looking at the skiwhitetail.com webcam right now. looks like presidents day. what a shame.

http://www.skiwhitetail.com/camera.htm

I wish the storm would have come through last weekend! As of 1 PM today, Snowshoe has gotten 11 inches of freshies. Book two nights lodging and ski for free. Take some time off work and GET OUT THERE!!!

I was water skiing yesterday, snow at the beginning of the week and florida sun at the end, can't think of a better spring break!

Jarrett

I wonder what WT or any of the other local areas would think about someone skinning up their mtn after the season ends? Anybody ever ask them for permission?

Tom / PM

[This message has been edited by PhysicsMan (edited 03-30-2003).]

They are closed because nobody was coming to ski or board. No customers equals no money...

I was at Snowshoe this weekend. Sunday was awesome! I just sent Scott a report and pictures. Hopefully he'll post them.

Thigh high powder on the Knot Bumper Glades. It looked like President's day weekend all over again.

It must have been like President's Day Weekend but without the crowds.

Timberline was spectacular on Sunday too. It was sort of like a big gift for the locals. Actually it seemed much nicer than the Pres weekend storm. Not as much snow but it was very light and dry with a solid base underneath. The best part was that there was no one there. Thunderdraft didn't have tracks till around 10. It was closed the day before though. Actually it was closed Sunday too but that didn't seem to stop anyone. We are getting more snow today too. Hopefully some of it will hang on till next weekend but I doubt it. What a great season.

Boy, two reports! Before the storm and after! Sounds like a movie! =)

yeah, i just got back from Snowshoe. Couldn't resist the snow so i had to skip "research" today. It was incredible. Cupp was great until the afternoon when the wind made that side of the mountain FREEZING! I don't think my face has ever been that cold before, and visibility was somewhere between the tip of your nose and the end of your eyelashes. Knott bumper again was didn't disapoint.

Check this out too. I went in to the Discovery Center to ask about the tree clearing which is being done mainly under the Powder monkey lift and some on grabhammer slope from what i could tell. they said theres a 5 year plan with 80 skiiable acres and a lift over to silver creek in the works. Seems freighteningly similar to the Sunday River lift thing (I think) that we had that big tiff over earlier though. I think it'd be really neat though if they used it.

I just got back from skiing Timberline Friday through today (Monday). I was supposed to return Sunday afternoon, but the roads weren't in good shape then, so I just had to stay another night and checkout the snow today. We had spring conditions on Friday and Saturday, but winter returned. We had a great powder day on Sunday, and nice groomed conditions this morning. However, later today we had about four more inches and were back to powder, but the wind was howling and temperatures in the high 20s. It was cold and we had whiteout conditions at the top for a while.
Timberline had less than a hundred skiiers there Sunday and today. Conditions should be good through the rest of the week.

I saw that tree clearing and thought they may be doing more trails. However, at Powder Monkey, do they need more green trails over there? The lifts can't handle busy days for the beginners as it is. And at Grabhammer, it appears there's just another green access to the top of it. It looks like Snowshoe is adding more to it's hype than actually improving the area.

Scott Smith reported on the changes in the works at Snowshoe in the following article:

http://www.dcski.com/news/2003/03_01_2003/snowshoe.php3

"An effort is currently underway to widen many slopes at the main Snowshoe area, reducing some trail mergings and providing space for a new Superpipe and more permanent terrain park at the Snowshoe area, set to debut next season."

"Plans are also in the works to add additional terrain in the Western Territory, although a timetable is not yet in place and is dependent on environmental studies. Current plans call for adding some additional terrain to the right of Cupp Run, offering a pitch comparable to Lower Shay's at the lower parts of the mountain. Years ago, the Western Territory included a number of additional runs which trees reclaimed long ago. Some of these runs may return, but don't expect new terrain to debut in the Western Territory until sometime after next season, and possibly for several years."

PS The alleged connector lift from the Basin to Silver Creek is an urban legend according to Snowshoe's communication director.

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 04-01-2003).]

"However, at Powder Monkey, do they need more green trails over there? The lifts can't handle busy days for the beginners as it is. And at Grabhammer, it appears there's just another green access to the top of it. It looks like Snowshoe is adding more to it's hype than actually improving the area."

Good grief, some people are hard to please. How can more trails NOT improve the area? More trails + same number of lifts = less crowding on trails, same wait at the bottom.

Concerning "alleged connector lift from the Basin to Silver Creek" as "urban ledgend" ... if that is the case then Snowshoe had better clue in their sales staff. We looked into pruchasing one of the new Seneca units and were told that a 'gondola' was planned from the Basin to Silver Creek. We were also told about expansion of the Western Territories and expansion on the slopes across the lake from the Basin. I wonder how much of all this is wishful thinking?

I'm compiling a list of Mid-Atlantic urban legends for a possible article and the connector lift/gondola at Snowshoe is high on my list. I confirmed that it is an urban legend with Joe Stevens, Snowshoe's director of communications, about a month ago. It is always best to confirm rumors spread by over eager realtors and sales types with a resort official like Stevens, who holds rank in the corporation. Just a thought.

[This message has been edited by johnfmh (edited 04-01-2003).]

I would temper any excitement about SS trail expansion based on what the Discovery Center says. Not that they are lying - but what they are saying is often very distant future or still in early dream phases. What I have heard through both SS sales and management types is consistent with Scott's report. The current activity on basin side is some trail expansion - for more safety and convenience - not new trails. There are plans for Cup side but environmental assessments must be finished. There are plans for new trails to expand the northern territory - north (mostly green). This will help support new development in the Camp 4 area - and does not include any link to Silver Creek. I have actually seen the mapped plans for this. I was told that a trail link to Silver Creek in unrealistic because of the topography - maybe a gondola link is also unrealistic. There needs to be significant environmental assessments before anything can be approved. I believe that trails on the ridge on the other side of the lake are on the back burner at best. I have even heard some "dreams" of a gondola going down to the golf course. I think the best bet is expansion of Northern Territory and something on the Cup side. At this point I believe management is comfortable with the skier-terrain ratio. I think before any huge leaps forward, there will need to be some significant pick-up in the weekday, early season, late season business.

Hey, i just report it like i hear it. The lady behind the counter says a lift (no mention of gondola) between the 2 areas and 80 acres of trails in the 5 year plan. Who knows, maybe she is F.O.S but they need to get rid of her if so. I'd be PISSED if i bought a condo thinking a bunch of expansions were going to happen and all we got was a wider green run. Actually, i'd probably just be like "hey, i have a condo. SWEET". The biggest tree clearing like i said was a long swath under the chair on the right (while riding) between Cutoff and Greenway if your looking at a trail map. It looks like its straight enough and a good pitch for the Super Pipe.

As far as i'm concerned Snowshoe is great as it is and anything additional is just bonus. Of course i never go on the weekends so maybe that's a different story. The link between areas would be nice though

I had thought that that might be the place for a super pipe, but skiiers far left looks to be pitched too much to build a pipe on. I would venture that Spruce Glades will have the Super Pipe, but I have no firm evidence!

Sounds like an overzealous salesperson. The resort has indicated to me on multiple occasions that there are no plans to link the Silver Creek and Snowshoe areas by lift or trails -- it is not topographically, economically, or environmentally feasible. I would not expect any major terrain expansion in the near future. Certainly, the Western Territory has enough lift capacity to support additional trails, but you shouldn't expect to see any for at least 2-3 years and possibly longer.

Well, I should have gone to T-Line this past weekend... but the weather looked iffy, and nobody planned for 14" of powder!

The cutting underneath the Powdermonkey lift at Snowshoe is infact for a new trail, which will run under Powdermonkey. It would be neat to see some expansion on the Western Territory, but don't expect top-to-bottom runs to spring forth. Westridge Road would prevent any of those from happening.

I think it is more of a terrain park expansion plan right now than a trail expansion. However, I have not seen the new cuts, so it is hard to say.

One last thing on the lift to link the two. If Wisp can run a horizontal lift to link the main part to 5 trails on the east ridge, why couldn't Snowshoe feasibly link about 20 trails, condos, a lodge, a terrain park, indoor pool, and tubing park with a similar lift? I know it'd be slightly longer than the wisp one but the northern tract doesn't seem that far from the lodge at silver creek. Just a thought. Oh, and yes, the horizontal lift at wisp does seem rediculous to me. Better planning should have been able to avoid that.

One thing I would add to this discussion is that rumors and dreams asside, Snowshoe is making positive efforts to expand skiable acreage at the resort. This resort is one of the few in the Mid-Atlantic that is fully committed to ski acreage expansion. As a result, anyone thinking about buying property at this resort should feel confident about their investment. Any investment in ski real estate is completely tied to the fate of the resort and Snowshoe's long term prospects look mighty good right now--especially after this season.

JR: Yes, it is not a far distance at all between the top of the Northern Tract and Silvercreek. Infact, a lift could run from the top of Powderidge behind Camp 4 condos, down Powderpuff road (you Snowshoe bikers should know about this) across the road and up to the top of Silvercreek. It's almost a straight line.

If you still have a hankering for skiing, A-Basin in Colorado is still open. Skied there on Friday. For the West, they don't call in powder. For the east, it was powder.