The snowstorm on Tuesday didn’t hit Liberty as hard as D.C., but it did leave about 10 inches of new snow. With the schools shut down and area governments still closed on Wednesday, it was the perfect day to ski. Traffic was surprisingly light, especially past the D.C. area. Once there, my wife and I quickly assembled our gear and hit the slopes. The snow was excellent during the mid-morning and afternoon and as we made our way to the backside, we found out that all of Strata (Upper, Sidewinder AND Lower) were open for the first time EVER! The folks at Liberty did an excellent job of laying down a thick base for the natural snow that fell the day before. Good thing, because winds the night before had blown much of the cover around. Still, skiing Strata from top to bottom was very enjoyable. In fact, as my wife remarked - it made skiing at Liberty seem like a whole new experience! We also moved to the other end of the backside to ski Don’t Worry - another trail that has not been open in years (literally). Though not as fun as Strata, it was nice to have an easy run down the backside.

With the opening of those two trails, I understand that Ski Liberty is now 100% open. Even the front beginner area, which is usually only half open, is covered and open from edge to edge. White Lightning provides the perfect route to the front side and there’s now even a cut through some trees to access Freedom Trail and the Snowboard Park. Eastwind had its usual bumps, but considerable scraping had occurred between the bumps leaving large ice rinks between each mound of fluffy white stuff.

The only glitch in the whole day was that Liberty clearly wasn’t expecting the crowds that came up. Although the parking lot was only 2/3 full when we arrived, it was clear by the lift lines in the afternoon that the area was approaching capacity. Lift lines in the front were about a ten minute wait and lines in the back (usually non existent) were likewise about a five to ten minute wait. At its worst, the lift in the back took 15 to 20 minutes to get through. This was mostly due to the fact that only one of the two lifts was open in the morning. By late morning, the folks at Liberty had gotten the second lift up and running and the lines quickly shrunk to a five minute wait.

All in all, a much better way to spend the day than in the office. With all this snow, there’s no question as to what my wife and I will be doing this weekend!