Ask for a friend...

Friend's adult niece will be visiting her from Singapore.  Niece would like to try skiing for the 1st time next Sunday, March 23rd.  They can only go for day trip, cannot overnight.  They are in Herndon area, near IAD.  

Take into consideration on driving distance and snow conditions, where do you suggest they can go?  

She booked a private lesson at Bryce and can be cancelled w/ 48 hours notice.  I suggest T'line but might be too far of a drive?  

Any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated.  

Bryce  Massanutten and Timberline are likely the only places that are going to be open next weekend.   And that could change later this week.   

fosphenytoin wrote:

Ask for a friend...

Friend's adult niece will be visiting her from Singapore.  Niece would like to try skiing for the 1st time next Sunday, March 23rd.  They can only go for day trip, cannot overnight.  They are in Herndon area, near IAD.  

Take into consideration on driving distance and snow conditions, where do you suggest they can go?  

She booked a private lesson at Bryce and can be cancelled w/ 48 hours notice.  I suggest T'line but might be too far of a drive?  

Any advice you can offer will be greatly appreciated.  

Since you are considering Timberline, how does she do with riding in a car on mountain roads?  When my cousin's wife first came to the USA decades, the drive from DC to NC via roads in the Shenandoah mountains left her totally motion sick.

The beginner terrain at Bryce is essentially all at the very bottom.  If it's warm, won't be the best introduction to sliding on snow.  Although my sense is that the ski school is very good for beginners.

Massanutten greens include two trails that get a lot of sun exposure.  Meadow with the long magic carpet is already closed for the season.  Can check the webcams to see how Southern Comfort (the long green closest to the lodge) and Easy Street are holding up.  The base on Southern Comfort is probably deep enough to last through the weekend.  Of course, she'd start in the teaching area on the magic carpet in any case.  Massanutten ski school is very good.

Massanutten has a special offer that will be good the final weekend, March 21-23.  Started a week or two ago.

"It's Spring Break Time! Use promocode SkiSpringBreak2025 to get BOGO 8-hour slope-use tickets and lessons! PLUS season passholders from other mountains can get 1 FREE 8-hour slope-use for the first day and then 50% off any additional days of skiing through the end of the season. "

Reporting back: 

Friend's niece went to Bryce last Sunday, signed up a 2-hour private lesson.  Green slope was closed, lesson took place on a blue slope, there was an area she fell many times.  But overall, she liked her first skiing experience.  Most of her friends in Singapore can ski and she was the rare one never tried.