I see SS positioned 2 snow guns near Ballhooter. It appears they are committed to staying open. Maybe some natural snow THu + Fri as well.
This is helpful. What do people think is the better weekend to visit? This coming weekend, or the following?
Reisen wrote:
This is helpful. What do people think is the better weekend to visit? This coming weekend, or the following?
Aren't you on the shelf until the following weekend anyway?
We were there this weekend. Saturday was a bummer; rained almost all day, and it had a notably bad effect on the snow cover. Sunday was better. Rained a bit in the morning but was clear from 10am through close. Hardly anyone there, and it was a warm spring day, so it was very enjoyable. We didn't go to Western Territory (heard from a ski patrol guy that it was bad) or Silver Creek.
Lots of bare patches. Upper Hootenanny had a very narrow path from the lift down past Knotbumper, and it was an even worse chokepoint than usual for noobs and people falling down.
We hope to go back next weekend. Hopefully no more rain this week! Gonna keep an eye on the trail report and see if they close more runs over the course of the week.
Reisen wrote:
This is helpful. What do people think is the better weekend to visit? This coming weekend, or the following?
If the extended forecast is correct (IF) It seem like they can make snow just about every night from now through the weekend of 3/10.
I'm wary of the rain forecasted on 3/1 so I'm leaning towards the weekend of 3/10
wgo wrote:
Reisen wrote:
This is helpful. What do people think is the better weekend to visit? This coming weekend, or the following?
Aren't you on the shelf until the following weekend anyway?
Yes, but I feel bad that my broken arm has pretty much brought all skiing in my family to a halt. My wife has an unused Snowshoe 3 pack, and my daughter and I have passes, so I’d really like to get at least one weekend up there before the season ends.
Im hoping I’ll be cleared to ski by the 10th, but am nervous Snowshoe’s base won’t make it that long.
We've been monitoring the base/trail count carefully. We have until midweek to cancel our 3/9-3/11 lodging reservations and still get a partial refund. Weather over the next 2 weeks looks OK (better than last couple weeks, anyway) so I am hoping that not too much else gets lost.
We had planned to go to Snowshoe for Spring Break Mar 23, but it's not looking good, what a bummer.
Snowshoe currently putting snow down at 7:00pm should be able to make for about 12 hours. NWS predicting below average temps through mid March!
Guns still going at 8 AM
The folks planning to attend the SkiSoutheast Summit at Snowshoe this weekend are happy to see snow guns back on. Events start Friday evening at Silvercreek. First Tracks on Sunday morning per usual.
http://www.skisoutheast.com/sweet-sweet-snowmaking/
http://www.skisoutheast.com/2018-ski-southeast-summit-snowshoe-mountain/
Do you guys think Shay's is done for the season? I was there on Sat and Sun and conditions were (obviously) quite variable. We did Shay's at least a dozen times on Saturday. Lower Shay's was in quite good shape even later in the day; the bumps on skiier's left softened up by mid-morning and were really fun for the rest of the day. On Upper Shay's, there was only a very narrow strip of snow left for about 20 yards just up the hill from the exit ramp to Cupp that was almost totally skiied out by the end of the day Saturday. And it was closed on Sunday. I don't think it would take much to get it back into skiiable shape, but I wouldn't be shocked if Snowshoe devoted resources elsewhere.
It might be worth asking SS on twitter. They are pretty responsive and in the past have been pretty forthcoming about snowmaking plans.
Not sure on Shay’s, but Snowshoe announced this morning that they were reopening Cupp after blowing snow on it.
dwm8a wrote:
Do you guys think Shay's is done for the season? I was there on Sat and Sun and conditions were (obviously) quite variable. We did Shay's at least a dozen times on Saturday. Lower Shay's was in quite good shape even later in the day; the bumps on skiier's left softened up by mid-morning and were really fun for the rest of the day. On Upper Shay's, there was only a very narrow strip of snow left for about 20 yards just up the hill from the exit ramp to Cupp that was almost totally skiied out by the end of the day Saturday. And it was closed on Sunday. I don't think it would take much to get it back into skiiable shape, but I wouldn't be shocked if Snowshoe devoted resources elsewhere.
Shay's is most likely done for the season although if a big storm were to roll through it could reopen. Skied Cupp this afternoon it was in good shape but a few areas were narrowed from snow melt. With warmer weather the next few days & some rain coming in it may close briefly then reopen with the cooler weather this weekend.
Going up this weekend and maybe next Gotta get it before it's gone...
jimw wrote:
Going up this weekend and maybe next Gotta get it before it's gone...
Looks like snow won't be our issue with 1 - 3 tonight and 2 - 4 on Friday.
The damn winds are going to be the problem. 50 mph gusts are no fun at the top of Ballhooter. Sunday looks great
Bonzski wrote:
Snow won't hold on WT so plan on goods being off Ballhooter or Silvercreek
Is Silver Creek done for the season?
https://www.weather.gov/rlx/winter
Gives probability of various snowfall amounts for tonight's snow event.
piusthedrcarve wrote:
Bonzski wrote:
Snow won't hold on WT so plan on goods being off Ballhooter or SilvercreekIs Silver Creek done for the season?
Someone on SkiSE said Silver Creek would be open this weekend. The SkiSE annual Summit is planning to start at Silver Creek on Friday evening, so folks over there have been paying close attention.
Thank you all for the response. I remember I rode Silver Creek on the last week of season (2 yrs ago). So, I was planning to go there on NoVA' spring break period but noticed Silver Creek has been closed for few days. I will keep my eyes on trail reports and announcements.
SC opens at 4 PM today. Looks like about 5 green runs. Dress warm - winds are brutal rught now.
Definitely looks on the webcams like winter has returned to Snowshoe. Federal Government and FFX County schools are closed today due to the winds, so some people might be able to make a 3 day weekend out of it.
I have a cold, Mrs. Reisen has a cold, and she won't let me near a ski slope until I'm cleared by my doctor, so we won't be there, unfortunately. When we got word early this morning that everything was closed, I suggested heading up, and got this response:
"There's zero chance I'm letting you get hurt and mess up our Vail trip AGAIN. If you get hurt before the Vail trip this time, I'm finding some other handsome guy to take me skiing in Colorado."
So, hopefully we will be up next weekend after my x ray. I'm hoping with these temperatures they will start blowing soon, but I'm sure they aren't blowing in this wind.
Reisen wrote:
I'm hoping with these temperatures they will start blowing soon, but I'm sure they aren't blowing in this wind.
That blue gun next to the waffle cabin is running at 9:30 am. I'm pretty sure that snow will eand up near soaring eagle with all the wind today. They noted snow making will be occurring on some slopes all day.
It appeared to me that the snowguns on Skidder were on last night, and that they are still on (though it is hard to tell with the low visibility).
The creek is open for the weekend starting 4pm tonight, and Snowshoe will be hammering down to make sure they stay open until their closing date (April 1st). You can bet they are blasting snowmaking at full capacity, snowmax and all.
Would love a report on the western territory from someone who is there this weekend, particularly on whether they're making snow on Shay's.
Reisen wrote:
... "There's zero chance I'm letting you get hurt and mess up our Vail trip AGAIN. If you get hurt before the Vail trip this time, I'm finding some other handsome guy to take me skiing in Colorado." ...
Hi I'm T.J. and I'm your ski instructor -
dwm8a wrote:
Would love a report on the western territory from someone who is there this weekend, particularly on whether they're making snow on Shay's.
I'll be eager to hear this too. Given Mrs. Reisen's ultimatum, I'll probably stay off Lower Shay's (I've skied it a million times with no problems before... what are the chances of lightning striking twice?). I love Cupp, though, and would be excited if that's in great shape versus having to fight crowds at Ballhooter all weekend.
It's been snowing ALL day long. It's just so windy you can't see it sticking. Snow guns are on at various locations all over the basin. They closed western about 2 PM and Ballhooter around 3 because of the winds.
That blue gun near the waffle house has been running non stop since 11:30 PM on Thu when we arrived.
First tracks on Sat s/b fun.
Blue Don 1982 wrote:
It's been snowing ALL day long. It's just so windy you can't see it sticking. Snow guns are on at various locations all over the basin. They closed western about 2 PM and Ballhooter around 3 because of the winds.
That blue gun near the waffle house has been running non stop since 11:30 PM on Thu when we arrived.
First tracks on Sat s/b fun.
I guess it depends on how hard the wind hits. In the west, wind events can be absolutely devestating to the snowpack / runs, basically scouring them down to the ice.
I'm impressed, but surprised that Snowshoe is blowing in this. Are they getting the same winds DC is getting? We've got trees down all over near where I live (Vienna) and WTOP was reporting 60mph with gusts up to 80.
I suspect most of the snowmaking in the basin will go somewhere they can use it even in the wind, I doubt they can really make snow on Cupp until things cal down though.
Also.... only because the specualtion should end tomorrow.
From Ski Southeast:
"And finally, if you are joining us this weekend for the Ski Southeast Summit, make sure to join us tomorrow at 1pm at the Boathouse. We’ll be serving up free food and drinks and Snowshoe will be making a big announcement. Should be fun!"
http://www.skisoutheast.com/snow-snowmaking-cold-wind/
Supposedly Frank is joining them for lunch. Anybody know anything???
I know Killington made some big announcements today on upgrades and although not in the same region I expect Vail Inc and Alterra have most of thier plans ready to go.
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