Scott is Editor and founder of DCSki. He writes the articles, takes the photographs, designs the pages, programs the site, pays the bills, and occasionally catches a wink of sleep. In addition to DCSki, Scott works full time as a researcher and computer scientist.
Scott loves outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, travel, skiing, kayaking, and mountain biking. He is an avid photographer and writer, and also plays keyboards and drums. Scott grew up in Colorado and currently resides in Maryland. (That's right - he went from Colorado to Maryland - what was he thinking?!) Scott maintains a personal weblog at www.mscottsmith.org.
Scott has written 973 stories for DCSki since 1997.
Buying a ski pass used to mean choosing a home mountain. And that was pretty much it. Today, Mid-Atlantic skiers must sort through national products, regional passes, reciprocal agreements, limited-day packages, blackout dates, and prices that change several times before winter. It can be overwhelming! DCSki tries to break through the confusion by examining the leading options for 2026-2027 and the skiers each one serves best.
By M. Scott Smith | August 29, 2026 Feature Story
Skiing has become expensive, but bargains have not disappeared. DCSki looks across the Mid-Atlantic for the season passes, night tickets, family programs, lodging packages, and other offers that can still put skiers on the snow without draining the winter budget.
By M. Scott Smith | August 29, 2026 Feature Story
One of the strongest El Niño events in the modern record is developing ahead of the 2026-2027 ski season, increasing the odds of an active, moisture-rich storm track across the East. DCSki looks at the latest forecasts, lessons from past El Niño winters, and the factors that could determine whether that moisture arrives at Mid-Atlantic ski areas as snow or rain.
By M. Scott Smith | August 27, 2026 Feature Story
In 1996, just after graduating from college and before beginning his career, DCSki’s Editor hiked to Timber Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Nearly 30 years later, on the other side of that career, he returned to the same trail for a sentimental journey through a landscape both familiar and changed — and a chance to reflect on the decades in between.
By M. Scott Smith | August 25, 2026 Feature Story
Before webcams, navigation apps, digital lift passes, and group texts, Mid-Atlantic skiers relied on snow phones, paper trail maps, printed directions, and carefully chosen meeting places. This retrospective recalls the uncertainty and occasional adventure of skiing before the smartphone while considering how modern technology has made trips safer, easier, and better documented.
By M. Scott Smith | August 24, 2026 2 Feature Story
Every winter, Mid-Atlantic skiers scrutinize thermometers and webcams, wondering why the snowguns are silent at their favorite resorts. This feature story steps into the snowmaking control room to explore the weather, water, staffing, financial, and operational calculations behind those decisions -- and why resorts facing seemingly similar conditions sometimes make very different calls.
By M. Scott Smith | August 21, 2026 1 Feature Story
Mid-Atlantic ski resorts are preparing for the 2026-2027 winter season with new lifts, expanded snowmaking systems, improved skier facilities, and major lodging projects. DCSki takes a closer look at the enhancements and upgrades underway across the region at resorts such as Seven Springs, Wisp, Wintergreen, Snowshoe, and Massanutten.
By M. Scott Smith | August 19, 2026 3 What's New
After purchasing Snowshoe in 1995, Intrawest invested heavily in new lifts, terrain, snowmaking, lodging, and a mountaintop village. Featuring newly scanned photographs of the Western Express installation, this retrospective revisits the excitement surrounding Snowshoe’s transformation and the real-estate-driven strategy behind it.
By M. Scott Smith | August 16, 2026 1 Feature Story
Since DCSki’s earliest years, regular columnists and occasional guest authors have shared firsthand reports, practical advice, distant adventures, and deeply personal reflections. This retrospective celebrates the writers who broadened DCSki’s perspective while creating a collective record of mountains, friendships, changing lives, and more than three decades on snow.
By M. Scott Smith | July 29, 2026 2 Feature Story
Once scattered across the Mid-Atlantic, hundreds of community ski hills, residential resorts, and ambitious mountain developments introduced generations to snowsports. Drawing on DCSk's Lost Ski Areas archive and readers' memories, this feature story traces their rise and decline, the forces that reshaped the regional ski industry, and the advantages that helped today's resorts endure.
By M. Scott Smith | July 23, 2026 2 Feature Story
The powerful 1997-1998 El Niño brought warmth, rain, abbreviated operations, and lasting financial consequences to Mid-Atlantic ski areas. DCSki looks back at that difficult season, explores the financial risks of betting a year-round business on a few winter months, and considers whether the developing 2026-2027 El Niño might deliver rain, snow, or something in between.
By M. Scott Smith | July 18, 2026 2 Feature Story
Once the snow melts and the lifts stop spinning, many Mid-Atlantic ski areas become remarkably quiet. DCSki takes a behind-the-scenes look at the lift maintenance, snowmaking repairs, trail work, construction projects, and advance planning that prepare the mountain for another all-too-brief winter season.
By M. Scott Smith | July 17, 2026 Feature Story
After a long ski season, DCSki's Editor Scott traded snow for sun on a rare 14-night Southern Caribbean cruise featuring seven ports in seven days. It was a unique itinerary that offered a very different kind of off-season escape, and Scott captures the adventure in a cinematic video.
By M. Scott Smith | April 9, 2026 2 Feature Story
Vail Resorts has launched sales of its 2026/27 Epic Pass lineup, adding a new 20% discount on Epic and Epic Local Passes for skiers and riders ages 13–30. Early buyers will again receive up to 10 Epic Friend Tickets and eligible lift-ticket guests from this past season may receive additional savings toward next year’s pass.
By M. Scott Smith | March 12, 2026 News
Looking to double his ski days this winter (from one to two), DCSki’s Editor spent a peaceful midweek day at Whitetail Resort, where light crowds and smooth lift rides made for an unhurried outing. The visit offered a chance to revisit favorite trails, reflect on early skiing memories, and enjoy late-season conditions without the usual weekend bustle.
By M. Scott Smith | February 27, 2026 2 Firsthand Report
Indy Pass has added 16 new partner resorts for the 2026/27 season and lowered the price of its no-blackout Indy+ Pass to $399. Renewals for existing passholders opened February 25, with passes historically selling out quickly before moving to waitlist and public sales.
By M. Scott Smith | February 26, 2026 News
After a delayed start to the season, DCSki's Editor finally got back on snow with a quiet midweek visit to Liberty Mountain, finding the resort’s easygoing “vibe” fully intact. Liberty heads into the second half of February with great snow and 100% open terrain.
By M. Scott Smith | February 13, 2026 2 Firsthand Report
Pennsylvania's Seven Springs Mountain Resort was named the winner of Ski Area Management Magazine’s 2026 I AM a Snowmaker contest after public voting. The win is notable for Mid-Atlantic skiing and also reflects the resort’s long-standing ties to snowmaking history through Herman K. Dupré and the origins of HKD Snowmakers.
By M. Scott Smith | February 8, 2026 News
Pennsylvania's Camelback Resort has announced that it will run daily skiing and riding through April 12, 2026, then shift to weekend operations into the first weekend of May if conditions allow. The resort says the schedule would be its longest season on record, surpassing its previous latest closing date of April 9, 2009.
By M. Scott Smith | February 7, 2026 2 News
Seven Springs has been named a finalist in Ski Area Management Magazine’s 11th annual I AM a Snowmaker contest, which recognizes snowmaking teams and is decided by public voting. The nomination also highlights Seven Springs’ deep ties to snowmaking history, from its first system installed in 1960 to innovations led by Herman K. Dupré that helped lay the groundwork for what became HKD Snowmakers. Voting is open through February 2, with the winner announced February 3.
By M. Scott Smith | January 22, 2026 Feature Story
In this Interview Series installment, we chat with Kevin Thomas to learn how he designed, built, and refined his own private rope-tow-served ski area in Pennsylvania. He breaks down how the lift works, what the steep terrain is like, and what it takes to keep the place skiable season to season—from trail work and simple grooming to day-to-day operations. Along the way, he reflects on the appeal of a stripped-down, back-to-basics approach after more than two decades of running his own ski hill.
By M. Scott Smith | January 16, 2026 2 Interview Series
A new category of "snowmaking in a box" equipment, led by systems like the Latitude 90, is designed to produce snow in conditions that would typically sideline traditional snowmaking. Massanutten is testing one on its tubing hill and Spring Mountain has installed two, offering early Mid-Atlantic examples of technology aimed at stabilizing operations during warm spells and fickle weather. While these systems are unlikely to replace conventional snowmaking across entire mountains, they could prove valuable as a targeted way to protect key terrain and revenue-critical periods when winter doesn't cooperate. Learn more in this feature story. Above: A Latitude 90 system was installed this year at Virginia's Massanutten Resort. (Photo by Massanutten Resort.)
By M. Scott Smith | December 27, 2025 2 Feature Story
Seven Springs plans to replace the three-person fixed-grip Blitzen Lift with a new four-person fixed-grip chair for the 2026/27 season, pending approvals. The resort says the project would improve reliability and increase uphill capacity by 33%, reducing time in line and getting guests more time on snow.
By M. Scott Smith | December 27, 2025 1 News
After an extended stretch of cold temperatures earlier this month, ski resorts across the Mid-Atlantic were able to make snow aggressively, building strong early-season base depths and opening expanding terrain. DCSki provides a comprehensive snapshot of current conditions across the region as resorts head into the end of December. Photo: Opening Day at Big Boulder, shot by Ella Muir.
By M. Scott Smith | December 18, 2025 News
Spencer Allen grew up joining his father, longtime DCSki Columnist Robbie Allen, on "Going Further Afield" adventures, developing an early appreciation for off-the-beaten-path mountains. Now in his twenties, he's traveling the world on his own, skiing everywhere from the Alps to Japan and Mauritania, and documenting his journeys through a creatively edited YouTube channel. In this interview, Spencer reflects on his skiing roots, recent global travels, and his evolving approach to storytelling.
By M. Scott Smith | December 8, 2025 2 Interview Series
Sustained cold temperatures have allowed Mid-Atlantic ski areas to ramp up snowmaking and begin opening for the 2025–26 winter season, with several resorts launching operations in the first week of December. Additional terrain and activities are expected to come online soon as snowmaking continues across the region. Above, an aerial view provided to DCSki by a skiing pilot shows snowmaking underway at Maryland's Wisp Resort on December 1.
By M. Scott Smith | December 4, 2025 4 Feature Story
Resorts across the Mid-Atlantic have spent the offseason upgrading snowmaking systems, expanding terrain, improving lifts, and refreshing guest facilities in preparation for the 2025–26 winter season. These enhancements aim to deliver more reliable early-season openings, improved snow quality, and a better overall experience for skiers, riders, and families. DCSki provides a summary of key enhancements across the region in this feature story.
By M. Scott Smith | December 2, 2025 Feature Story
An early-season cold snap brought the first real signs of winter to the Mid-Atlantic, covering higher elevations with natural snow and giving ski areas across West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania the chance to fire up their snowmaking systems. The drop in temperatures allowed resorts to run tests, train crews, and begin early preparations for the 2025 winter season. Some areas also saw natural snow, marking the region's first widespread taste of winter weather. Above, natural snow falls at Hidden Valley Resort. Photo by Heidi Lewis.
By M. Scott Smith | November 11, 2025 Feature Story
For more than 30 years, DCSki has documented the stories of abandoned ski resorts across the Mid-Atlantic region through its Lost Areas archive, which features detailed histories and community recollections. Lost Areas was recently expanded to include additional areas in New Jersey, courtesy of reader Samuel F.
By M. Scott Smith | September 25, 2025 Feature Story
Positioned as an alternative to the mega passes, the Indy Pass -- good at small and mid-sized independent resorts -- is now back on sale, but only for a limited time. The Indy Pass now provides two lift tickets each at 271 resorts across 4 continents, including numerous areas in the Mid-Atlantic region.
By M. Scott Smith | August 28, 2025 2 News
