My wife and I are thinking about taking a day trip out of DC this Friday. I was wondering what people's suggestions were. Our priorities are decent snow and relatively uncrowded.

I noticed that Whitetail, Liberty & Roundtop are all charging holiday rates then. Does that indicate expected crowds? I'm not interested in skiing in any of the "please run into me"-type weekend crowds from this area -- is that what we'd see? How about Wisp?

I'd really appreciate any suggestions.

usually you would see major crowds at lib/RT/WT but I know at RT this year, things have been pretty sparse. I think you'be be better off in WV that day but of the 3, I'd guess RT is your best bet.

Whitetail is by far the better of the three local hills (Whitetail, Liberty, Roundtop). It does a get a bit more crowded, but their runs are wider....you will run into crowds at all three!! I would head to Whitetail.....

Maybe I'm dealing in too-fine gradations here, but should I expect Whitetail to be lift-line crowded or expect-to-get-be-involved-in-several -collisions crowded?

If your skiing tends more toward blues and blacks, I would recommend Wisp MD, Seven Springs PA, or Blue Knob PA. Any of these will add 45 min to 1 hr travel time to your trip over and above that to Liberty or Whitetail, but provide far better skiing conditions and longer runs.

IMHO, Snowshoe WV has the best skiing in the Mid-Atlantic but might be too long a trip depending on where you live in the DC area. Still, Snowshoe has some really good deals if you stay at the bottom of the mountain at the Inn.

grant, all 3 will be crowded as will just about any other ski area around. i'd hedge on whitetail due to weather. they face south and no matter what unless its super cold, it will get warmer there and more slushy which then changes to icy granular as the sun goes down. liberty will be mega crowded (collision type crowded). Your best bet is the get on it early where ever you go. get there and be ready to go before the lifts open. that will guarantee you the best conditions with the least crowd.

Thanks for the advice, all. I was talking to a friend last night who used to work at a resort out in Utah. He said that he didn't know about out here, but out there everybody was crowding the slopes the couple days after Christmas trying their new skis/snowboards.

That mental picture leads me to lean towards postponing the trip a week or two.

blue knob is rarely crowded in recent years, but i'm not sure if fully open yet. wisp and seven springs are fully open now and expecting 6" or more over xmas, but could be busy, esp seven springs. all 3 about 3-3.5 hrs from dc. closer areas you mentioned do tend to be real busy over holidays, except don't forget little bryce which is great if you are a lower intermediate.

I've been to Whitetail on some of the most crowded weekends, and never recall waiting in line more than 5 minutes. Generally, the wait is 0. The high-speed Whitetail Express keeps things moving right along. Conditions for Friday look great. In the Mid-Atlantic, you have to grab the goods when they are good regardless of crowds. I'd go myself if I did not have to work.

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 12-24-2002).]

Thanks, jj; "lower intermediate" is a good description of our skiing. Maybe we'll give Bryce a shot. Sounds like it might be less crowded.