beginning snowboarders as well as skiers.
Upper Paradice (leads to Ridgecrest and Ridge Triple), 10am on Jan. 14
Looks like the next week should allow for near continuous snowmaking. Hopefully they'll be able to complete the current set of trails and move on to Upper Mak, Slot, and No Hessitation.
wgo wrote:
Nice increase in the number of open trails at Mnut. Most importantly they got the mass transit/yee-ha connection open which allows folks to easily switch between the 2 upper lifts.
I don't remember when Yee Ha got fixed guns. That certainly cuts down the time it takes to get coverage there.
I'd guessed that Easy Street (Geronimo) would open on Monday based on what I saw on Sunday during the night session. The whales had been pushed around to start a base in between them.
There were snowguns set up on all the trails that were still grass last weekend. Including Slot and the very top of Upper MakAttack, as well as Pacesetter (turns into a terrain park with enough snow).
wgo wrote:
Looks like the next week should allow for near continuous snowmaking. Hopefully they'll be able to complete the current set of trails and move on to Upper Mak, Slot, and No Hessitation.
Kenny (probably Kenny Hess) posted on SkiSE Discord that the goal is 100% open by this weekend, Jan. 20-21. I'm back at Mnut Jan. 25-28. Certainly hoping to get some runs on Lower Paradice. It's been years . . .
wgo wrote:
Just saw that No Hessitation will be open tomorrow!
Woohoo! Bet there will be pics or video on the Mnut FB page.
Of course, too soon for any bumps. ;-)
Looks like you also had a great time over there
wgo wrote:
Just saw that No Hessitation will be open tomorrow!
Update from the Massanutten website is that No Hessitation will open for the first time ever at noon today - Wednesday January 17
Woody
They did it! No Hessitation will open today, Jan. 17, at noon.
Lower Paradice is opening today too. Lower MakAttack, Mass Transit, and YeeHa opened up earlier this week. Slot has had a couple old sled snowguns in position for a week.
Planning on heading out today. Will not make it for the ribbon cutting but should be there a shortly after. Thinking about also heading out on Sunday if they are fully open, but that is a bit more iffy because I will be at Timberline on Saturday.
Massanutten is not quite 100% open but it's pretty close. Could make it by the weekend of Jan. 20-21 given the continued cold temps at night.
Didn't even need Friday night snowmaking for Massanutten to get 100% open. Been a while since that's happened, and there are new trails that need snow these days. All done by Jan. 19.
Here's a video from the grand opening session for No Hessitation put together by Massanutten staff.
https://youtu.be/zMM0IgYiiqk?si=tZjY0TPMe168xQbs
bousquet19 wrote:
Well done, Massanutten! ⛷️
Any idea what you might get back to Mnut? I'll be there skiing one way or another Jan. 25-28. Hopefully the predicted rain won't amount to much. Showing a family from NC around the resort.
Massanutten warned in the morning Conditions update that lift tickets and rentals might sell out for Sat, Jan. 20. Advanced online tickets were strongly advised. Property owners (private homes), Gold Card holders (timeshare owners), military folks, and tickets for 6 and under can be bought at a ticket window even if online sales are not available.
Note that the only time Special Value Passes are not good is on Saturdays 9am-4pm. They are good for the Sat night sessions and all day Sundays and holiday Mondays.
marzNC wrote:
bousquet19 wrote:
Well done, Massanutten! ⛷️Any idea what you might get back to Mnut? I'll be there skiing one way or another Jan. 25-28. Hopefully the predicted rain won't amount to much. Showing a family from NC around the resort.
I’m headed to 7S tomorrow (Monday) but may be able to make it back to Massanutten on Friday the 25tj. Should know by Wednesday and will keep you posted. Thanks!
marzNC wrote:
I'll be skiing Mnut on Monday morning, Jan. 21. Figured out how to fit in a stop on my way home from a Michigan ski safari. It's just as cold in Harrisonburg tonight as it is in Petosky.
Michigan . . . Mt Brighton??
wojo wrote:
marzNC wrote:
I'll be skiing Mnut on Monday morning, Jan. 21. Figured out how to fit in a stop on my way home from a Michigan ski safari. It's just as cold in Harrisonburg tonight as it is in Petosky.Michigan . . . Mt Brighton??
Stopped by for a look but just ate lunch and went on to Caberfae. Met up with another former New Yorker for an introduction to Caberfae in the morning. Then headed to Petosky. Skied Nub's Nob (Indy), Boyne Mountain (Ikon), and Highlands (Ikon). Was considering checking out somewhere else in the midwest when I planned the trip in the fall, but couldn't resist skiing at Mnut instead while it was still cold.
Skied all the upper mountain trails this morning. Paradice was so fun! It's been years since I've been there when it was open. Nothing is flat any more. There are contours from snow whales on every trail. Bumps are growing on Upper MakAttack and No Hessitation. They were a little firm first thing this morning, but not at all icy. Only a few parts of DJ and Slot were on the slick side before 10:30am.
The Ridge triple was acting up so not running before I left around 11:30. Ski Patrol had all the trails ready. Could come across from the Peak and get to everything except the top flat section of Upper MakAttack.
Just drove home. Will try to post pics soon.
A few pics from the morning of Jan. 22. Temps got up into the 40s by the time I left at 1pm.
Bumps on No Hessitation are growing
Lower Paradice open (to the left), with plenty of contour from snow whales. Upper Paradice (flat section) leads right into Ridgecrest (going straight)
First few bumps on Upper MakAttack
Had a very good time skiing Mnut with a family from NC who were checking out the resort for the first time. Mom and tween son enjoyed all the upper mountain trails. They were willing to deal with the cloud/fog on the flats for Mueller's Mile and Upper Paradice. Paradice was great with plenty of contour. Right where ski patrol put an Expert's Only sign is where the cloud thinned so that visibility was not an issue for most of the trail. I haven't had a chance to ski Paradice in years because it wasn't open before I would head west in February. Still my favorite trail.
I skied with the 7yo daughter after lunch. She had a good time doing the Banked Turns feature set up on Meadow that's part of Terrain Based Learning. Easy Street was okay but Meadow had better snow.
Never had any rain. We didn't get on the slopes until after 10:00. Brightened up in the early afternoon. Definitely warm with temps in the 50s and no wind.
Kenny Hess is retiring later in 2024. He's been working there full-time since the 1980s and been responsible for snowsports ops for quite a while, along with other outdoor activities on resort year round. Kenny will stick around in some fashion. As was true for his former boss who was in charge of the slopes starting in the 1970s, Steve Showalter.
Longtime Massanutten Resort Administrator To Retire - January 22, 2024
I was also at Mnut today, during the passholder-only hours after 5. I actually got there in time to take a couple runs off of the ridge triple but for the most part was riding the peak quad. Snow was variable but fun. No rain while I was there.
One thing I saw that I dont think I have seen before was fog rising up from the slopes - the snowpack slowly disappearing into the air. Hopefully they get some snowmaking opportunities next week!
wgo wrote:
I was also at Mnut today, during the passholder-only hours after 5. I actually got there in time to take a couple runs off of the ridge triple but for the most part was riding the peak quad. Snow was variable but fun. No rain while I was there.
One thing I saw that I dont think I have seen before was fog rising up from the slopes - the snowpack slowly disappearing into the air. Hopefully they get some snowmaking opportunities next week!
I saw "snow pile fog" too during the day. More on Paradice than on the lower mountain.
They didn't groom last night and probably won't tonight either. Too soft so definite risk of churning up dirt. There were brown patches on Mass Transit that looked like the result of a grooming attempt.
I took the triple and Mass Transit over to Peak this morning. Had checked that the tween boy was good at side slipping beforehand. With very limited visibility at the top of Showtime and the start of Mass Transit, side slipping was the only sensible approach until we got below the clouds.
Paradice with "snow fog" at lunch time on Thu, Jan. 25.
Saw groomers on the lower mountain this morning on the webcams. :-)
MarzNC
I’m booting up outside the Elevations Bar. See you soon!
Woody
wgo wrote:
Have fun! Let us know how the trails are holding up. Based on what I saw Thursday night they may lose The Slot after today's warmth and tomorrow's rain. No Hessitation has bare spots on skier's right, but the moguls section on skier's left has plenty of snow and was skiing pretty well.
Good skiing at Massanutten today (Friday). Snow is holding up well so far. The only exceptions I saw were the top of Slot and the edges of No Hessitation where the turf is showing through. Grooming the greens and blues definitely helped the conditions.
Thanks to the patient hospitality of marzNC, I was able time my runs to find the best combinations of snow and sun. Many thanks!
Woody
wgo wrote:
Have fun! Let us know how the trails are holding up. Based on what I saw Thursday night they may lose The Slot after today's warmth and tomorrow's rain. No Hessitation has bare spots on skier's right, but the moguls section on skier's left has plenty of snow and was skiing pretty well.
Slot was open yesterday. No bumps left and plenty of brown to avoid.
It was a nice day all day on Friday, Jan. 26. I ended up skiing from essentially 9:00am to 7:00pm, with a break at lunch and another from 3:30-4:30. The NC mom and I split the time skiing with her 7yo daughter until she was done for the day and ready to be picked up by her non-skiing father. Mom then skied the upper mountain with me and her son for a few runs. I bailed and they kept after it until 8:00pm. The snow on Mueller's was developing small piles by 3:00, but by the time the lights were needed, everything was "skier packed" and made for good skiing. There might even have been a short period when there was corn. Paradice was wonderful all day. Mueller's was good in the evening after there were fewer people.
The bumps on No Hessitation were soft all day. In general, most of the people who headed in knew enough to have fun making turns. Of course, there were a few who clearly just wanted to be able to say they had been on a "double diamond."
The conditions report for Sat, Jan. 27, another reason for cutting Slot became clear. There is USASA racing on Lower Diamond Jim in the mornings this weekend. They are closing that area off completely. But people willing to cut off on Slot to the lower section of No Hessitation can ski Upper DJ. Since it's possible to see what Slot looks like on the ride up, makes for another way to mix races and public use of DJ on weekends.
bousquet19 wrote:
Good skiing at Massanutten today (Friday). Snow is holding up well so far. The only exceptions I saw were the top of Slot and the edges of No Hessitation where the turf is showing through. Grooming the greens and blues definitely helped the conditions.
Thanks to the patient hospitality of marzNC, I was able time my runs to find the best combinations of snow and sun. Many thanks!
Woody
So glad we could meet up! Enjoyed the conversation.
Friday morning was much more fun than Thursday morning because of the grooming. I decided that one reason they didn't groom Wed night is that the visibility was so limited. With soft snow and temps in the 50s, would've been difficult to get much done safely.
Great, thanks for the reports. Hopefully they can get thru the weekend and refresh things next week - my son is driving up from Virginia Tech next weekend and would like to ski No Hessitation.
wgo wrote:
Great, thanks for the reports. Hopefully they can get thru the weekend and refresh things next week - my son is driving up from Virginia Tech next weekend and would like to ski No Hessitation.
Fair to say that No Hessitation with or without big bumps is quite different. I probably won't be interested if the bumps are icy. They were fun with good snow that hadn't ever melted on Jan. 22 or soft snow yesterday with temps overnight in the 50s. I rode up with a young man on a snowboard. He was whining that the bumps had gotten too big after a few days of the trail opening so that he couldn't jump them any more without crashing. I saw a few boarders and skiers yesterday who were far more interested in jumping off a bump than skiing them as moguls.
As long as there are a few hours of snowmaking on the upper mountain next week, No Hessitation should be open the weekend of Feb. 3-4.
Feb. 9-11 is the first SkiSoutheast Summit at Massanutten. I've read that the registration list is over 150. I know there are plenty of those guys who want to check out the bumps runs at Mnut.
I think a bonus for clearing the rocks for the liftline for the new Peak Express is that now there is rock around the Mid-Mountain Grill. That area used to be a mud pit after rain or fast snow melt.
First photo was from Monday, Jan. 22 after the cold snap and days of snowmaking. Second was from yesterday, Jan. 26, after temps soared into the 50s. The ropes around the tables are there because alcohol is sold at the Grill and cannot be taken out of that area. On busy holiday weekends, I've seen security there to enforce the law.
Massanutten was back at snowmaking last night. Snowguns still blowing on the upper mountain as of 9am on Jan. 30. Also added snow to the lower mountain when it got cold enough last night.
A SkiSoutheast Summit at Mnut is Feb. 9-11. The resort is offering discounts on lodging and lift tickets so there has been a lot of interest from folks who live in NC and even one guy in FL.
Pretty nice way to finish January at Massanutten. Essentially 100% open, with No Hessitation closed for a while because it needs to soften. Daytime temps in the next few days will be higher, but not too high to cause a lot of melting.
Massanutten made Monday night a special night years ago. They are experimenting with doing something different for Thursday nights with some racing and opening Creekside and Peak for season pass holders. With a fast ride and lights, riding up Peak is much more fun than riding the old Lift 6 in the dark for a few runs on two black trails, especially since Paradice would often not open until February.
Downhill502 wrote:
Thank you so much for these updates! I am planning on coming out this Saturday with my wife and was curious about thoughts on timing? Would it be better to show up and ski first thing in the morning or do a night pass to hit the 4-9pm session? Thanks for any advice!
If you want the best snow, ski starting at 9am. That's true anywhere when skiing on groomers. Also get better parking. There will be plenty of room in the lodge to boot up if you like. There are free cubbies and a changing room on the lowest floor (one below the cafeteria level).
If you just want to get a sense of the place, doing a night session works. Note that on Saturdays, there will be young adult and college hot shots going very fast on the upper mountain trails. Including on the blues from the top. Last week I skied until 7pm on Friday. Did one run on Mueller's after dark and stayed off of it afterwards. Mueller's is narrow in places. Paradice or a loop on Ridgecrest and Mass Transit was more fun under the lights. The mother and son I was with had a good time skiing until 8pm. The mother and I tag teamed skiing with her 7yo daughter after the girl had a lesson in the morning. The girl could ski Mueller's but was happier on Lower Showtime and Meadow because there weren't people to watch out for.
Massanutten is taking advantage of the opportunities that nature provides. 👍 Photos are from their webcams at approx. 7:25 a.m. on Saturday , February 3.
(Yes, I know it will all be melted before July. 😉 🙃 😜 But let’s take what we can get, eh?)
Woody
Coverage very good at Massanutten today. No Hessitation was closed and showing several bare spots but the main reason it was closed was due to icy conditions. I think they want to play it safe with the lift structures right in the middle of the slope. I don't fault them for playing it safe, but they need to do a better job keeping the trail report updated - at the time I left, the report was still showing No Hessitation as open. Hopefully they can give the trail a refresh next week and get it opened back up.
Otherwise it was quite a nice day. Icy in spots, slushy on Muellers Mile but very nice snow on slot, lower DJ and Mak Attack. Mak Attack was groomed which I am not sure how i feel about but it did ski quite well. There was a zipper line of bumps on Upper Showtime which were fun - I hope this is something they do regularly.
wgo wrote:
Coverage very good at Massanutten today. No Hessitation was closed and showing several bare spots but the main reason it was closed was due to icy conditions. I think they want to play it safe with the lift structures right in the middle of the slope. I don't fault them for playing it safe, but they need to do a better job keeping the trail report updated - at the time I left, the report was still showing No Hessitation as open. Hopefully they can give the trail a refresh next week and get it opened back up.
Otherwise it was quite a nice day. Icy in spots, slushy on Muellers Mile but very nice snow on slot, lower DJ and Mak Attack. Mak Attack was groomed which I am not sure how i feel about but it did ski quite well. There was a zipper line of bumps on Upper Showtime which were fun - I hope this is something they do regularly.
Interesting there is a zipper line on Upper Showtime. I noticed that Paradice was narrower than it used to be, probably in order to make the base as deep as possible. But that means where the zipper line used to go really doesn't have enough snow for bumps.
I've seen MakAttack get groomed out when the base isn't deep enough to last long enough. Also when the bumps were getting too icy. Have seen the same approach at Taos on a short black (Zagava) that gets a fair amount of sun.
Massanutten has a new General Manager/VP. The man who has had the GM/VP title has become an Exec. VP. Kenny Hess is not retiring in his ops Director role until the summer. So there will be overlap during the rest of ski season. Michael Hammes worked at Wintergreen (2017) and other resorts in Hospitality and/or F&B. He's from Missouri.
Massanutten Resort Announces Michael Hammes As New General Manager - Feb. 5, 2024
" . . .
Hammes began his career with Planet Hollywood Restaurants in Chicago, playing a crucial role in opening over 12 of the world’s busiest restaurants. His journey continued with key leadership positions at renowned resorts such as Omni Barton Creek and The San Luis in Texas, Wintergreen Resort in Virginia, Mammoth Resort in California, The Canyons/Park City Resort in Utah and Keystone Resort in Colorado. Most recently, he served as the Director of Base Operations at Snoqualmie Ski Resort, located just outside of Seattle.
. . ."
It's 26 degrees at the Mnut peak as of 8am on Feb. 6. Looking at the 24-hr Timelapse video that started at midnight, snowmaking started on the Showtime just before midnight. The "high" so far was 30 degrees at 12:31am. Not only is there a video, there is also a moving line on the graph of the temp as the video plays. The graph line goes blue when it gets cold enough for snowmaking.
Can see from the peak that snowmaking is happening on No Hessitation, Paradice, Showtime, and near the base. Can see from the other webcams that snowmaking is on for the tubing hill and Meadow. Guns are pointed high near the base of Creekside so may stay on as long as possible, even after the lifts open at 9:00.
marzNC wrote:
Downhill502 wrote:
Thank you so much for these updates! I am planning on coming out this Saturday with my wife and was curious about thoughts on timing? Would it be better to show up and ski first thing in the morning or do a night pass to hit the 4-9pm session? Thanks for any advice!If you want the best snow, ski starting at 9am. That's true anywhere when skiing on groomers. Also get better parking. There will be plenty of room in the lodge to boot up if you like. There are free cubbies and a changing room on the lowest floor (one below the cafeteria level).
If you just want to get a sense of the place, doing a night session works. Note that on Saturdays, there will be young adult and college hot shots going very fast on the upper mountain trails. Including on the blues from the top. Last week I skied until 7pm on Friday. Did one run on Mueller's after dark and stayed off of it afterwards. Mueller's is narrow in places. Paradice or a loop on Ridgecrest and Mass Transit was more fun under the lights. The mother and son I was with had a good time skiing until 8pm. The mother and I tag teamed skiing with her 7yo daughter after the girl had a lesson in the morning. The girl could ski Mueller's but was happier on Lower Showtime and Meadow because there weren't people to watch out for.
I was pleasantly surprised at how well conditions were this past Saturday considering the temperatures. Just like you said Mueller’s, upper and lower Paradice were fantastic. It was a great baseline for what to expect during the warmer afternoons while they are able to make snow the night prior. Thanks again for the advice and for the ongoing updates!
Glad you had a good time on a Saturday morning. If you watch one of the 24-hr timelapse videos a sunny day, it's possible to see how the shade covers the slopes relatively early. There are only a few spots on Mueller's and Showtime that get sun for longer periods. Being in a "kettle" instead of on just the north facing side of a ridge makes a difference.
This weekend is the SkiSE Summit at Mnut. Temps will be too warm overnight for snowmaking. But with the base renewed, I expect people who haven't skied there before to be happy they made the trip by the end of the weekend.
Downhill502 wrote:
I was pleasantly surprised at how well conditions were this past Saturday considering the temperatures. Just like you said Mueller’s, upper and lower Paradice were fantastic. It was a great baseline for what to expect during the warmer afternoons while they are able to make snow the night prior. Thanks again for the advice and for the ongoing updates!
Wasn't quite 24-hr snowmaking on Tuesday night, Feb. 6, but looks like it started by 6pm on Monday evening and there were still snowguns firing on Showtime and Upper Paradice until about 11am.
Played with stepping the video frame-by-frame and could see the Upper Paradice snowguns all cut off in just a couple minutes soon after 11am. Having automated snowguns on the longer trails makes a huge difference for short periods of cold enough weather. Also means more attention can be paid to manual snowguns, such as those used on Slot or other spots that need extra help.
View from the peak cam at 5am on Tuesday, Feb. 6
Groomers on No Hessitation and Diamond Jim around 6am on Feb. 6
I went to the Nut today for the first time in probably 13-14 years (hard to believe). Last time I was there was before the old “Massanutten Stinks” thread days, for those that remember. Almost 100% sure that the trails names had not changed yet on the blue trails when i was last there. I forgot was a pretty ski area this is and, of course, the blue bird weather today helped.
Conditions were overall very good, more below.
First a few notes for those that have not been there for a while.
The peak area is now the haven for the more serious skier, not just the crowd avoider as in the old days. With the new detach, and the approx. 800 ft of vert, you can get some decent runs in here now. The new meandering blue trail is a great run with some nice changing views, but it does get some southern exposure on one of the turns. The old rocky liftline is now a double black with a decent headwall.
In addition to the two new trails, there are two shorter connectors The Slot, and Ridgecrest, that allow you to mix it up and get 6 different feeling runs off of the peak lift. The Slot has a nice pitch, but Ridgecrest is a true ridge connector and is flat until it makes it over to the intermediate area.
It was really nice to ski some unfamiliar and new trails. You can see the money they have put into the place. Brand new yellow Techno Alpins all over, HKD towers with what looked to me like auto hydrants with temp and humidity sensors on No Hesitation. Was the intermediate lift replaced in the last 10 years or so, it seems like a relatively new Dopplemyer? I even went over and rode the very newer long carpet lift in the beginner area (first and last time for that)
A couple notes for the upcoming weekend.
1. The east ramp (skiers right)to No Hesitation was closed and the whole run was groomed out.
2. Mass Transit and the cut over (Yee Haw?) were both closed but coverage looked ok and they had made snow on it overnight. So not sure there?
3. Only bumps were the skiers left of Show Time. Mac Attack was all groomed out.
4. They had run some hot guns in a few places, so some spots with the classic big circle of yellow ice, these were mostly on lower ParaDice.
5. Only place I saw any snirt was in the middle of the Slot. But coverage on that run was fine.
I would encourage anyone who has not skied there in a while to give it a shot, its well worth the trip, particularly on a weekday with decent conditions.
I would also like to thank marzNC for her constant support of this area, and JimK for his earlier reports and pics this season.
eggraid wrote:
It's been fun reading this thread this season. I've never skied at Massanutten, but my daughter is in her first year as a ski patroller there. It seems like it has been mostly training for this first season, but it seems like they've got a great crew there and she is learning a ton and really enjoying it. Hopefully, none of you need her services, but if you do, you'll be in good hands. I plan to get down there sometime soon for a day trip, I'm hoping to find a time when it won't be too crowded but that may be tough to get there outside a weekend day.
That's cool! I always enjoy watching the sled training. Lately there has been an older man who boards who's been doing training when I've been skiing. He's a very good boarder.
As long as you get to the parking lot by 8:30am, even on a Saturday you won't find the upper mountain crowded. I know local seniors who are waiting for Creekside to open by about 8:45. Sometimes they get to ride up a few minutes early so that they can load the Peak lift as soon as patrol gives the go ahead around 9:00. Even Mueller's stays okay until 10:30 or so. With Paradice and Mass Transit/Yee Ha open, it really spreads people out.
On weekends, the key is to get on the lift before the kids on the teams head up. There is a racing team, a free-style team, and a development team so adds up to quite a few chairs.
Per usual, Sundays aren't quite as busy as Saturdays.
What's less obvious is that Monday holidays aren't really busy on the slopes. Lift tickets are regular price, not holiday price. Partially because people who stay in lodging on resort check out on Monday morning. Families often don't ski/board that day. Instead they may go tubing or do something else before making a 2-4 hour drive home with children.
I'll be at Mnut for a long weekend around Pres. Day, Fri-Tue. Shoot me a PM if you want to meet up then.
Glad you had a good time! The number of changes at Mnut in the last 15 years is pretty astonishing.
The original double chairs were replaced by 2010 and 2011, at least that's what I had in my notes based on pictures I took. I rode them with my daughter since she started ski school in 2005 (age 4). First the double at the base that served Geronimo (now Easy Street) was replaced by a quad with conveyor loading. That green trail was changed a bit, which created more of a teaching area. That was several years before the ski school building got built. The double to the original early 1970s peak became a triple. Conveyor loading was added to the quad along Southern Comfort around the same time.
Other improvements for snowmaking that are less obvious include a 2.5 mile water pipeline from the valley to the mountain and much bigger pumps. It's possible to run 100+ snowguns at the same time, even on the upper mountain. The percentage of snowguns that are automated is much higher than a decade ago.
The SkiSoutheast Summit is this weekend. I would guess that saving Mass Transit and Yee Ha until as much snowmaking as possible could happen this week may be related. The first event for the Summit is Friday evening. I'll be there.
Lastrun wrote:
I went to the Nut today for the first time in probably 13-14 years (hard to believe). Last time I was there was before the old “Massanutten Stinks” thread days, for those that remember. Almost 100% sure that the trails names had not changed yet on the blue trails when i was last there. I forgot was a pretty ski area this is and, of course, the blue bird weather today helped.
Conditions were overall very good, more below.
First a few notes for those that have not been there for a while.
The peak area is now the haven for the more serious skier, not just the crowd avoider as in the old days. With the new detach, and the approx. 800 ft of vert, you can get some decent runs in here now. The new meandering blue trail is a great run with some nice changing views, but it does get some southern exposure on one of the turns. The old rocky liftline is now a double black with a decent headwall.
In addition to the two new trails, there are two shorter connectors The Slot, and Ridgecrest, that allow you to mix it up and get 6 different feeling runs off of the peak lift. The Slot has a nice pitch, but Ridgecrest is a true ridge connector and is flat until it makes it over to the intermediate area.
It was really nice to ski some unfamiliar and new trails. You can see the money they have put into the place. Brand new yellow Techno Alpins all over, HKD towers with what looked to me like auto hydrants with temp and humidity sensors on No Hesitation. Was the intermediate lift replaced in the last 10 years or so, it seems like a relatively new Dopplemyer? I even went over and rode the very newer long carpet lift in the beginner area (first and last time for that)
A couple notes for the upcoming weekend.
1. The east ramp (skiers right)to No Hesitation was closed and the whole run was groomed out.
2. Mass Transit and the cut over (Yee Haw?) were both closed but coverage looked ok and they had made snow on it overnight. So not sure there?
3. Only bumps were the skiers left of Show Time. Mac Attack was all groomed out.
4. They had run some hot guns in a few places, so some spots with the classic big circle of yellow ice, these were mostly on lower ParaDice.
5. Only place I saw any snirt was in the middle of the Slot. But coverage on that run was fine.
I would encourage anyone who has not skied there in a while to give it a shot, its well worth the trip, particularly on a weekday with decent conditions.
I would also like to thank marzNC for her constant support of this area, and JimK for his earlier reports and pics this season.
I agree that the improvements they have made to the ski area in the past 15 years are truly remarkable. I grew up skiing Massanutten before Mass transit, diamond Jim, Paradise, and lift 6 existed. I haven’t been since the more recent trail expansion but I will get there this year when the weather turns more favorable later this month. I will have to admit that I have allegedly skied no hesitation, back in 93 and 96!!
Glad you had a good time! The number of changes at Mnut in the last 15 years is pretty astonishing.
The original double chairs were replaced by 2010 and 2011, at least that's what I had in my notes based on pictures I took. I rode them with my daughter since she started ski school in 2005 (age 4). First the double at the base that served Geronimo (now Easy Street) was replaced by a quad with conveyor loading. That green trail was changed a bit, which created more of a teaching area. That was several years before the ski school building got built. The double to the original early 1970s peak became a triple. Conveyor loading was added to the quad along Southern Comfort around the same time.
Other improvements for snowmaking that are less obvious include a 2.5 mile water pipeline from the valley to the mountain and much bigger pumps. It's possible to run 100+ snowguns at the same time, even on the upper mountain. The percentage of snowguns that are automated is much higher than a decade ago.
The SkiSoutheast Summit is this weekend. I would guess that saving Mass Transit and Yee Ha until as much snowmaking as possible could happen this week may be related. The first event for the Summit is Friday evening. I'll be there.
wgo found this video made on Friday, Feb. 9, that shows No Hessitation right after it was groomed and the bumps on the left side of Showtime.
The bumps on Showtime were deeper and icier by the weekend. They were not round "skier bumps" but were the long shape, like was develops on MakAttack.
https://youtu.be/Np2eZcboxdw?si=ITdLEs0mG_QCy21J
No Hessitation at Massanutten, VA
The term "General Manager" is a bit confusing for Massanutten Snowsports. Joe Stevens of WV Skiing and SkiSoutheast called Kenny Hess the GM in an article about Kenny's upcoming retirement. The new name for snowsports is Kameron Tucker. That's a completely different job than what Michael Hammes will be doing with a title of GM/VP, which was announced recently.
SKI INDUSTRY LEADER HANGING UP HIS SKI BOOTS - February 13, 2024
Joe made the drive from WV to attend the SkiSoutheast Summit last weekend. He's known Kenny for a long time. Apparently Joe's first ski experience was at Massanutten. Joe was the invited speaker for the first fundraising dinner where folks related to Massanutten snowsports were honored, which was held in November 2021.
Another fun video I found of skiing at Massanutten, this one of a telemarker going down DJ and No Hessitation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mehWn9TFNeI
wgo wrote:
Another fun video I found of skiing at Massanutten, this one of a telemarker going down DJ and No Hessitation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mehWn9TFNeI
One of the attendees for the SkiSE Summit was on telemarker from TN. My daughter is a tele skier. So we made new friends. He and his wife made the drive from TN because they like checking out Indy locations. Although they opted to skip Bryce last Sunday because of the rain.
There are several regulars going uphill at Mnut these days. They are using AT gear. I've seen them on Mueller's, Showtime, and even DJ.
Heading back to Massanutten for Pres. Day weekend. Will start skiing on Friday morning. Looks like snowmaking will happen at night over the weekend. Adult daughter coming up again to ski Saturday and Sunday morning. Teen I'll to be skiing with has the Tuesday after Pres. Day off too. :-)
We had a good time last weekend meeting up with SkiSoutheast folks. Good thing I had extra shell pants for my daughter and our teen friend to borrow. The teen also fit my extra shell jacket. Way too warm for any insulated jacket or pants. Last time my daughter attended a Snowshoe Summit, she was a tween. Bonus was the view during First Tracks on Sunday morning. The view was gone by 9:10am.
Riding up Peak, 8:50am, Feb. 11
View from the top at 8:55am
Heading down Mueller's Mile, clouds rolling up the mountain, about 9:00am
No view at the top by 9:10am, MarzNC in the red jacket, daughter with tele skis, teen friend in the purple pants
wgo wrote:
If my schedule allows I may try to get out for a couple of hours on Friday afternoon.
Turns out a friend is going to Mnut with me tomorrow. She learned to ski there when her kids started on skis 10 years ago. They are too busy with high school for long weekend ski trips, but she's not. Since she doesn't have a season pass, I may take her to Bryce on Friday. I can use my Indy Pass there. She's only skied Mnut and Alta, so could be a good warm up since she hasn't skied since last April at Alta.
Crush wrote:
Interesting plank choices are they working for everyone? I'm so out of the mainstream now I have no idea. @Mariko your boards look like they have some dank rocker'd thing going on do you like that?
Assuming you are asking me (MarzNC), those wood skis are Floskis. Bought demos after trying them out at Mammoth in May 2018. My ski buddy and I met the inventor, a former NASA engineer. Adrian had skis in the trunk of his car and would let anyone interested demo them for free. The bindings are raised above the skis for vibration dampening. Can be moved to 4 different positions for All Mountain, Moguls, Powder, and Deep Powder. Very easy to turn. We saw Adrian doing ski ballet moves. Those skis weigh a ton. So I only take them when I drive for a ski trip.
The Floskis are somewhat fun on soft snow and sugar at Mnut. I used them that morning just to show them off. Switched back to my Volkl Yumis after a few runs given how icy and unskied the groomers were.
My daughter has Black Pearls from 2016. She had switched to tele in middle school. Those skis were recommended by her teacher/mentor who taught her to tele. I like Black Pearls for alpine to it made sense to me. They did fine at Alta last April. She makes alpine turns more than tele turns these days.
The teen is using Elan Element skis I bought on sale from my local ski shop in NC. I got the Yumis used from a Ski Diva I know in PA soon after that so haven't actually skied them. She has season lease ski boots from that shop. She doesn't ski enough days to justify buying gear . . . yet.
Kule checking here now - you know I love boutique skis! Pre order for $50 hmm it gives me some hesitation. And the vid was not actually ruling ( what are they admins in the office ha ha )
but meh I loose $50 + $1100 for a pair of bamboo 160's that could be fun. and I can always burn them at our next Ullr Fest.
So total fail - apparently "the order form was corrupted" as reported by whoever runs the company/website and my $50 has been returned. BTW they have MAJOR CSS problems; I fear for NASA. Actually I don't feel like spending over $1100 for a pair of bamboo skis with no titanal in them when I can buy a great pair of boards by Palmer built by Head/Austria like these palmerplus.com
I think - yes - I think I'll have worn out my current pair soon-ish so the new ones will last until I am too crappy to ski.
Ooops - I hijacked this thread if you come out to Incline Village feel free to bitch-slap me.
Crush wrote:
Kule checking here now - you know I love boutique skis! Pre order for $50 hmm it gives me some hesitation. And the vid was not actually ruling ( what are they admins in the office ha ha )
but meh I loose $50 + $1100 for a pair of bamboo 160's that could be fun. and I can always burn them at our next Ullr Fest.
wgo wrote:
@marzNC - what is your guess for how crowds will be for the Saturday evening session this weekend? My son is trying to figure out when he can come up from Virginia Tech, and the 2 times that seem to work are either this coming Saturday evening or Sunday on the following weekend (Feb 25). He also wants to make sure No Hessitation is open, since it was closed the last time he came up.
I expect it to be quite busy this Sat, Feb. 17, for the afternoon and into the night session. That's based on how busy it was the Sat of MLK weekend. A Sunday on a non-holiday weekend would be much better.
The current forecast for next week should mean snowmaking at night on Mon, Tue, Fri, Sat. Should make Sun, Feb. 25 a good day to ski Mnut.
Given that No Hessitation stayed open in the last week, I would expect it to stay open until March 3 one way or another. Note that it's a very different trail as a steep groomer when there isn't enough of a base to grow bumps.
Mnut has an annual Snow Moon Fest the first weekend of March. I'm sure they will be making snow at every opportunity between now and March 1.
Downhill502 wrote:
I would love to hear more about what spec. skis with listed skill level people are running here and around the east coast as I am looking to pickup a new pair before traveling to Ontario and west. I am normally on 80-86mm but most of my friends are on +100mm due to planning for powder and travel. Let me know if that should be put in a different sub. Thanks!
Probably better to start a new thread asking about skis.
For what it's worth, my ski buddy who is male and about 5'10", early 70s, skis any advanced terrain out west, is quite happy with his mid-90s skis any time. Meaning he rarely bothers with his powder skis unless there is more than 15 inches. Helps that he knew how to ski powder on straight skis long ago.
Crush wrote:
So total fail - apparently "the order form was corrupted" as reported by whoever runs the company/website and my $50 has been returned. BTW they have MAJOR CSS problems; I fear for NASA. Actually I don't feel like spending over $1100 for a pair of bamboo skis with no titanal in them when I can buy a great pair of boards by Palmer built by Head/Austria like these palmerplus.com
I think - yes - I think I'll have worn out my current pair soon-ish so the new ones will last until I am too crappy to ski.
Ooops - I hijacked this thread if you come out to Incline Village feel free to bitch-slap me.
Haha
Adrian was an engineer who designed stuff to dampen vibration, not a computer tech. One reason I decided to get a pair of Floskis for $600 was because when Adrian isn't trying to sell them any more, I don't expect anyone else to take over the business.
I haven't paid MSRP for a pair of skis yet. Best deals were lightly used skis from other Ski Divas who are my size, so no need to move bindings. Most expensive were Stöckli skis after demo'ing a couple days at Taos. First demo'd that model at Whitetail. Stöckli are built to last. Since I only use them out west, I expect them to last a long time.
Decided to do a quick check of snow surfaces after driving back to Mnut this afternoon. Fun to make use of the Thu 5-7pm hours for season pass holders for the Creekside and Peak lifts. Turned out that Lower DJ was closed for race training. Upper Paradice was closed off early. I did see a few people finishing on Showtime when I was riding up Creekside about 6:00.
There was a few hours of snowmaking early the morning. Could tell that there was a bit more snow since there was more white, but all trails are looking narrow in terms of side-to-side coverage. In general, the approach seems to be to build as deep as possible instead of worrying about going to the edge of the trees on both sides.
On Creekside, Feb. 15, 6pm
Lower MakAttack and Southern Comfort on the narrow side
Snowmaking all day long at Mnut today, Feb. 17. Even had snowguns pointed high on Meadow and Southern Comfort in the afternoon when temperatures got cold enough.
There was maybe an inch of snow on my car this morning. The resort roads were just wet. My friends and I are staying in a unit at Mountainside up on the mountain. A friend drove from DC early this morning for a day trip with no issues.
Needless to say, it was crowded. Around 1:30pm, even Lot 5 was full. Once the sun came out, so did the people.
A couple pics from Saturday, Feb. 17. First taken at 9:30am, second about 4:00pm.
Much better snow conditions at Mnut today. I didn't ski much between 11:00-3:30 but was people watching instead. Had a lesson with my friends 3:30-4:30 with one of the L3 instructors who is also one of the Freestyle coaches. By 5:00, there were no lift lines to speak of.
The upper mountain is very different with blue trails and a detachable lift. Can't say there is never a lift line on holiday weekends any more. But even when there is a line, the wait is no more than 5 minutes during the busiest period. With the shorter 3-min ride, that total time is about the same as it was with the old fixed-grip quad that took 7 minutes but didn't have a line of more than a few chairs.
Snowmaking on MakAttack is clearly a lower priority than keeping the groomers open. Pacesetter stayed a groomer all weekend. I like having that option instead of Lower Showtime.
Lines started to grow around 11am on Feb. 18, day before Pres. Day. I timed someone in the far right line for Creekside (above Southern Comfort) around 1:30pm. Took them about 7 minutes in line before loading a chair. In general the wait was no more than 10 minutes.
Seems as if Mnut has figured out a good number when it comes to limited day tickets. Apparently water park and tubing tickets were sold out several days ago, if not longer. There have been warnings about selling out lift tickets on Feb. 17-18 for a while. It was pretty cold before it warmed up into the 30s by noon. While it was crowded, it never felt crazy at the base from noon to 3:00 when I was just wandering around. I'd booked a lesson with my friends for 3:30-4:30. That was still a good time to cut lines with an instructor. By the time we finished, the lift lines were not an issue at all.
Pictures at about 10:45 on Feb. 18
Great taking a couple runs with you last evening @marzNC! And thanks for the tips skiing moguls.
It got a bit slicker after the sun went down. Ski Patrol roped off No Hessitation around 7:30. I only skied it a couple times last night before they roped it off.
wgo wrote:
Great taking a couple runs with you last evening @marzNC! And thanks for the tips skiing moguls.
It got a bit slicker after the sun went down. Ski Patrol roped off No Hessitation around 7:30. I only skied it a couple times last night before they roped it off.
Glad you recognized me. A minute earlier or later in the Peak lift line and we would've missed each other.
Every trail was fantastic on Tuesday morning, Feb. 20. Snowmaking started up by 11:30pm last night and continued until about 9:00am. It warmed up pretty fast.
The ice was pretty well covered up on Slot, No Hessitation, and Mass Transit. Of course, still a few slick spots.
We quit about 11:00am to have lunch before for the drive home.
Here's a view from Creekside, Lift 4, of the bumps on the side of Upper Showtime, Feb. 20, 9:20am
Another night with snowmaking at Mnut starting just before midnight on Feb. 21. All guns off by 9am this morning since the temp was 31 degrees and sunny.
The temperature at the peak drops fast after it gets in the shade around 4pm.
wgo wrote:
Not sure if they are done making snow on No Hessitation. As best as I could tell from checking the ski report every morning they have not made snow on it this week (but the snow report is sometimes a bit off, so maybe that is wrong).
I rarely look at the snow report after all the trails get open.
I can assure you there has been snowmaking on No Hessitation since Feb. 17. That was obvious riding Peak in the mornings Sat-Tue. It can be hard to see the top snowguns are on in the dark given the way the webcam is pointed. Even though not many of the snowguns spray onto the Peak chairs, they were probably avoiding having them on during the day over the holiday weekend. Ice was clearly visible on most of No Hessitation before snowmaking on Sat and Sun nights.
Plus the priority is probably on keeping 100% open until Snow Moon Fest on March 1-3, as opposed to adding enough snow on No Hessitation, Slot, and/or Upper MakAttack in order to grow bumps again. I was a bit surprised that Pacesetter was a groomer instead of a terrain park over Pres. Day weekend. For most people skiing/boarding Mnut, having a few more steep groomers is of more interest than having bumps that they have no idea how to get down without falling.
Was at the Nut on Monday. First time with the high speed to the top, what a difference.
Always liked the resort but now with the new lift and new trails we are considering a season pass.
Its really fun lapping thr blacks and we had zero lines all day. Sitting on deck with a beer and a burger at the end of the day was amazing.
Last few years we have had tline passes. The Nut is about 35 minutes closer. The one big thing in tlines favor is snow conditions.
Tough call
Tline vs Mnut is a difficult call for me but with the Mnut improvements and it only being an hour away from me I think I will be going with Mnut for the foreseeable future. I still get out to Tline a couple time a year.
For my burger and beer at the end of the day I opted for Thirsty's, just outside the resort property. It is in the small cluster of restaurants just before you turn off of rt 33 into the resort (coming from the east)
bryantfsu93 wrote:
Was at the Nut on Monday. First time with the high speed to the top, what a difference.
Always liked the resort but now with the new lift and new trails we are considering a season pass.
Its really fun lapping thr blacks and we had zero lines all day. Sitting on deck with a beer and a burger at the end of the day was amazing.
Last few years we have had tline passes. The Nut is about 35 minutes closer. The one big thing in tlines favor is snow conditions.
Tough call
Yep, the Peak detachable on top of new trails and massive snowmaking improvements in the last few years has made a huge difference.
Since I'm timeshare owner and always stay overnight at Mnut, I do trips to Timberline from there. Given that the credits for midweek and >4 hour skiing carry over to future seasons, buying tickets has worked out pretty well. Started going with a friend from DC and staying a night or two in Davis. Given that I live in NC and like to spend holiday weekends at Mnut with friends with school age kids, it's usually worth getting at least a Special Value Pass.
Mnut pass sales will probably start in early March. The price goes up a couple times before late fall.
Looking at the 24-hr timelapse, the focus on Wed night, Feb. 21, was to add snow to Showtime and the base trails as much as possible. Could see snowmaking on the lower mountain by midnight. By 9am the snowguns on Showtime shut down. With automated guns, multiple snowguns turn off at the same time.
Should have a short window for snowmaking on Sat night, Feb. 24/25. After that, it's going to get hot (60s) until March 1. Of course, it is late February after all. Wondering if Mnut can be 100% open for Snow Moon Fest March 1-3. That would be an unexpected bonus.
ash663 wrote:
How’s massanutten for a beginner? I’ve been able to ski pretty much every green in the area - whitetail, liberty, 7springs, timberline and would love to try out an easy blue this weekend
One reason I chose Mnut over Wintergreen as the resort for a season pass when my daughter was in elementary school is because the terrain progression for a beginner in very good. Much better than Wintergreen. There is more variety for greens than Timberline. The blues are comparable to Whitetail blues in terms of pitch from what I remember. Haven't been to Whitetail since 2017. I went a few times for the demo day.
As with any new mountain, best to start with the easier trails and work your way up. Since you have done greens in the MidA, you can start on either base chairlift. Southern Comfort is a long green with a very easy pitch. Easy Street is shorter and slightly steeper. Beginner snowboarders do better on Easy Street. Meadow is great for practicing and has a long magic carpet. It's out of traffic so there are no intermediates/advanced folks speeding down it.
The easiest blue is Lower Showtime off the Ridge Triple. Get off at the mid-station and go right. You can see the last section of Lower Showtime riding up the Creekside lift.
Going left at mid-station is also a blue. Lower MakAttack is a little steeper. Usually has fewer people. The chairlift goes right over Lower MacAttack. If Pacesetter isn't set up as a terrain park, it's also a blue.
Do you know how to side slip? If not, it's not a good idea to ride to the top of the Ridge Triple. The top of Upper Showtime is where my daughter learned to side slip. Without that skill, getting down the first 30 feet can be scary if trying to make turns when it's slick or icy.
marzNC wrote:
ash663 wrote:
How’s massanutten for a beginner? I’ve been able to ski pretty much every green in the area - whitetail, liberty, 7springs, timberline and would love to try out an easy blue this weekendOne reason I chose Mnut over Wintergreen as the resort for a season pass when my daughter was in elementary school is because the terrain progression for a beginner in very good. Much better than Wintergreen. There is more variety for greens than Timberline. The blues are comparable to Whitetail blues in terms of pitch from what I remember. Haven't been to Whitetail since 2017. I went a few times for the demo day.
As with any new mountain, best to start with the easier trails and work your way up. Since you have done greens in the MidA, you can start on either base chairlift. Southern Comfort is a long green with a very easy pitch. Easy Street is shorter and slightly steeper. Beginner snowboarders do better on Easy Street. Meadow is great for practicing and has a long magic carpet. It's out of traffic so there are no intermediates/advanced folks speeding down it.
The easiest blue is Lower Showtime off the Ridge Triple. Get off at the mid-station and go right. You can see the last section of Lower Showtime riding up the Creekside lift.
Going left at mid-station is also a blue. Lower MakAttack is a little steeper. Usually has fewer people. The chairlift goes right over Lower MacAttack. If Pacesetter isn't set up as a terrain park, it's also a blue.
Do you know how to side slip? If not, it's not a good idea to ride to the top of the Ridge Triple. The top of Upper Showtime is where my daughter learned to side slip. Without that skill, getting down the first 30 feet can be scary if trying to make turns when it's slick or icy.
How did you learn to ski? Massanutten has a package for beginners that includes a 90-min lesson.
Thanks for the detailed response, I really appreciate it!
How did you learn to ski? Massanutten has a package for beginners that includes a 90-min lesson.
Mostly just lots of hours spent watching YouTube videos, and practicing every weekend possible. I feel like I've outgrown any more beginner lessons, but I'm in that in-between stage where I am not exactly good enough for any intermediate lessons yet -- essentially I want to try more difficult greens, or some easy blues to gain some confidence, and start next season with intermediate lessons.
> Do you know how to side slip?
I have never tried it, but now that you mention it, I will try side slipping this weekend on a green trail!
ash663 wrote:
How did you learn to ski? Massanutten has a package for beginners that includes a 90-min lesson.Thanks for the detailed response, I really appreciate it!
How did you learn to ski? Massanutten has a package for beginners that includes a 90-min lesson.Mostly just lots of hours spent watching YouTube videos, and practicing every weekend possible. I feel like I've outgrown any more beginner lessons, but I'm in that in-between stage where I am not exactly good enough for any intermediate lessons yet -- essentially I want to try more difficult greens, or some easy blues to gain some confidence, and start next season with intermediate lessons.
> Do you know how to side slip?
I have never tried it, but now that you mention it, I will try side slipping this weekend on a green trail!
Note that it's very hard to learn to side slip on a green. Need to have enough pitch to get started. I'm not an instructor. I've become an advanced skier in the last decade (after age 55) with the help of lessons from very experienced instructors at Mnut and elsewhere. I've done lessons with friends who were intermediates. I've observed how an instructor teaches someone to side slip. They don't do it on a green.
How do you stop? With a wedge (pizza) or another way? How do you slow down?
Note that it's very hard to learn to side slip on a green. Need to have enough pitch to get started. I'm not an instructor. I've become an advanced skier in the last decade (after age 55) with the help of lessons from very experienced instructors at Mnut and elsewhere. I've done lessons with friends who were intermediates. I've observed how an instructor teaches someone to side slip. They don't do it on a green.
Ah, I see your point about side-slipping. I mostly want to get familiar with the motion itself -- i.e. what muscles to activate, how my body weight should be balanced and then I can try it on a steeper slope.
How do you stop? With a wedge (pizza) or another way? How do you slow down?
I usually use hockey stops if I need to stop suddenly (I still need some distance -- can't come to a full stop immediately like the pros). For normal stops, I tend to make a C turn if there's space and just stop sideways. I don't really find it comfortable to stop with a wedge/pizza unless I'm in the lift lines -- the stopping distance feels too long
ash663 wrote:
Note that it's very hard to learn to side slip on a green. Need to have enough pitch to get started. I'm not an instructor. I've become an advanced skier in the last decade (after age 55) with the help of lessons from very experienced instructors at Mnut and elsewhere. I've done lessons with friends who were intermediates. I've observed how an instructor teaches someone to side slip. They don't do it on a green.
Ah, I see your point about side-slipping. I mostly want to get familiar with the motion itself -- i.e. what muscles to activate, how my body weight should be balanced and then I can try it on a steeper slope.
How do you stop? With a wedge (pizza) or another way? How do you slow down?
I usually use hockey stops if I need to stop suddenly (I still need some distance -- can't come to a full stop immediately like the pros). For normal stops, I tend to make a C turn if there's space and just stop sideways. I don't really find it comfortable to stop with a wedge/pizza unless I'm in the lift lines -- the stopping distance feels too long
I had the advantage when skiing as an adult intermediate that I learned side slipping, falling leaf, and hockey stops as "survival skills" the two seasons I skied as a teen long ago on straight skis. Where I learned to ski the beginner trail was steeper than many MidA blues.
Good that you seem to turn up the hill to slow down and/or stop. That's a fundamental concept that applies for any trail, regardless of the pitch. You should be fine on the blues off the Ridge Triple mid-station.
wgo wrote:
No Hess, Slot, and Upper Mak closed today. Potential for snowmaking this week, so it will be interesting to see if they will try to get any of these open for the weekend. My guess is they will be focused on shoring up the currently open trails. If this is it for these trails, then MNut will have managed to be essentially 100% open for 5-6 weeks, which given the weather is no small feat. Last season Paradice and Mak never even opened at all.
With the Snow Moon Fest coming up March 1-3, my guess would be that the goal is to be 100% open for the weekend as the last push for Kenny Hess' last season in charge of operations.
Looks like another window for snowmaking on Thursday night. Then it's a matter of hoping there isn't too much rain on the mountain before it clears.up on Saturday. Will be spring skiing this weekend, but with plenty of places to wander around.
A couple of the special events this weekend at Massanutten are fundraisers. Pretty sure Therapeutic Adventures does the Adaptive Skiing.
I was up there yesterday, and the last snow guns shut off at 12:00 p.m. I didn't think it was cold enough to run them that long. They must have been really gunning for the weekend. It was a big soupy mess by then. I thought it would be worse after it warmed up, but once the guns were turned off everything was good, very grippy, not too sticky. I thought No Hessitation would have a chance to open again, but it looked like Makattack might be done for.
The moguls were relatively nice compared to last weekend, though the whole line is on a slant which leads to unsymmetrical skiing. There's a big icy right turn, followed by a gentle left turn repeated many times. The last six turns are nice....
POV of that run:
Thanks for the report and the vids. Your local skiing vids on your YouTube channel are good as well!
Massanutten clearly plans to be open this weekend. I think they closed on Wed. No more night skiing. Snow tubing re-opening on Friday.
Late season rates apply. People with a season pass elsewhere get a 50% discount on a lift ticket. Must buy at a ticket window for the discount.
Massanutten hasn't given up yet. Only Southern Comfort and Showtime are open, plus the teaching area at the base.
Ah uneven lines. I learned a lot from Nelson back in the day this is so old-school but his Hi-Low tactic at 26:05 in this vid says it all! It so works:
"Mogul Mastery" - Nelson CARMICHAEL
He also calls it "trim the big one".
"Skiing Opposite" yeah that was a main tactic with those big a$$ skis I had I remember a ski instructor at Ski Liberty giving a lesson to a sudent said " .... or you can ski the tops like that guy ..." ha ha.
OMG "the Scoot" right saved my a$$ for sure and you can save face.
Stephen wrote:
I was up there yesterday, and the last snow guns shut off at 12:00 p.m. I didn't think it was cold enough to run them that long. They must have been really gunning for the weekend. It was a big soupy mess by then. I thought it would be worse after it warmed up, but once the guns were turned off everything was good, very grippy, not too sticky. I thought No Hessitation would have a chance to open again, but it looked like Makattack might be done for.
The moguls were relatively nice compared to last weekend, though the whole line is on a slant which leads to unsymmetrical skiing. There's a big icy right turn, followed by a gentle left turn repeated many times. The last six turns are nice....
POV of that run:
Hey, you're taking away my excuse.
I sent the video to a top level mogul coach asking why it looked so bad, and he said I need to be more forward and drive my hands more forward. I'm on the shins, so I think the problem is that when the icy backside pulls my skis into the rut which is excessively pointed across the hill, my skis get pointed so far sideways that I let the right shoulder go way back, but I have to keep it all facing down the hill more, even when that happens. It's some weird bumps, being on a slant, with people breaking harder than they should only to the right.
Or like you say, stay high enough that I don't let the icy backside suck in my skis. If the rut pointed down the hill more it would have looked normal, but live and learn.
Crush wrote:
Ah uneven lines. I learned a lot from Nelson back in the day this is so old-school but his Hi-Low tactic at 26:05 in this vid says it all! It so works:
"Mogul Mastery" - Nelson CARMICHAEL
He also calls it "trim the big one".
"Skiing Opposite" yeah that was a main tactic with those big a$$ skis I had I remember a ski instructor at Ski Liberty giving a lesson to a sudent said " .... or you can ski the tops like that guy ..." ha ha.
OMG "the Scoot" right saved my a$$ for sure and you can save face.
Stephen wrote:
I was up there yesterday, and the last snow guns shut off at 12:00 p.m. I didn't think it was cold enough to run them that long. They must have been really gunning for the weekend. It was a big soupy mess by then. I thought it would be worse after it warmed up, but once the guns were turned off everything was good, very grippy, not too sticky. I thought No Hessitation would have a chance to open again, but it looked like Makattack might be done for.
The moguls were relatively nice compared to last weekend, though the whole line is on a slant which leads to unsymmetrical skiing. There's a big icy right turn, followed by a gentle left turn repeated many times. The last six turns are nice....
POV of that run:
Agreed, very impressed with the atmosphere and the ongoing improvements - much to be pleased about...
Would be hard to comprehend if we really experienced a heavy snow year - really a great job this year.
Looking forward to next year, already... We just need a return to real winters.
