I wasn't sure what to expect when I hit the road for Whitetail this morning (Tuesday, Dec. 24). The past few days' thaw and rains had taken away the natural snow here in the northern Shenandoah Valley, but snow reports and webcams were looking OK at WT. (How did we really know what to expect in the days before webcams? They help make sure that snow reports are more accurate than those in the good (?) ole days.)
WT was expecting holiday crowds b/c the traffic directin' crew was out in force packing 'em in. That meant I couldn't grab my usual spot ... but there wasn't much of a walk to the slopes at 9am anyway. Snow guns seemed to be blasting everywhere except Bold Decision. All other runs including Limelight were open, except Fanciful and Farside. There, the guns were blasting extra heavily. I'll bet mountain ops will let that snow cure for a while before opening those two -- save them for Christmas Day or later. No need to open them this morning b/c the crowds weren't heavy.
Overall, skiing consitions were -- once again -- better than I had a right to expect. Snow Dancer sported a few crunchies and slick spots, as did Drop In, but Angel Drop, Limelight and Snow Park, among others, were fine ... not absolutely perfect, but with plenty of cover for edges to grip. I ran Exhibition just once and decided to let mountain ops do their thing before returning (on another day); there were too many icy spots and better conditions elsewhere.
Bottom line: good skiing conditions are returning quickly. Get out there and enjoy the season!
Merry Christmas,
Woody
Liberty surprised me with pretty good conditions today as well and the place was practically deserted. Snowguns were going this morning and then turned back on right as I was leaving. There were some thin spots on the expert terrain and White Lightning was icy, but most of the other runs were hard and fast.
I hope to get a chance to go to Whitetail on January 2nd - if I can get off work.
I know the Dec25-January 1st crowds can be big, but what about right after the first? I am a beginner so the "conditions" need not be ideal.
