I'm taking a friend Snowshoe on Mon, Jan. 5.  Sort of a day trip since we are starting out early in the morning from Massanutten and then heading towards Davis in the afternoon.  I've been to SS but usually late season instead of early season.  SS will be a new adventure for my friend.  Then we are going to explore Timberline on Tue, Jan. 6.  Will be the first time for both of us.

If anyone will be around to say hello, always fun to meet DCSki folks in person.

Very glad the cold is back.  Rain, rain, go away fast!

Marz,

How was Tuesday at TL? Did you end up staying an extra day?

Tuesday at Tline was great!  There was about 4 inches of fluffy snow on the minivan when we left the Canaan Valley Lodge in the morning.  Snowed all day, stead but not extreme.  So the roads were snow covered but not a problem when we left around 2:30.  Very glad that there was good visibility for that section of US48 still under construction.  Enough snow that the piles on the side next to concrete barriers meant cars on that side tended to be closer to the center line than usual.

Had to get back so my friend could get back to work.  I think staying would've meant staying more than one extra night for anyone who wanted to make the most of the storm.

PSIA was having clinics Mon-Tue.  So one double-black was open with giant snow whales.  A lot of snowmaking going on but not really too much open yet for advanced skiers looking for adventures.

And Monday at SS?

For a first introduction to SS for my friend, we had a good day.  Turned out to be a cold, blue sky day with no worries about driving in snow after we were done skiing.  Conditions were a bit on the frozen granular side.  No snowmaking on open trails on the Basin side or on Cupp.  Cupp wasn't exactly icy, but I was wishing I had my carvers instead of Black Pearls.  We only did one run since the idea was to check out as many areas as possible and we wanted to leave by 2pm.  Took the shuttle over to Silver Creek and skied the last hour over there.  SC was nice, empty per usual and much easier to make turns.  Apparently may take another week before the SC black trails are open.  They were blowing snow over there.

Lots of snowmaking on Shay's but it's still going to take a while to get it open.

Got to see the new Terrain Based Learning in action.  Quite interesting to see a mix of skiers and snowboarders of all ages being sent down the curved "track" one at a time.  It's right next to the covered magic carpet.

marzNC wrote:

  Apparently may take another week before the SC black trails are open.  They were blowing snow over there.

Lots of snowmaking on Shay's but it's still going to take a while to get it open.

Thanks for the update.  We're heading down tonight and we were hoping for some more openings for this weekend.  As a selfish comment, we're hoping they do not open SC until noon on Fri so we can get first tracks in the basin, then head over to SC before noon and get first tracks there too.

marzNC wrote:

 

Got to see the new Terrain Based Learning in action.  Quite interesting to see a mix of skiers and snowboarders of all ages being sent down the curved "track" one at a time.  It's right next to the covered magic carpet.

I keep meaning to write up a full TR from our trip to Snowshoe right before Christmas, but while I was generally quite happy, one dissapointment I had was the learning setup (including that terrain based learning). 

If I compare it to Whitetail, WT has separate sections for adults versus kids.  At SS, both adults and kids were riding the same magic carpet and chairlift, leading to lines for each.  Further, you have 250lb beginners alongside 40 lb four year olds on extremely narrow slopes.  I didn't see anyone specifically run into or fall on a kid, but I have to believe it happens at Snowshoe all the time. 

The Snowshoe magic carpet area feels really wedged in there, and crowded.  It's fenced off, which is nice, but I feel like they could do with a separate adult area.

The better learning terrain for kids is at Silver Creek.  At least I saw a sign for ski school so I assume they do lessons over there.

Compared to what existed before near the village for first-timer lessons, TBL is an improvement.  Were kids in a full-day ski school mixed in with adults?  That would be very odd.

They offer ski school at Silver Creek, but I think only on weekends or holiday periods (at least, that's what Snowshoe Reservations told me).

Technically, the lessons for kids are separate from the adult lessons (ie. have different pros teaching them).  But they're on the exact same magic carpet, and going down the exact same narrow strip, at the same time.  Imagine if it was bowling lessons, and an adult and a 4 y/o were trying to bowl not just in the same bowling alley, but on the same lane (at the exact same time).  Or trying to teach basketball or tennis to adults and children on the exact same court simultaneously. 

I'll freely admit I may be making a mountain out of a molehill here, and there's really no issue.  Just seemed a little odd / unsafe to me.  Also, the most important thing is the pros/teachers, and we were very happy with that.

I've always thought Silver Creek is a better place for beginners. Fewer crowds and wider beginner slopes are a big part of it, but also because Snowshoe's beginner area is right at the top of the mountain and gets pounded with wind up there. The chairlift line in the beginner area of Snowshoe's Skidder slope is also very difficult for new skiers and especially snowboarders to deal with. It's sloped, and is also a bit off camber. It makes an out of control beginner feel even more out of control. I try to encrouage first timers to go to Silver Creek for lessons.