By Sunday morning, Snowshoe had received 9 inches of fresh snow. Photo provided by Snowshoe Mountain Resort.

It’s a little unusual for Nordic skiing opportunities to arise before downhill skiing in the Mid-Atlantic region, since most snow in this region is delivered by snowguns and not Mother Nature. However, a snow storm over the weekend -; producing as much as 9 inches of snow in some regions -; has allowed Nordic skiers to start their season even as most downhill ski areas still work towards their opening dates.

A storm Friday night into Saturday delivered over half a foot of snow to high elevation areas of West Virginia. As reported by John Sherwood, this storm allowed the White Grass Touring Center to open terrain on Saturday. The storm also allowed the Snowshoe Mountain Adventure Department to open 5-10k of trails between the Snowshoe and Silver Creek areas for cross-country skiers and snowshoers. White Grass has groomed many of its XC trails, while Snowshoe has left its trails ungroomed. Anyone wishing to ski Snowshoe’s backcountry trails should first call the Snowshoe Outdoor Adventure Department at 304-572-5477.

Alpine skiers needn’t feel too left out. Snowshoe has been making snow agressively on its downhill trails, and expects to open many trails no later than Friday. With cold temperatures forecast throughout the next week, many Mid-Atlantic resorts are working towards an early December opening date. Maryland’s Wisp Resort and North Carolina’s Sugar Mountain Resort opened in recent days with limited terrain.