Windy thin flake snowfall last night.  Kept springs from being too firm/packed like it normally is; and looks like it was good for HV too.  Oddly, haven't put skis down at HV yet but will early this week!

It is now in (at least) the 2nd season of the Southwind lift not running and no snowmaking on the terrain. Any word on why?

Purely speculative on my part, but could it be a HOA vs Vail dispute? 

Have heard a couple of different issues with Southwind chair (each 3rd or 4th hand).

#1 Vail’s willingness/ability to make snow on private property (legal issues)

#2 chair in need of significant maintenance and /or did not pass required inspection 

cannot confirm either however

^ what he said above.  The chair may need inspection, but it is a young chairlift so to speak.  It's probably that Vail doesn't want it or its associated liability. Operating at a distance makes a poor experience for visitors.  I've used that lift in the past but when I was at 7s 2 weeks ago it wasn't running then.

imp wrote:

damn I have to work

If I didn't know better I'd feel bad for you, lol. See you tomorrow.

Patf1engineer wrote:

We will be up tomorrow assuming we can get up the mountain

Yinz will make it, see you there.

I'm planning on Friday to avoid driving in what could be a substantial snow storm, 

Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:

Patf1engineer wrote:

We will be up tomorrow assuming we can get up the mountain

Yinz will make it, see you there.

I might be there on Friday too. I'll reach out via cell.

snowsmith wrote:

I'm planning on Friday to avoid driving in what could be a substantial snow storm, 

Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:

Patf1engineer wrote:

We will be up tomorrow assuming we can get up the mountain

Yinz will make it, see you there.

MRPLOW wrote:

Why is so little open at Seven Springs and Laurel right now? Only about 50% open at either. No epic pass, but usually come for the weekend from Cleveland. Meanwhile Timberline is 100% open for weeks. And the other option is Holiday Valley (same 3-hours from Cleveland as 7 Springs/Laurel) and which is also 100% open.

 Timberline has a brand new snow making system and is 1200 feet higher in elevation than any Laurel Highlands resort. We had rain and warm temperatures between 12/18 and 12/29 which melted a lot of the snow they Holiday Valley gets lots of lake effect snow. 

MRPLOW wrote:

Why is so little open at Seven Springs and Laurel right now? Only about 50% open at either. No epic pass, but usually come for the weekend from Cleveland. Meanwhile Timberline is 100% open for weeks. And the other option is Holiday Valley (same 3-hours from Cleveland as 7 Springs/Laurel) and which is also 100% open.

 All slopes at Laurel with snowmaking are open wall to wall with deep coverage. Snowmaking is ongoing to push snow on some areas without permanent snowmaking. 

^  
This is consistent with last season also at 7S.  Cold temps, yet not much snowmaking skier's left of north face slope. (Can't really remember the last time I could hit Yodeler with decent coverage) ...  Tahoe looked low weeks ago, but 7S has a lot of ponds scattered about the mountain. 

HV does have all their front face slopes with fixed snowmakers open, but similar question - why not take some portables and open road runner? (On north summit slopes, they are gradually opening most snowmaking slopes.)

I have not been over to Laurel yet this season (I do save it for mid-season usually) - so looking forward to that. 

Otherwise, a great start to the season for the laurels!  I started on 12/6 and it really hasn't let up since, with the exception of a couple of days of temp rise.

Says it all…

Much needed snow has been falling in the Laurels today.  Not a whole lot, but enough to allow marginal to decent conditions to continue. I skied at 7S yesterday, and was actually surprised with what they had open on the north face.  Sure there was some dropout on the open slopes, but a nice ride nonetheless. 

The last 3 days of 50 degrees and rain has been a struggle, given the great preamble to the season.  The lows look OK for the rest of the week, potentially allowing for another good weekend of skiing. 

Looks like it might be a little windy on Monday. How does Laurel do on windy days? Sheltered or more exposed?

Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:

Laurel Mountain will open Monday at 10 AM. Laurel is usually closed on Mondays, except for holidays. Management decided to open due to the comming snow storm.

The lodge and parking are at the summit so it can be a little windy there. The lift is a fixed grip quad so is not susceptible to wind or ice closures. Upslope wind has been known to slow you down on novice terrain. The solution is to ski Lower and when the locals say Lower, they mean Lower Wildcat. That'll warm you up. 

Stephen wrote:

Looks like it might be a little windy on Monday. How does Laurel do on windy days? Sheltered or more exposed?

Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:

Laurel Mountain will open Monday at 10 AM. Laurel is usually closed on Mondays, except for holidays. Management decided to open due to the comming snow storm.

Looks like 3” was all it took to get 7S 100% open this AM.

I’m going to hit up LM tomorrow. Should be excellent conditions. Dream/Snow Bowl aren’t open yet… I bet they will be later today and tomorrow.