looking at the current conditions, number of trails open, and forecast, my usual "go to" favorites are not looking good. Timberline is... well... you all know, Canaan is struggling to keep terrain open and is at about 50%-60%, Blue Knob is in a similar state with about 50% of the trails open. With natural snow, those are the type places me and my family love: Less lines, nice glades, chill atmosphere. BUT with the limited terrain open, I think we are going to go somewhere with more manmade snowmaking, and thus more terrain open. For me, the big question will be crowds. I understand Snowshoe will be a zoo Saturday since they are pretty much 100% sold out and almost 100% open (except glades). I have never been to either Wintergreen or 7 Springs. Wintergreen is 100% open and 7 Springs is about 80%. Whitetail is our local hill, so kids not interested in going there.... it is our weeknight go-to. Love it, but want something different for Saturday and leaning toward Wintergreen, especially since all other areas show some rain today and they do not. Looking for guidance. All skiers and riders are advanced level.
Snowshoe will definitely be a zoo, but Wintergreen should as well. Take a look at their webcams on a normal Saturday (much less a holiday weekend) and you'll see very long lift lines at the beginner hill six pack and also the quad lift on the intermediate hill. Web cams don't show the Highlands lift, but my guess is it would be just as crowded. It does look like central Virginia will get some rain tomorrow (though not sure if there will be any snow at Wintergreen with its higher elevation) and the further North you go the less chance of rain you'll get. Haven't seen to 7 Springs in years, but that would be my choice just knowing how crowded Wintergreen has been on the weekends in the past when we've been there and looking at web cams more recently.
Wintergreen will be crowded on Saturday for sure. What level is your group at? If you can stick to the Highlands area crowds will be a little less, but lines can still get long there. I posted something a couple years ago that may be relevant - I will see if I can dig it up.
Also, one area to consider that will be less busy is Massanutten. Smaller than Wintergreen, but they have a pair of black runs (really more like nice cruising blues) that are never very busy, even on weekends.
Ok, here's that post from 3 years ago:
Freestyle in Charlottesville has sold discount lift tickets to WTG in the past. Not sure if they are doing so this year, or if other ski shops closer to you would also be doing this.
Weekends can get very crowded, especially on the lifts serving the Big Acorn and Dobie trail pods - Big Acorn because it is a fixed grip quad that seems to stop pretty frequently, Dobie because it serves beginner terrain and is a choke point for people trying to get from the Highlands side back to the Acorn side. If you can, stick to the Highlands pod - lines can get long there as well but they generally move pretty quickly. If you need to get over to the Acorn side from the Highlands side, take Upper Cliffhanger to Loggers Alley and take the fixed grip triple Logger’s Alley lift up - this lets you avoid the crowded main lift in the Dobie section. This also gives you access to the terrain parks, if that is your thing.
Lots of food and drink options along Rt 151 at the base of the Mountain - Devil’s Backbone is the closest brewery, Wild Wolf a few miles down the road, Blue Mountain about 10 miles further away. Couple hard cider places as well. Blue Ridge Pig for BBQ. There is also a distillery and several wineries.
wgo wrote:
Wintergreen will be crowded on Saturday for sure. What level is your group at? If you can stick to the Highlands area crowds will be a little less, but lines can still get long there. I posted something a couple years ago that may be relevant - I will see if I can dig it up.
Also, one area to consider that will be less busy is Massanutten. Smaller than Wintergreen, but they have a pair of black runs (really more like nice cruising blues) that are never very busy, even on weekends.
Needless to say, I always recommend Massanutten over Wintergreen for people who are capable of loading a fixed grip quad and skiing mid-Atlantic blacks. I used to drive an hour longer from central NC to spend a weekend at Mnut but we would get in far more skiing. Especially staying overnight because we could ski 9:00-noon and 3:00-7:00 even when the group needed to spend most of the time on Lift 5 (blue terrain, midstation for cautious intermediates or adv. beginners).
A bit of rain is forecast for Mnut. But sometimes the rain is in the valley and not on the mountain because of the way the ridge splits the clouds. Mnut is at the end of a range, not in the middle like Wintergreen. I also don't like the drive up the mountain to Wintergreen when snow/ice may be a factor. Mnut is easy access right off US33, which is maintained very well.
There was an early March weekend a while back when a father and tween daughter made the drive from Pittsburgh to meet up with me, my daughter, and crgildart and his son. They were advanced skiers and pretty happy. My tween daughter was happy to have a ski buddy. crgildart and I were happy the other father took the kids to the waterpark on Sat evening and wore them out even more. ;-)
Even on the busiest days, 7 Springs can handle the crowds well if you ski intelligently. Ride Giant Steps lift, Alpine, Cortina on the low side, Tyrol.. even north face isn't usually bad.
As long as you avoid Polar Bear Express, Gunnar Express, and Avalanche, you'll be fine.
msprings wrote:
Even on the busiest days, 7 Springs can handle the crowds well if you ski intelligently. Ride Giant Steps lift, Alpine, Cortina on the low side, Tyrol.. even north face isn't usually bad.
As long as you avoid Polar Bear Express, Gunnar Express, and Avalanche, you'll be fine.
Agreed.
7S's snow report is saying they only have a little bit of lodging left for Sunday night, so I'd expect Monday (well, this whole weekend) to be busy as well. Gonna be a nice weekend, so many will probably take advantage of it.
mook21 wrote:
looking at the current conditions, number of trails open, and forecast, my usual "go to" favorites are not looking good. Timberline is... well... you all know, Canaan is struggling to keep terrain open and is at about 50%-60%, Blue Knob is in a similar state with about 50% of the trails open. With natural snow, those are the type places me and my family love: Less lines, nice glades, chill atmosphere. BUT with the limited terrain open, I think we are going to go somewhere with more manmade snowmaking, and thus more terrain open. For me, the big question will be crowds. I understand Snowshoe will be a zoo Saturday since they are pretty much 100% sold out and almost 100% open (except glades).
If you want chill at Snowshoe, go to Silvercreek. Even on holiday weekends you can get early laps in the basin area or western territory then jump to Silvercreek around 11am. Silvercreek has tubing and night skiing too.
Bonzski wrote:
If you want chill at Snowshoe, go to Silvercreek. Even on holiday weekends you can get early laps in the basin area or western territory then jump to Silvercreek around 11am. Silvercreek has tubing and night skiing too.
True, but pay attention to the time. Last Saturday I waited 30 minutes for a shuttle from Western to SC, because I did not get to the shuttle stop until just before 4:30. I should have been there by 4 or so. When I got to SC around 5:15, the line waiting for a shuttle back to the basin area was extremely long.
wgo wrote:
Bonzski wrote:
If you want chill at Snowshoe, go to Silvercreek. Even on holiday weekends you can get early laps in the basin area or western territory then jump to Silvercreek around 11am. Silvercreek has tubing and night skiing too.
True, but pay attention to the time. Last Saturday I waited 30 minutes for a shuttle from Western to SC, because I did not get to the shuttle stop until just before 4:30. I should have been there by 4 or so. When I got to SC around 5:15, the line waiting for a shuttle back to the basin area was extremely long.
The masses start flowing to SC around 2pm and peak @ 430 (basin & WT close). Mornings and early afternoon at SC are golden, especially if you have family in tow. Key is don't stay too late or be faced with long line for shuttle.
What are good lunch options at Silver Creek?
dwm8a wrote:
What are good lunch options at Silver Creek?
All I remember is the cafeteria. But then I was going with a kid. We would go to Silver Creek to eat lunch because it was much less crowded than any place at the main village.
A downside to staying in a unit at Silver Creek is that there is just the bar/grill if don't feel like eating in. We arrived late one time and all my (tween) daughter ended up eating was french fries. The indoor/outdoor pool was a hit though.
The Sugar Shack is next to the lifts at SC - similar to the Boathouse. The Lockerroom sports bar is in the SC Lodge
Blue Don 1982 wrote:
The Sugar Shack is next to the lifts at SC - similar to the Boathouse. The Lockerroom sports bar is in the SC Lodge
Oh yes, forgot about that. Didn't eat there. But got stuck there for almost an hour when there was a lightning hold on the lifts.
Blue Don 1982 wrote:
The Sugar Shack is next to the lifts at SC - similar to the Boathouse. The Lockerroom sports bar is in the SC Lodge
And another place is Bears Den?....floor above Locker Room, little quieter & faster w/ standard fare...pizza, burgers, grilled chix, etc.
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