Great trip report thanks Jim.

Call me crazy but if both Tline and CV were 100% open I would head to CV on a powder day. Lots of fun to be had in all sorts of nooks and crannies on the hill and Tline gets skied off way faster (at least on a weekend). 

I skied CV on Saturday definitely agree, no crowds because they were at TLine. Plenty of powder on natural trails that were untouched that were open. Despite the wind, Upper Canaan Curve was very carveable not wind blown. Skied at TLine Sunday and all natural trails not listed on the trailmap were skied off. 

The biggest gripe, if no outside food can be brought in upstairs then make sure the food court is open when slopes open not at 11am. I have never seen that at any ski area even smaller than CV. 

A question I do have, is about the snowmaking and unorganized it is. Saturday they were blowing on Easy Does It and Upper Timber, but also way out by Lower Prosperity on the knoll. Is the system that poorly designed that they can not make snow TTB on Timber at one time? Why make snow on opposite sides of the mountain at the same time. They could have made snow on Timber and Gravity to be more efficient since both trails were sheltered from wind. 

Both times I have been CV, once this year and back in late January in 2022 it snowed about 8 inches and pretty much same terrain was open. Keeping my fingers crossed for MLK weekend and in February that more terrain will be open so I enjoy more of the mountain. 

RodneyBD wrote:

Great trip report thanks Jim.

Call me crazy but if both Tline and CV were 100% open I would head to CV on a powder day. Lots of fun to be had in all sorts of nooks and crannies on the hill and Tline gets skied off way faster (at least on a weekend). 

It looks like they are working on Upper Spruce and Ski Daddler for snowmaking now.  Look forward to seeing your report tomorrow. 

JimK wrote:

Since my visit they've opened two good ones, Gravity & Timber Trail from the top, and a couple of smaller trails.  I might go again tomorrow.

There have always been lots of miscues/issues/problems at the CV ski area. This is what happens when the owner (the state) hires a operator whose expertise is in hotel and tourist attractions (their revenue and profit targets are probably tied to the hotel and golf course).

Many people recognize the lost opportunity of not prioritizing the ski area (hundreds of thousands of people drive to Snowshoe each winter, while tens of thousands of people drive to Canaan Valley each winter).

Does anyone know what happened with that nascent effort to work out an operating agreement with the Perfects to run CV?  As I recall the state wouldn't pony up on covering additional operating expenses. 

The one guy who should be laser focused on this is Steve Leyh:  tuckerwv.com

Sorry to hijack the thread!

10 Jan 2025, I skied again at Canaan Valley ski area today, from 1030am to 3pm.  Conditions were considerably better than last Sunday, and they were pretty good that day:-)

I skied more off the groom than on the groom.  Skis 85mm underfoot weren't fat enough:-)  New trails now open since my visit last Sunday:  Gravity, the full C Lift Line, the full Timber Trail, Timber Spur, Upper Valley Vista.  Gravity and C Lift Line were highly variable from 12" untracked or chopped up to a few bare dirt spots and divots.  Had to be careful.  Lower angle ungroomed areas and run outs were quite nice and more predictable.  Gravity actually skied better at 245pm than 1045am.  It got tamed a bit by being packed down by skier/boarder traffic.  

I never took the exact same line down the mtn twice for first 2.5 hrs.  Nice, pale sunshine until about 1pm, then cloudy.  Temps in the 20s.  Again, in 4.5 hours only rode with another person once on the chairlift.  Small crowd.

Ski Daddler and Lower Canaan Curve should be open tomorrow.  If they get the predicted few inches of snow tonight the weekend should be outstanding!  The mtn was still not fully tracked out when I left.

I'll post photos in the comments of my recent article on CVR. HERE.

This was probably my last local ski day this winter.  I'll be driving towards Utah over MLK weekend, with a four day layover to ski some places in Colorado.  The plan is to return east in May.  Looks like I'm leaving behind one of the better Mid-Atlantic ski seasons in recent years!  Temps are supposed to stay cool/cold next ten days or more around here.

padjaski68 wrote:

Great report, Jim. Hopefully the same terrain if not more is open for MLK weekend.