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100% if this thaw continues.

Winterplace is not going to be closed for MLK -- Trust me. This is one of the single largest weekends for Winterplace and it is a BUSINESS DECISION that they will be open.

The better question is at what capacity -- maybe 9-15 trails if the rain hits as expected? Any dip in temperature will be taken advantage of.

Think snow.

I'll be sure to bring grass skis.

Thanks for the response. My crew has rented the BIG slopeside cabin for that weekend. With the typical capacity crowds i've experienced there over MLK and only 9-15 trials open it may be quite the miserable weekend.

Winterplace made snow last night -- a shame it is raining but they ARE trying.

The weather is gonna turn very cold MLK weekend -- WP (historically) has shown no mercy and will run possibly every snowgun on the mountain the entire weekend. As a result, if I was you (speaking as a local that has skied there under these conditions) I would invest in facial protection. The snowguns at WP, more than any other resort, will destroy your face (since they are like 80 feet apart max).

In any case -- watch the weather and their snow report. If they do turn the guns on (which, they are going to if cold enough) dress accordingly.

I agree with WP Employee. It is supposed to turn drastically colder friday and the snowguns will probably be roarin by 9pm. If winterplace is the same this year as it was last year, As soon as that wetbulb temp hits 30F, Those guns will be on. From my view, Winterplace has the most agressive snowmaking south of hunter mountain NY. Even more than the shoe. Snowshoe may have more guns but that is to cover their 57 slopes. WP has 27 and Ive gone down every trail there and the guns are so close together visibility can get limited to 15ft. BRING YOUR FACEMASKS!

Thanks. I've experienced how bad those snow blowers can be, so i'm prepared. How quickly will WP be able to open additional trails if they are blowing 24-7 that weekend?

WP still probably has snow on all the trails - just with icy spots, bare spots, and thin spots. Id give them 12hrs and grooming on a trail and it will be open. Given those numbers, Id say 13-17 trls friday, 16-20 sat., and 21-26trls sunday.

I was riding on Friday and after th rain no doubt about it many trails are EXTREMELY thin right now. It is looking quite anemic -- but as soon as they can blow snow as said above trails will re-open very very quickly. That is the benefit of WP having so many blowers so close together.

The only trails that will not open (for sure, pending some mircale) will be Turkey Chute, Ridge Runner, Woods Run, and Nosedive.

It looks like it was cold enough to blow snow last night. WP website listed the temp at 29 degrees this morning. They didn't mention making snow, but i'd have to believe they did. With so many of the beginer trails closed, I have to wonder what that's going to do to the intermediate slopes. I suspect their will be a minefield of bodies to dodge on snowbowl and others!

I was at Timberline last night and woke up several times to check the temperatures (am I insane or what?). Anyway, the mercury sat on 32 the whole night and the snow guns remained silent. The problem, I suspect was humidity. The wet bulb temp was just not low enough for decent snowmaking.

Just a quick update --

Spent most of my morning/ afternoon skiing @ winterplace today.

Conditions were excellent -- 18 trails and the coverage is extremely good. I have a lot of pictures, but suffice to say WP should be in great shape for MLK weekend.

My hats off to them for a job well done (even if accidentally) preparing for this warming period. The 18 trails they have open were more than enough fun.

Excellent! I just noticed that weather.com is forecasting actual snow all weekend, so hopefully that will really help to open things up a bit.

Later this evening I will edit *this* post and add some pictures from yesterday. I think everyone will be very impressed w/ the coverage that WP has.

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Edit: As promised here are the pictures


Image 1 (Looking up Cascade):


Image 2 (Lower Cascade/ Wanderer):


Image 3 (Snowtubing Park):


Image 4 (Look At Me/ Drop Off/ Plunge Visible):


Image 5 (The view from the summit):

If anyone is interested I have more pictures -- WP has focused snowmaking the past few nights near the top of the mountain. For those that enjoy Plunge that trail is in excellent shape.

With the expected cold temps watch for WP to go above 20 trails for MLK. Think snow!

Load us up with more pics! lol Check a PM for my email address if you want to email them.

Damn! No snow forecasted for the weekend and they closed two more trails today.

It is my assumption today's trail closures were a result of COST saving due to low skier traffic. They turned off the lights a few nights ago to conserve $$$ as well.

This is a picture of Plunge I took the other day, it has some of the best coverage of any slope. They blew snow on Plunge a few nights when temps dips enoughed... as you can see in the pic the slope is 100% white.

In any case, here it is:

Down to 9 open trails when I checked this morning. I'm assuming that is $$$ saving as well? I can't fathom how they would handle the MLK crowds with only 9 trails open. All those church groups that come from everywhere probably aren't cancelling any of their plans.

Winterplace started making snow early this morning on the top of the mountain.

Snowmaking will take place across the rest of the resort as temperatures permit.

From www.register-herald.com:

There are a few no-brainers in life. Driving requires gas, swimming requires water and skiing requires snow. Lots of snow.

So what do you do when you're a premier ski resort that's faced record-breaking warm temperatures the last two weeks? Wait for the temperature to drop and make snow. Lots of snow.

"We will have our snowmaking capacity at full peak by the middle of next week and you would never know that we had a January thaw," Winterplace Ski Resort management member Tom Peterson said Friday.

"The forecast looks good for now and the next six days."

Peterson said that in order for snow to be reproduced artificially, the temperature must drop below 32 degrees. Water is pumped out of a nearby man-made lake and is forced through nozzles of compressed air. When the super-cooled water droplets hit the air - presto - you have snow. The snow can then be moved around by bulldozers. Because of the 6-degree difference in temperature, snowmaking usually occurs at the top of the mountain first and then moves to the base.

"You need to have really dry air and low humidity," Peterson said. "If it gets too cold, then the nozzles start to freeze up."

Peterson said when the system is fully operational, 7,000 gallons of water are pumped out of the lake per minute. This can produce up to 2 1/2 feet of snow in 48 hours. The lake holds at least 25 million gallons of water.

"Our goal is to empty the lake and we've done that before," He said. "When that happens, there is at least a 3-foot base or more."

Although attendance has been down due to the unseasonably warm weather, Peterson said the three-day weekend marking Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday should be busy for the resort.

"It's a big weekend for us typically and you have lots of youth groups which plan trips because of the long weekend," He said.

Shelese Jones of Atlanta made the 10-hour trip to Winterplace with her friends from Gracepoint Nazarene Church.

"It's my first time skiing and I did pretty well," Jones said. "I like the cold weather."

For Sheila Bomar of Greenville, N.C., the trip to Ghent has been a yearly event.

"We have 70 kids that we bring here from the People's Baptist Church," Bomar said. "We have been coming here for the last 15 years and we stay at Appalachian Bible College (in Bradley)."

Peterson said officials never considered closing during the recent spell of warm weather and everyone is looking forward to normal temperatures for this time of the year. Currently, there are three lifts and eight trails open, but that could double by Sunday.

"We will be back up to full skiing in no time and that's a testament to our snowmaking capabilities," he said. "We try to make every weekend a party for the skiers."