From last to first... looks better that way...

Left Snowshoe early this morning in the middle of a near-blizzard. The weather warning for Pocohontas, Pendleton, etc. was calling for up to a foot by tomorrow with more to come by Wednesday. Copied from the NOAA site "TO AS MUCH AS A FOOT ACROSS THE MOST FAVORED HIGHER ELEVATION
WINDWARD SLOPES"... Now, it forecasts snow Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday... What can I say... I'm sooooo glad I don't live in Florida with the flying mega-cockroaches... If you want to see it yourself, look at http://www.srh.noaa.gov/data/RLX/HWORLX

Sunday: What a wonderful day... Snow most of the AM with sun in the afternoon, all below freezing. Despite the natural snowfall, the guns continued unabated. Other than where overuse had worn off the Heisler Way curves, the conditions were getting better as more natural and made snow kept coming. As the crowd dwindled after lunch, it was heavenly!

Saturday: Conditions were generally good. Light now, cold weather, snow guns full blast. Slopes got REALLY crowded --- what they had... Having said that, I am amazed that the resort was able to still host Demo weekend. The Demo center was at the top near Ballhooter hi-speed lift, which was a small hike on snow boots from the top of Grabhammer. Tried the Volkl Supersport 4-star- 5-star and 6-star. One of them will be my next ski.

Wait lines at the two lift lines at Snowshoe were bearable. Didn't make it to Silver Creek.

The restaurants were crowded but generally manageable. Wait lines again, manageable.

Bottom Line: With over two feet of natural snow by Friday, cold to single-digit freezer-cold for the foreseeable future, and aggressive snowmaking, I would not be surprised to see much of the resort open this weekend.

ahh...Florida and cockroaches....sounds like a good weekend in early season at the 'Shoe. The low in Gainesville is 29 Tuesday night....I'll be on the slopes in two weeks!

lbotta,
I guess I should have worn my DCSki button I bought (I'm waiting for the lapel pins to come in)
I was there for the Demo weekend as well and I would have
to agree with your report. I was very pleased with the
amount and condition of the terrain given how warm it had
been leading up to last weekend. I tried the Volkl 724 Pro
and 724 EXS. Also I tried the Nordica SUV 10 and SUV 12.
Of course I liked the 724 Pros (top of their all-mountain line!)
Lift lines were never more than 5-10 minutes long. I'm glad
we didn't cancel. It was great to get out there and make my
first turns!! I'll be back in two weeks for winter break.

-Warren-