Staffers at Canaan Valley Resort have been noticing a lot of nearly all-black woolly worms ”“ some people call them woolly bear caterpillars ”“ as we’ve walked around the park the last few days. According to legend, that could be good news for skiers. If the tiny creatures appear with brown segments in the middle, we’ll be in for a milder winter.

We’re not the only ones predicting a colder and whiter winter because of the woolly worms. At the recent Woolly Bear Festival in Vermillion, Ohio, the forecast called for a significantly colder winter with twice as much snow as last year. At the Woolly Worm Festival in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, the prediction is a cold winter with severe storms in January and February.  To south of us in Banner Elk, North Carolina, the prediction at the 39th Woolly Worm Festival called for average winter temperatures at the beginning of winter followed by colder-than-normal temperatures through January.

What color are the caterpillars in your neck of the woods?

Even though our long-time staffers swear by the legend, we’re not leaving anything to chance this year. With our snowmaking capacity doubled allowing for earlier opening of more trails we’re planning to get off to a rocking start when we take the first skiers up the lift on Dec. 10. Hoping to see you then.

I like the way you're thinking and I hope to make my first visit to CVR's slopes some time this season.

Ski Canaan, well worth the effort!

MorganB

aka The Colonel

playing devils advocate, but I have yet to see any all black ones in canaan?   Only ones with a large brown stripe in the middle. around here, which folklore says indicates the mild period. However, I have never seen much correlation to them and the coming winter, yet another theory I have read about, is that they indicate the PREVIOUS winter which seems to have more of an accurate correlation. Ive always thought the farmers almanac is more reliable than the wooly worms around here. So far, it was dead on about the long dry extended summer.