Hi All,

I have been keeping tabs on a few different threads that are addressing this but I’d be so grateful if we can put some people in a scope. At the time of writing PA requires negative tests results within 72 prior to entering and VA does not have any quarantine orders. 

My season was going to rely on Whitetail & Liberty with a Roundtop reservation already made for 12/11. At this point it seems to me that a MD resident is not incapable of meeting with PA’s travel requirements, but I haven’t heard from anyone about how things are going with getting results. This makes it difficult to plan things with the other possibility that a season pass to Massanutten might be a solution to being obsessive. Would love to hear of some experiences planning this season out. Thanks 

-K.

Like any travel during a pandemic, it's a personal decision to decide what risks and extra effort you want to take.  I know people in New England who are willing to wait in line for a free COVID-19 for an hour or two in order to go skiing in Maine. Meaning every time they want to go skiing for a weekend since they have a seasonal rental for a slopeside condo.  I know people who are paying for a Vault At Home test (saliva) that costs $119 in order to deal with PA travel restrictions because they are a PA resident and plan to fly out west for a ski trip in December.

There are probably people who will drive to Liberty from the DC area without getting tested and without doing any sort of self-quarantine.  That certainly has happened for other states with travel restrictions.  A friend in New Mexico saw plenty of Texas plates when she was playing golf.  It was pretty clear most of those Texans were doing day trips for a golf game, as is commonly done under normal circumstances.  NM is the only state out west that is trying to use travel restrictions that require a 14-day quarantine, with no negative test option.

Arrive2Defy wrote:

. . . that a season pass to Massanutten might be a solution to being obsessive. Would love to hear of some experiences planning this season out. Thanks 

-K.

 Have you skied at Massanutten?  If not, I'll happily tell you why it became my home mountain 15 years even though there are a few ski areas in NC that are 3 hours away instead of a 4-hour drive.  I also drive past Wintergreen.  I've skied at Wintergreen, Whitetail, and Roundtop.

Please do tell.  Not like I need to be convinced. Its only adding an hour to my one hour to Whitetail. 

Arrive2Defy wrote:

Please do tell.  Not like I need to be convinced. Its only adding an hour to my one hour to Whitetail. 

 Assuming you ski the blacks and bumps at Whitetail, one of the things I like about skiing Massanutten is that Lift 6 only serves to black trails.  Paradice is my favorite, but it tends to be the last to open because it takes a lot of snow to build the base since it's wide and long.  When there is enough snow, a bump line is seeded on skier's left.  DJ is a core trail that is open from the start.  That's used for racing.  Lift 6 loads mid-mountain and never has a line.  At most wait for 3 chairs, and that's on a holiday weekend.  Even better when the connector trail, Yee Ha, is open between Lift 5 and Lift 6.  Upper Showtime can sometimes have the best snow.  Great when it's empty 9:00-10:00am.

Massanutten has about 70 acres, with 1100 vertical.  That's more vertical than ski areas in PA.  Lift 6 trails have about 850 vertical.  It's been around since the early 1970s.  Has money to put into big projects as a very successful timeshare resort.  After the golf courses and waterpark were all set, I think at least $15 million was spent in about five years on new lifts and snowmaking upgrades, plus a new building for ski school.  Mnut built a 2-mile pipeline to increase the water supply a few years ago.  Can make a LOT of snow at short notice now between plenty of water and automated snow guns.  More importantly, can keep making snow for days if there is a cold snap that allows 24-hour snowmaking.

Big advantage over Wintergreen is that all trails at Mnut are lit.  So with kids on weekends, it's possible to ski 9:00-noon, take a long lunch, then get back on the slopes around 2:30 and ski into the lights until they want to stop for dinner.  That was very helpful when my daughter was still an intermediate and her friends were usually advanced beginners.  Also good that there is only one base.  I felt comfortable letting my daughter ski with a friend, and without me, starting around age 8.  They couldn't get lost.  Wintergreen Highlands is great but too busy on weekends.  Can't really ski there while kids are skiing off Acorn.  Could take 20 min or more to get over there from Highlands if there were a problem.

dclivejazz wrote:

Hi marzNC, how are the easier slopes at Massanutten? I’m pretty much a perpetual advanced beginner still working on the jump from greens to blues. I’ve been able to do some easier blues such as Minuteman at Roundtop and one at Hidden Valley that would be a green most places. But I can’t handle the blues at Whitetail, for example. Their green Snow Park is still challenging (and fun) for me.

The greens on the Massanutten look pretty short on their trail map, kind of like Blue Streak at Liberty. How do their blues compare to those at the former showtime resorts? Also, how are their lessons? Thanks.

There are two greens at Mnut, the short Geronimo and the long Southern Comfort.  The nice part about Lift 5 that loads mid-mountain is that there is a mid-station.  Can unload there for lower Showtime essentially all season.  Once the other trails from mid-station are open then have a couple other options for variety.  The top of Lift 5 for Upper Showtime has a very short section (3 turns) that is steeper, but can sideslip down the side.  That's where instructors teach kids how to side slip once they are in an intermediate group.

The blues at Mnut are comparable to Whitetail blues in pitch.

The progression from teaching area to greens to blues to blacks at Massanutten is very good.  Much better than Wintergreen.  I converted someone who was taking private lessons at Wintergreen into a Mnut season pass holder the first day she gave it a try when I was around for a weekend several years ago.  She was an advanced beginner still nervous on Wintergreen blues at the time.  Became a solid intermediate skier who enjoyed the blues at Alta in a few years skiing regularly at Mnut, as well as taking private lessons from a few of the instructors with 10+ years of experience teaching adults.

Mnut has one of the strongest ski schools in the region in my opinion.  Especially for anyone willing to pay for private lessons.  There are normally at least six PSIA Level 3 instructors, including the Ski School Director.  Not sure who will be teaching this season though.  I can send a list of names via PM if you like.

Like most places, there won't be group lessons.  At least not to start with.

Arrive2Defy wrote:

Thats exciting to hear. Im quite new to the sport about 3 years in now, riding blacks.

I love hearing the different aspects and disciplines skiiers look for in comparison to snowboarding. Its seems in PA snowboarders tend to either ride in terrain parks or just have friendly races on blues and up. Whitetail has been the most helpful for my progression allowing me to take hot laps like no other but this year I hope to bring a flowing kind of old school style focused on buttering on slower hills; the way you described it Mnut will definitely support this dream. I also look forward to having the freedom to bring new people up.

 The experienced snowboarders at Mnut are very good.  The snowboard instructors are great fun to watch as they carve down Upper Showtime.  When skiing solo, I sometimes prefer Lift 5 because there are people to watch on the way up.  Skiing can be more fun off Lift 6, but the lift line is in the trees so no view at all.  Mnut has good teams for local kids, both for skiing and free-style boarding.

James Madison Univ. is 20 min away from Mnut in Harrisonburg.  So there is a lively vibe during the afternoons and evenings when the college students are around.  From what I've read, things don't get quite as crazy after dark as it can in PA.

Once it's open, Paradice is a great trail for working on both narrow and wide turns.

Good and accurate post.  The thing I'd say Wintergreen has over Massanutten is a little more terrain variety;  i.e., it skis a little wider, if not necessarily taller.  But yes, those two advanced trails off the Lift 6 at Massanutten are definitely a good place to make laps without a big lift line on days when other lifts/ski areas can be very busy.  Both mtns have excellent snowmaking systems.

marzNC wrote:

Arrive2Defy wrote:

Please do tell.  Not like I need to be convinced. Its only adding an hour to my one hour to Whitetail. 

 Assuming you ski the blacks and bumps at Whitetail, one of the things I like about skiing Massanutten is that Lift 6 only serves to black trails.  Paradice is my favorite, but it tends to be the last to open because it takes a lot of snow to build the base since it's wide and long.  When there is enough snow, a bump line is seeded on skier's left.  DJ is a core trail that is open from the start.  That's used for racing.  Lift 6 loads mid-mountain and never has a line.  At most wait for 3 chairs, and that's on a holiday weekend.  Even better when the connector trail, Yee Ha, is open between Lift 5 and Lift 6.  Upper Showtime can sometimes have the best snow.  Great when it's empty 9:00-10:00am.

Massanutten has about 70 acres, with 1100 vertical.  That's more vertical than ski areas in PA.  Lift 6 trails have about 850 vertical.  It's been around since the early 1970s.  Has money to put into big projects as a very successful timeshare resort.  After the golf courses and waterpark were all set, I think at least $15 million was spent in about five years on new lifts and snowmaking upgrades, plus a new building for ski school.  Mnut built a 2-mile pipeline to increase the water supply a few years ago.  Can make a LOT of snow at short notice now between plenty of water and automated snow guns.  More importantly, can keep making snow for days if there is a cold snap that allows 24-hour snowmaking.

Big advantage over Wintergreen is that all trails at Mnut are lit.  So with kids on weekends, it's possible to ski 9:00-noon, take a long lunch, then get back on the slopes around 2:30 and ski into the lights until they want to stop for dinner.  That was very helpful when my daughter was still an intermediate and her friends were usually advanced beginners.  Also good that there is only one base.  I felt comfortable letting my daughter ski with a friend, and without me, starting around age 8.  They couldn't get lost.  Wintergreen Highlands is great but too busy on weekends.  Can't really ski there while kids are skiing off Acorn.  Could take 20 min or more to get over there from Highlands if there were a problem.

Arrive2Defy wrote:

Hi All,

I have been keeping tabs on a few different threads that are addressing this but I’d be so grateful if we can put some people in a scope. At the time of writing PA requires negative tests results within 72 prior to entering and VA does not have any quarantine orders. 

My season was going to rely on Whitetail & Liberty with a Roundtop reservation already made for 12/11. At this point it seems to me that a MD resident is not incapable of meeting with PA’s travel requirements, but I haven’t heard from anyone about how things are going with getting results. This makes it difficult to plan things with the other possibility that a season pass to Massanutten might be a solution to being obsessive. Would love to hear of some experiences planning this season out. Thanks 

-K.

I loved my day at Massanutten. I was up and down Lift 6 80% of the time. Fun hills. Great scenery too. I keep trying to go back, but since I ski with Pennsylvania friends, I usually wind up going north.

wfyurasko wrote:

I loved my day at Massanutten. I was up and down Lift 6 80% of the time. Fun hills. Great scenery too. I keep trying to go back, but since I ski with Pennsylvania friends, I usually wind up going north.

 Great pics!  Time you got back to Mnut.  It looks different than 2014 at the base.  The ski school building getting finished meant a complete renovation of the ground floor of the main lodge.  The umbrella bar on the expanded deck was a really nice attention too.  Although the building of the 2-mil pipeline to increase water supply was what's made the most difference for the slopes.  Now when there is an extended cold snap, the snowmaking can continue day and night without worrying about running out of water.  The base for the core trails ends up much deeper so Mnut can stay open during the inevitable warm periods in Jan and Feb.

The Indy Pass has Massanutten, Bryce, and Canaan Valley.  Plus Blue Knob.  Just saying . . . :-)

JimK wrote:

Good and accurate post.  The thing I'd say Wintergreen has over Massanutten is a little more terrain variety;  i.e., it skis a little wider, if not necessarily taller.  But yes, those two advanced trails off the Lift 6 at Massanutten are definitely a good place to make laps without a big lift line on days when other lifts/ski areas can be very busy.  Both mtns have excellent snowmaking systems.

marzNC wrote:

Big advantage over Wintergreen is that all trails at Mnut are lit.  So with kids on weekends, it's possible to ski 9:00-noon, take a long lunch, then get back on the slopes around 2:30 and ski into the lights until they want to stop for dinner.  That was very helpful when my daughter was still an intermediate and her friends were usually advanced beginners.  Also good that there is only one base.  I felt comfortable letting my daughter ski with a friend, and without me, starting around age 8.  They couldn't get lost.  Wintergreen Highlands is great but too busy on weekends.  Can't really ski there while kids are skiing off Acorn.  Could take 20 min or more to get over there from Highlands if there were a problem.

 I like the high-speed lifts at Wintergreen for midweek skiing.  When multiple routes are open on the Highlands, it's great.  But not having any lights on the Highlands makes Wintergreen impractical for weekends.  Doesn't help that property owners have a priority lift line.

The last couple seasons, Wintergreen has run into a water supply issue.  My understanding is that the water comes from a source that also supplies potable water for the resort.  While the huge water tank helps, it's not enough given the way the temps have been, with more warm spells and cold snaps that can last 48-72 hours.  The automatic system is great, but if there isn't enough water then sometimes can't keep running the snow guns long enough to rebuild the base enough after a thaw.

The other downside to Wintergreen is that when there is a big snowstorm, getting up the mountain road can be iffy.  Sometimes it's closed even when US29 is already relatively clear coming from the south.  Given that the base is at the top of the mountain, it can't be avoided.  Now I have an AWD SUV, but what I was driving for the last 15 years was a minivan.  Much easier driving to get to Massanutten even with snowy roads, so the extra 45 min is worth it for me.

If I go anywhere this season, it'll probably be there on a weekday once they get all the black diamond trails open. If they had done that in past Decembers, I would have been back already.

I gave some though to Indy Pass, but couldn't pull the trigger with so much uncertainty this season. A friend of mine in Delaware probably won't use her pass this year because of restrictions.

The next "regular" season, it's going to be very tempting. I want to get back to Blue Knob as well.

marzNC wrote:

wfyurasko wrote:

I loved my day at Massanutten. I was up and down Lift 6 80% of the time. Fun hills. Great scenery too. I keep trying to go back, but since I ski with Pennsylvania friends, I usually wind up going north.

 Great pics!  Time you got back to Mnut.  It looks different than 2014 at the base.  The ski school building getting finished meant a complete renovation of the ground floor of the main lodge.  The umbrella bar on the expanded deck was a really nice attention too.  Although the building of the 2-mil pipeline to increase water supply was what's made the most difference for the slopes.  Now when there is an extended cold snap, the snowmaking can continue day and night without worrying about running out of water.  The base for the core trails ends up much deeper so Mnut can stay open during the inevitable warm periods in Jan and Feb.

The Indy Pass has Massanutten, Bryce, and Canaan Valley.  Plus Blue Knob.  Just saying . . . :-)