Just came back from weekend at Snowshoe WV. As in the rest of the DC area, natural snow has been conspicuously absent. However, the guns at "Shoe" had been active since last week and all through Saturday, allowing for the opening of several new trails. Believe the number stands at 22 or 23 opentrails, including two easy diamonds (Choker and Grabhammer). In my opinion, the best trails of the week were Choker and Skip Jack. Choker opened Sunday, and the initial steepness discourages some people. Skip Jack is almost hidden, and it takes a 90-degree turn among the trees to get to it, so most people don't even know it's there and as a result it was almost deserted.

Conditions were very good on both days, although some thin spots were visible on the trail leading to Ball Hooter lift.

Lifts: Hope they put another detachable quad in the main face. Ball Hooter (the only detachable quad in the main face) was impossible. The out-of-the-way Grabhammer (a triple) was never full, so it was a good trade-off for the quad -- slower but no waiting lines.

My hope is that the "Shoe" courtesy patrol do a better job of:
a. Ensuring "snowplowers" keep to the blues and greens
b. Somehow get some in the Boarding community to understand that sitting down in a line that obstructs three fourths of the trail width, and downhill from a drop-off where there is no downhill visibility until the drop, is neither a safe nor courteous thing to do