What’s New for 2004: Canaan Valley Resort

These sound like great improvements, I especially like the slate floors! Now if they could only fix the hellacioius walk uphill to the lift...

I agree..they waste a nice runout by having the lodge & ski lift too high up.I was hoping that when they built the new lodge that they would have fixed that problem..sure would like an explanation as to why they wasted a golden opportunity to silence that major beef with the place!

They probably didn't extend the lift because it would be waste of money. The area spoken of, is 100 yards at best with hardly no pitch. Anyone seroiusly concerned with this piece of slope should probably stick to the bunny hill anyways.

I believe the issue is not the pitch. Instead, it's that skiiers and boarders have to walk about one hundred yards from the lodge to the lift, uphill and in the snow.

I said it would be a nice runout...not a black diamand run! With that said there is a nice steep slope that drops right to the lifts..it flattens a little & then is pretty steep as you have to walk down to the lodge.If you looked at the big pic & imagined the lodge gone It would have been a great RUNOUT to the parking area.The main ski area is only 700'vert with the runout they could actually boost it to the advertised 850' vert.(PS..Ain't no bunny can go the speeds that i know i can reach going thru the area discussed!)

Ahh, good points Andy. I didn't mean to argue with you. I can imagine the speeds possible from the summit to the parking lot if the lodge wasn't there. That would be great!

I was responding to "the biz" Jarrett..you understand the problem. I have a feeling "the biz" maybe works at Canaan!

I think the question is.. Why do they care to do what the consumer wants? It's a state owned operation and there are regulations and guidelines they adhere to, not necessarily the customers' requests. I've heard bad things about this resort and yes, the 100 yard walk is on the top of the list. True it's operated by a private firm but still, they get their check from the government I would guess. Governments do a mediocre job at best running services like this. GET USED TO IT. You want your state subsedized resort and you got it. Go beg to the beaurocrats and maybe they'll give a damn or maybe they'll tell you they already wasted their money on the current building and now it's too late now for common sense.

Correction: No they didn't waste their money on the current building. They wasted your money on it.

Wisp has a similar problem. Though its not uphill or anything, you still have to traverse from the lodge/ticket window about 100 yards either way to pick up one of the lifts to the top. This is pretty easy for skiiers but boarders have to either walk or skateboard it over to the lifts on a sloping surface. This is really tough (even walking) when you have ice or spring corn surface cause you can't stay on your feet. You would think they'd add a walkway along the uphill side of the lodge over to the lifts.

The funny thing about all this is that the hill in question at Canaan is about the same height as all the "mountains" I'm stuck near right now here in Ohio. I went and checked one of the resorts out on my day off last week and its maybe as high as the main terrain park with the rope tow at Wisp. I wonder if they have troubles with people trying to just hike these resorts in Ohio?

i read the upgrades and am very impressed. As a state run park I think they do an excellent job. It is more than most nearby resorts have done. The great thing in my opinion about Canaan resort is the wide variety of runs they have managed to get out of the spce they have, the lack of lines on weekends and even hollidays, and the most cost concious lift tickets of anywhere in the country.
If you hate the walk up "cardiac hill" and have half a brain you do what the smart people do and enter at the lift by the tubing area. Simple. It also makes a noce base area with the warming hut.

So stop all this wining and be happy that they have, continually each year worked hard to make it a better resort.

And no I don't work for Canaan!

Myrto, the variety of runs is nice. Late in the season, with a few inches of freshies, the wooded run is very fun!

Jarrett,
You're right. My family was there last year for President's weekend. We had a lot of fun. My 8 year-old liked the wooded runs!

Does 100% snowmaking mean that Gravity will actually be open for most of the season? and even earlier than normal???

Will that run ever be open??My motto over the years has been "If i don't whine i don't dine" In other words, things just don't change unless you push the issue

First off, they need to stop grooming Gravity smooth. I was there a couple years ago in January the morning after a foot of powder fell. Powder was everywhere except Gravity cause the snow was plowed off the plate glass window by 10:30. TERRIBLE!!! Dark Side of the Moon was open that same time and it was incredible. After the long push through powder to the slope it was basically untouched and very fun indeed. Of course with the powder you had to then paddle back over to the lifts at the bottom too. Small price to pay though for sure. That slope reminds me of the black diamond Eye Opener at Wisp that is always open. It isn't really that steep but it has some nice drops here and there and is a blast to cruise down especially in powder. If they could actually open it up with snowmaking most of the year it'd be incredible and make the terrain much more respectable on an average mid season day.

First off, they need to stop grooming Gravity smooth. I was there a couple years ago in January the morning after a foot of powder fell. Powder was everywhere except Gravity cause the snow was plowed off the plate glass window by 10:30. TERRIBLE!!! Dark Side of the Moon was open that same time and it was incredible. After the long push through powder to the slope it was basically untouched and very fun indeed. Of course with the powder you had to then paddle back over to the lifts at the bottom too. Small price to pay though for sure. That slope reminds me of the black diamond Eye Opener at Wisp that is always open. It isn't really that steep but it has some nice drops here and there and is a blast to cruise down especially in powder. If they could actually open it up with snowmaking most of the year it'd be incredible and make the terrain much more respectable on an average mid season day.

To begin with, you guys really aggrevate me and I shouldn't have been so sharp with my tongue. No I do not work for Canaan, but I'm a regional member of the national ski patrolers council so you should take what I have to say to heart. The area you guys are talking about flying through from the top of the hill is a green area. 94% of all serious ski accidents contribute speed as the number one factor for the accident, with 37% happening on green slopes. One of you talked of having kids, so my question to you is "how would you feel if your child was plowed into while taking a ski lesson?" I've seen this way to often. The council just discussed this, and you can expect your lift tickets taken for such behavior this year. Now as for grooming and bumps, I like skiing bumps as much as the next guy, but the fact of the matter is few people do. The only notable group still skiing bumps is over 30 males which only make up 19% of the national market. Slopes with bumps get very liitle use, and with more resorts adding more slopes for parks you can expect less slopes for bumps. I apologize if I've offended anyone with my comments, but the fact of the mattter is safety comes first. Oh yeah I'm not some ski patrol nazi either, I just retired from pro-skiing two years ago.

19% of your market is a big market to ignore. Snowshoe lets most of their blacks on the basin bump up anymore (including Widowmaker some last year) Both of the blacks at Silver Creek have been bumped up the past few years, and of course lower shay, which definitely gets its share of under 30 men and women. And besides, 99.9% of the national market hate sliding down a steep sheet of ice right after a big powder dump because it was scraped off so I don't see the problem with bumps. Look at Timberline, they have bumps all over the place and no shortage of people skiing them. Bumps are basically the only way you can maintain a slope as steep as Gravity in the Mid Atlantic. Thats probably why Snowshoe stopped grooming one half of Lower Shay after the first season or so and just let the whole thing bump up.

I agree with you, and I didn't mean that all slopes in the area that previously had bumps wouldn't. I was referring more to slopes like Widowmaker at Snowshoe and Mainstreet at the Wisp, slopes that are allowed to bump up a few times a season, and by no means do I have any idea that these slopes won't have bumps. What I am saying is the general trend is to start grooming slopes like this more. The thinking on this is not to ignore 19% of the market, but instead to meet the needs of the under 25 crowd which makes up 44% of the market.

If they have a 100 percent new snowmaking then there certaintly not using it-when they blew snow for about two nights out of the dozen or so below freezing nights they could have blown already this year, they only blew on the bunny hill. But i think I know why. They hit unfavorable layers of earth when digging there new pond and they can't keep water in it. They'll have to put a liner in-next summer or mayber later. the fact they are advertising a 100 percent new snowmaking(even with the pond working) is an outright lie and at the least false advertising. someome needs to start calling these resorts out on there false advertising. as someone who lives here it's laughable at best and fairly typical. And the reason the lift doesn't go to the bottom is lack of general foresight and planning. A trend that seems to drive all the decisions at canaan and timberline. AS for pulling my ticket biz you'll have to catch me first-besides I haven't seen to many nationals who can even ski all the terrain on the mountain-but i'm sure you hear that from the pro-patrol so I won't roast any more. biz, I don't understand your point about skiing fast and the lift placement. I haven't seen anybody take there skis off to ski down what you call "cardiac hill" what I call "an ignorant design error". No matter where the lift is people are still going to ski down to the lodge-hopefully in a careful respectful manner because yeah, it's not a place to be skiing fast. the point is why make your paying cutomers walk a hundred yards uphill to get on the lift. And hey if they had put it at the bottom they could have bosted more lift accessed vertical feet-an advertisement that would be a lot more credible than a 100 percent snowmaking increase.

AMEN!!