We are going up for a weekend in late Feb at Timberline and was checking the snow report today and saw an alarminly low number of trails open (22 of 39 and most of those are all the green runs that are about 10 yards long), very little advanced or intermediate terrain open. I know it hasn't been a very snowy Winter aside from Jonas, but does anyone know if they just aren't willing to make snow on those closed trails at this point in the season? Just checked and Canaan Valley is in the same boat, less than 50% of their trails open. We figured late February would be a good time to get as it's not as crowded, but still normally great snow conditions.
Mid to late February is usually the best skiing and snow conditions in the southeast and mid atlantic. It's cold again there now starting this weekend. They'll get more terrain open again by next weekend.
Four of us were planning to head up to Timberline today. But nope, it's going to be Wintergreen instead. And I'm really bummed about it. TLine is my favorite spot south of Vermont, but the entire management needs a swift kick in the rear end. Or they need to be bought out by a much more professional group. I'd hate to see TLine close due to mismanagement, and I'm worried they're heading down that road.
End rant :)
I went to T-line yesterday and of the snowmaking terrain. Upper Thunder Struck, Upper Almost Heaven and The Drop were not open with the first two ready to open soon, snowmaking mounds needs groomed out. Only The Drop appears to not have any machine made snow yet. My concern was the triple chair on Silver Steak. They were skipping several chairs then only loading two per chair all the time checking the counterweight at the bottom. Later in the day they were again loading triples but still skipping chairs. Makes you wonder why the chair could not be loaded to capacity.
I think that conditions at T-Line this coming weekend will be the best so far this year except for the big dump weekend. The only main trail that may not be open will be the Drop and it is possible with the cold weather that they may get that open by the weekend.
FWIW, there are basically eight main routes down from the top at Timberline: Twister, Dew, Heaven, Thunder, White Lightning, The Drop, OTW and Salamander. As of today, five of the 8 are open. That's really not too bad in this snow year and after a warm week.
(OK nitpickers, I realize there is both Thunderstruck and Thunderdraft liftline, but they merge halfway down. Also, obviously this does not include various tree routes, none of which are skiable at TL or any other mid-Atlantic resort at this point.)
There is lots to critique and criticize about the place, but I don't think their terrain management this year is one of them.
Nut-100% open
Wintergreen 100% open
Bryce 100% open
Roundtop, Liberty Whitetail 100% Open
Hidden Valley 96% Open
Seven Springs 95% Open
Wisp 100% of snowmaking terrain open
Shoe-95% open
Winterplace 100% open
TL is 55% Open (per skicentral), per the 5 of 8 runs 62.5% open
CV reported as 40% open, but they have a decent amount of trails without snowmaking.
You forget that with a really slow lift and another that cannot be loaded to capacity thus even slower, the open terrain at T-line is still nearly empty even on the busiest days. Lift corrals are another story.
I think with TLine, it comes down to the same old arguments. The lack of investment in snowmaking and other infrastructure upgrades means the chickens come home to roost in winters like this. I mean, they're probably doing the best they can with this weather. But it's the best ski area south of New England, and relying on upslope to stay open just isn't good enough anymore. They need the capability to get 100% open (outside the glades) just as quickly as everyone else, then they can play up the mega powder days when the upslope kicks in. It's win-win, especially with Corridor H moving along. $5-$10 million should take care of the snowmaking and a new chairlift. That's pocket change for some of the bigger players out there.
KeithT wrote:
Nut-100% open
Wintergreen 100% open
Bryce 100% open
Roundtop, Liberty Whitetail 100% Open
Hidden Valley 96% Open
Seven Springs 95% Open
Wisp 100% of snowmaking terrain open
Shoe-95% open
Winterplace 100% open
TL is 55% Open (per skicentral), per the 5 of 8 runs 62.5% open
CV reported as 40% open, but they have a decent amount of trails without snowmaking.
Thanks for this informative info! Canaan Valley (to include Davis, Thomas and Blackwater Falls) is about to be discovered thanks to the foresight of the Corridor H planners😀! it is unfortunate that the valley's skiing potential will not be ready to modernize and thus take advantage of this golden shot in the arm for this needy area of WV!
KeithT - I hate to tell you this but today in NC we have 81 of 81 slopes open across 5 ski areas. .
But, it looks like WV wins the snow lottery this week
Just statin' the facts.
Seems like some have "battered wife syndrome" when it comes to the valley resorts.
"Oh this black eye, silly me I slipped and fell, yes I fell--thats it."
Irrational beliefs and excuses for two resorts that have had more available snowmaking hours than any other resort covered by this website, with the possible exception of Snowshoe.
19thhole and The Colonel say it best.
We have a group of 6 that would really like to do a day at TL or CV but the lack of trail openings keeps us from pulling the trigger.
Our friends now live in Deep Creek so our plan is to stay with them Fri night, drive to the valley and ski on a Saturday. We'd return to their house and use our SS swap pass on a Sunday at Wisp.
It's tough to justify that drive (and pay for a ticket) for 50% of the trails. I think it would sour the experience. I've only been to TL once and that was for an evening session which kinda sucked. I'd like to ski it in a day and enjoy it.
Meanwhile the trail count is down to 20 today...
Folks, there are 3 top to bottom snowmaking trails that are closed and I'm surprised that two of them have not been open yet. The trails appeared to me to have enough snow on them last Saturday but the substantial mounds were not groomed out. Saturday was busy but almost every run I took was on an empty trail (The Drop) or near empty (all the rest). Waits in line could be up to a half hour. More open terrain will not fix that issue. We started just before 10 AM, took one actual break (as opposed to standing in line or riding lifts.) We were tiring by 5 but my 18 year old son and his buddies were going strong until 7 when they called it quits. The last 2 hours, the wait in line ws down to a quick shuffle through the corral. There is enough terrain to make a fun day if you can tolerate longer than average waits in line.
Wonder if they are waiting until pres. day weekend to open those trails?
I think most of those trails will be open this weekend at Tline. But what everyone should really be focusing on is the fact that Canaan Valley is getting a slug of natural snow this week (probably more than all the resorts on Keiths list). Give me a bunch of natural snow over 100% man made snow runs any day. But heh that is just me.
I couldnt agree more Tom. Make some turns for me. If not at TL, I'll bet the national nordic reserve has some base under that new snow.
So howard told fred " hold my beer and watch this"..............
DON't worry about timberline it's been snowing for 36 hours we have every gun running, testing new terrain, all open soon, if u been thinking you want to try Timberline now would be a good time...
Still thinking of heading out on Thursday - depends on some stuff at work. Won’t know until Wednesday afternoon.
I'm getting local reports that conditions at TL are really shaping up. Expect the next couple of weeks to be really good. Plus, Whitegrass will be excellent as well. The valley is at its best when all the resorts have good conditions and Whitegrass has good natural snow. It is up to you to pick your poison then. Dress warm though it is going to be very cold (which is GOOD!).
wgo wrote:
Still thinking of heading out on Thursday - depends on some stuff at work. Won’t know until Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday, Friday will b good
Sunday, Monday will be good too.
Never seen Timberline make this much snow at the same time.
Jimmy, Trying to figure out if you are being sarcastic by posting the same post three times consecutively, or if TL has managed to finally get new purchases on line!
Never can tell what is going on at TL!?!
You, Kim and all the gang try to stay warm this weekend. Hopefully no lift break/slow downs with the President's Weekend crowd!
MorganB
aka The Colonel
Sorry about the triple post. No sarcasm Colonel. Saturday was off the list because it will be crowded. I have never seen them run as many snowmaking devices at the same time. Still snowing here, they will start grooming Almost Heaven today and hopefully Thunderstruck tomorrow. Patrol opened Thunderdraft (under the lift) yesterday. I have heard rumors that they will make snow on the Drop.............................
Thanks Jimmy, Good for TL!!!
MorganB
aka The Colonel
jimmy wrote:
Sorry about the triple post. No sarcasm Colonel. Saturday was off the list because it will be crowded. I have never seen them run as many snowmaking devices at the same time. Still snowing here, they will start grooming Almost Heaven today and hopefully Thunderstruck tomorrow. Patrol opened Thunderdraft (under the lift) yesterday. I have heard rumors that they will make snow on the Drop.............................
Thunderdraft was closed on Thursday - maybe because of all the snow being made where it intersects with Thunderstruck. They were making a ton of snow all over the mountain. Good for the rest of the season, not great for yesterday when the man-made mixed with the natty and made for a less "powdery" surface. But worth it if it extends the season (and skiers get to use it, not snowmobilers...). Still plenty of fresh to be found, so a good day overall.
They were making snow on the Drop, so hopefully that will be open over the weekend. Seeing all the snowguns running at once was impressive - I just wish they had been doing that earlier in the season.
Unfortunately, Timberline indicates a March 20th closing with sledneck races on Easter weekend.
wgo wrote:
jimmy wrote:
Sorry about the triple post. No sarcasm Colonel. Saturday was off the list because it will be crowded. I have never seen them run as many snowmaking devices at the same time. Still snowing here, they will start grooming Almost Heaven today and hopefully Thunderstruck tomorrow. Patrol opened Thunderdraft (under the lift) yesterday. I have heard rumors that they will make snow on the Drop.............................
Thunderdraft was closed on Thursday - maybe because of all the snow being made where it intersects with Thunderdraft. They were making a ton of snow all over the mountain. Good for the rest of the season, not great for yesterday when the man-made mixed with the natty and made for a less "powdery" surface. But worth it if it extends the season (and skiers get to use it, not snowmobilers...). Still plenty of fresh to be found, so a good day overall.
They were making snow on the Drop, so hopefully that will be open over the weekend. Seeing all the snowguns running at once was impressive - I just wish they had been doing that earlier in the season.
wgo wrote:
jimmy wrote
They were making snow on the Drop, so hopefully that will be open over the weekend. Seeing all the snowguns running at once was impressive - I just wish they had been doing that earlier in the season.
Maybe they got something in the snowmaking system fixed or finally installed!! If so, should bode well for the 16-17 season! Assuming and if...!!!!
MorganB
aka The Colonel
teleman wrote:
Unfortunately, Timberline indicates a March 20th closing with sledneck races on Easter weekend.
HaHa they must not have any customers in Fairfax County VA. Fairfax County Schools are starting their spring break week on, wait for it................March 21.
I feel like a few years ago after a bunch of bitching they stayed open an extra week because it was spring break and their was a huge storm coming. Then almost no one showed up.
AndyGene wrote:
I feel like a few years ago after a bunch of bitching they stayed open an extra week because it was spring break and their was a huge storm coming. Then almost no one showed up.
Hey,
I was there! But you raise a good point. Could be that people are nervous about booking a late March trip in the Mid-A. And the folks who are willing to drop everything to make a last minute trip if conditions are good are probably already posting on this forum.
Oh, by the way, any reports from TL over the weekend?
I have no live report, but it does appear that they got all of the trails from the top open!
Tline was fully open with excellent snow conditions. Nice bumps on thunder draft and off the wall and some pretty good tree skiing if you knew where to go and were careful. Terrain park open. They blew a lot of snow last week. Rain today finishes any tree skiing until more natural happens.
TomH,
In the interest of clarity, TL web site indicated over the weekend (and still indicates) only 33 of 39 trails open.
Lower Dew Drop and a couple other small trails not open, plus some of the glades.
MorganB
aka The Colonel
Sunday at TL was crowded and I thought it was a bit icy, especially on the green/blue trails but Upper White Lightning was good since they were blowing snow on it half the day on Sunday. Upper Thunder Draft bumps were nice but the coverage was a bit thin with sticks/branches sticking out a lot over the trail. Tree skiing next to Upper Almost Heaven was good and we were able to find some untracked powder in good condition but you did have to be careful where you went in and for obstacles. And The Drop had huge snow whales.
I was at T-line sunday afternoon and Monday morning.. They were basically completely open. I did not have good luck in the trees but even before the rain everything had settled pretty firm and shallow in the wind and cold temps saturday. Or so it seemed to me
I went by this morning and all their trails were open again (glades would have been unfun)... NO people, would have been a good day in the end although it rained so much last night I was just demoralized and hit Wintergreen on my way home to NC
Whitegrass was also nice, trees were great till things started moistening... but no bad skiing right?, only bad skiiers, so I guess I'll shut up
Put me firmly in the bad skier column. Kemper I cannot keep up with your travels. I thought you were at Loveland.
I believe that for good off piste skiing you need a few snows with a few thaw refreeze cycles - coat the ground well so the next snow will cover a good base. Otherwise you are right even deep fresh snow on dirt will just blow and cut away.
The part about NO people is discouraging. You have to wonder if it would be better to closed tues-thursday in the end. I guess not or more places would do it.
pagamony wrote:
I believe that for good off piste skiing you need a few snows with a few thaw refreeze cycles - coat the ground well so the next snow will cover a good base. Otherwise you are right even deep fresh snow on dirt will just blow and cut away.
I agree. The week prior to Jonas, Lower Shays had little to no snow on it. I poached it after Jonas and the grass was coming through on the steeps by mid day. Wasn't until Monday this week the trees were reasonably safe, even then my bases got some battle scars. Hopefully this weekend's warm spell doesn't reset the natural base to zero.
