Saturday and Sunday were meh.  Was happily surprised by the crowds on Saturday, I didn't think there were that many hard core skiers that wouldn't be skeered by the wind&cold.  Wind scowered the WT so the fresh stashes were incocistent...glades didn't have enough.  Basin side was much better, runs off Ballhooter and Soaring Eagle were nice.  Met up with the wife at Split Rocks pool late afternoon...always fun to swim when it's sub-zero temps!  Sunday was warmer and no/little wind.  I got on Ballhooter runs early then wend to Silver Creek where it was the usual ghost town.  I was a little dissapointed Flying Eagle trail wasn't open...most of it was wind scraped to the grass. Bear Claw and other runs were great snow with some pow stashes on the edges.

Monday was the money.  The shuttle dropped me off at the end of Westridge Rd on Cupp Run at 905am.  There was literally nobody around, a half dozen tracks in the snow. Kind of eery, I started to think they weren't running the lifts and was hesitant to get going. Okay, that thought lasted 10 sec.  Snowshoe reported 5in new snow but it seemed more like 8-10" and they didn't groom the pow.  I had legit blower shots to my waist.  Finally at the top of lower Cupp another skier appeared.  Was the first time I've skied Cupp where I was concerned about having enough speed to make the bottom flat. Fortunately I found a boarder track.  Took 2nd run on Shays....more of the same on top and was fortunate to get a track to Lower Shays where the car sized BUMPS were filled in.  Glorious.  So much so I did that 4 or 5 more laps.  Snow was pouring it down so I started exploring trees/glades.  Entered Sunset Glades from Cupp side and Shays side.  Both were great, once I did go in off Cupp a little too far up-hill (above where they started the clearing) and skied into a trap of logs so I had to post-hole it out for about 20 yds. Skied to the chair until I called it quits at 1pm.

Sorry no pics...had to leave phone with wife so she could make some work calls.

You are the Jedi of catching the goods at SS. Wish me luck in Summit County this week!

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

You are the Jedi of catching the goods at SS. Wish me luck in Summit County this week!

I pass the saber to you for the week, it travels well so use it wisely my friend!

Monday was really great - half empty and wonderful dry powder.  They didn't groom lower shays at all and it was big mounds of fluffy stuff.  Took my 5-yr old daughter down since the wife wasn't around and figured there was nothing hard to fall on.. 

Tueday was better than expected!

At first I thought it would be wet sticky mush, but when I got on the slopes it was very fast and nice.

We dorve up Monday morning.  Little icy leaving NC/VA boarder on I95 but the roads were ok...added about 1/2-1 hour to our trip.   Pulled one guy out of a ditch on Route 66.  Monday afternoon was great with about 9"s of powder until it started freezing rain at Silver Creek around 6 pm but we still had untracked wet powder.  We were afraid Tuesday would be icy but thanks to the snow gods the snow returned.  We had about 1-2"s  of fresh on the groomers which bonded nicelywith the slopes.  We rode the suprisling great cointions from 9 to 4.

Ballhooter closed for the weekend?? Anybody got the scoop??

????????, 

Trail or lift?  Says who?!?

I noticed that Ballhooter lift had a delayed opening today

The Colonel

Ballhooter lift never opened yesterday (Thursday).  It was listed as "delayed", but never opened.  It was delayed in the AM on Tuesday, but eventually opened before noon.  I talked to someone who got on the the Ballhooter lift on Wednesday at 4:10 and he was stuck for 25 minutes at the end of the day.  Maybe they can fund some maintenance with the season pass sale revenues.  Hopefully it will be running today. 

Yes delayed Tuesday morning..  I guess they are having some issues with it.  I thought it was delayed due to ice on Tuesday.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why they don't make Snow on flying eagle at silver creek?  is there just not enough of a need to justify it?  I noticed when I was there a couple of weeks ago there were pipes running to it, but I can't ever remember it being open unless there was natural snow.

'hooter is running right now, per their cams.  Gonna be there tomorrow- hope it keeps going- need to keep the lemmings there, away from the other lifts!

AndyGene wrote:

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why they don't make Snow on flying eagle at silver creek?  is there just not enough of a need to justify it?  I noticed when I was there a couple of weeks ago there were pipes running to it, but I can't ever remember it being open unless there was natural snow.

It's more beneficial to get other slopes open that everyone can enjoy all day/night long (Flying Eagle closes at 4:30), and keep them open as deep into the season as possible.

Skied Snowshoe Sat & Sun, more on Mon & Tues.  The surface both days was real hero snow, soft granular Spring conditions, but not too soft or slushy.  Sunny high in low-mid 50s on Sat and rainy 40s on Sunday.  Sunday afternoon was truly awesome, no crowds, very light rain and an amazing surface given the rainy morning.  Everybody that ventured out sported big smiles.  Feels like temps started falling in mid-afternoon,!and tomorrow (after the Snowshoe magic carpet groomers do their thing, with some sun in low 30s) should be positively legendary.  Easy to see the positive impact of the new snowmaking system and guns on Cupp Run.  On Sat, despite the largest crowd I have ever experienced on the Western Territory slopes, the Cupp Run surface remained soft and skiable, no sign of the snow scraped ice of past years!  Lower Shays Revenge was far less crowded with minimal bumps thanks to the outpouring of snow earlier in the week.

MorganB

Aka The Colonel 

The Colonel wrote:

Skied Snowshoe Sat & Sun, more on Mon & Tues.  The surface both days was real hero snow, soft granular Spring conditions, but not too soft or slushy.  Sunny high in low-mid 50s on Sat and rainy 40s on Sunday.  Sunday afternoon was truly awesome, no crowds, very light rain and an amazing surface given the rainy morning.  Everybody that ventured out sported big smiles.  Feels like temps started falling in mid-afternoon,!and tomorrow (after the Snowshoe magic carpet groomers do their thing, with some sun in low 30s) should be positively legendary.  Easy to see the positive impact of the new snowmaking system and guns on Cupp Run.  On Sat, despite the largest crowd I have ever experienced on the Western Territory slopes, the Cupp Run surface remained soft and skiable, no sign of the snow scraped ice of past years!  Lower Shays Revenge was far less crowded with minimal bumps thanks to the outpouring of snow earlier in the week.

MorganB

Aka The Colonel 

Probably shared a lift with you on Sat- was on Western from 10am-3pm with no breaks.   Single-lined it the whole time and never waited more than five mins even with the crowds. 

Lower Cupp was positively packed - almost got taken out a few times. Lower Shays was much less crowded but a tad moguly. Have to say though that even though it was slushy I found it to be a blast.  Shed a layer an hour and was still warm in not much more than a t-shirt.  

Hope it cools down though.  Warm weather melting was quite evident.

Was definitely t-shirt weax by Sat afternoon- spotted a few young ladies in volleyball shorts and/or bare tummies... made for a less tedious lift line, and a sudden desire to ski the blues in the basin... especially once Sawmill and Camp99 started firming back up in the shadows.

I've never met friendlier bumps than Shay's, late Sat AM.  Straight through the middle of the bump field.  Definitely run o' the day!  Didn't hit WT after lunch, figured it would be slushed up.

Sunday's AM rain was perfect by 11, no lines anywhere and supersoft snow.  Grabhammer was my winner for Sunday.

Webcam shows it snowing hard at Snowshoe now!!12:54am 25 Feb

MorganB

aka The Colonel

I noticed the Ballhooter lift is on "HOLD" this morning.  It also was not running yesterday at 4PM when I looked a the cam.  I wonder what is up with that lift.

skidding wrote:

I noticed the Ballhooter lift is on "HOLD" this morning.  It also was not running yesterday at 4PM when I looked a the cam.  I wonder what is up with that lift.

That's weird.  Ghost town on the Boathouse webcam.  Does not appear anyone is even working down there.  Western is showing a delay as well.  Wind / Ice?

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

skidding wrote:

I noticed the Ballhooter lift is on "HOLD" this morning.  It also was not running yesterday at 4PM when I looked a the cam.  I wonder what is up with that lift.

That's weird.  Ghost town on the Boathouse webcam.  Does not appear anyone is even working down there.  Western is showing a delay as well.  Wind / Ice?

 

 

I know Ballhooter has been down or delayed intermittently recently.  One of the Western Territory lift operators I talked with said they weren't paying for the correct maintenance on it (something to that effect) when it was down a week or so ago.  I doubt it has TL lift type issues, but it is never fun to get stuck on a lift.

SS replied to a message I sent RE Ballhooter

High winds have it on hold.

Blue Don 1982 wrote:

SS replied to a message I sent RE Ballhooter

High winds have it on hold.

Good to know.  Thanks.  Who do you message for that kind of info?  They responded pretty quickly. 

I did PM on Facebook.  Historically, they've been good about replies