I think that something must have bit me 'cause I am feeling a little under the weather. I skied Laurel last weekend (Friday and Saturday). Snow was holding up well! I live relatively close(approx 3 minutes) to LM Slopes and last night we received about 2-4 inches of fresh white stuff. I will be skiing there again all weekend. Hope to see ya on the hill!!

Thanks Heather, think they'll have any more terrain open?

Got into the parking lot at 9:30 and there were maybe 20 cars there, 8" fresh and they had only the double chair running. The ski report for last sunday, 2/20 was still on the chalk board and they were 100% open then, not bad considering the limited snowmaking.

Friday am only had two main ways down, Broadway and Wildcat. Broadway looked like it had been groomed Thursday and had a dusting of snow with lots of pow on the edges. Wildcat wasn't groomed since wed. and it was covered w/powder. I took a couple of warmups down BW, hopped off into laurel run and hegans cut, natural snow with only three or four lines before me. The ride back up on the double gave a good look at Wildcat and there weren't more than four or five lines in the 6-12" of new snow.

Lower Wildcat looks pretty serious from the chair. It REALLY looks serious from the top of the steep. Most of the lines early were on skiers left so that's where i went, but it was firm and there was much more to do. Skier's right was sweet. The center was kinda weird, it was crowned kinda like a double double fall line that made it hard to keep moving down the line. Wildcat bit me once and i went back and got revenge but my last run down my legs were shot, I must have looked like that little guy on Laugh-In (showing my age?) who kept falling over on his tricycle, three minor diggers. Anyway Apres calls . The crowd doubled from 6 to 12 from the time I got there til I left. The folks there are friendly and really love their mountain. Talked of the "secret" glade trail, how to improve snowmaking...good juke box...cold, almost free beer...time to go, don't want to run the risk of too many cold, almost free beers!

I don't think I'd take a steady diet of Laurel Mountain, YET. There's tons of potential, nice people, and some of the best terrain in Pennsylvania. I'm already looking forward to skiing there next year.

jimmy

Glad you had a good time at LM. I was there all day Sat until the cold/almost free beer called my name from the top of father snow hill. A great band will be playing in the Wildcat Lounge all weekend coming 3/4,5,6. should be a great time!
hope to see some new faces there. On a separate note we received about 8+inches of fresh snow today, maybe I will call off "snowed in"

Is Laurel Mountain open this year on Thursdays? I know it is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but I thought it was closed on Thursdays also.

Little touch of the fever coming on, JohnL?

Cough, cough. Wheeze, wheeze.

Especially since I've been healthy above and beyond the call of duty today.

Laurel is open on thursdays, not that it does you any good now that it is friday. LM should be great this weekend (we had about 20+inches of snow since early monday am). Rumor has it that even Dream Highway and Lincoln Highway (cool little run beneath the quad) are open.

Friday ended up working out better for me. I skied Laurel for 4 hours Friday afternoon on my way out to Timberline. Laurel Mtn. has a 1/2 price special on their website Laurel Mtn. , so it only cost me $12.50. I could have skied a lot longer for the price, but I needed to get to West Virginia.

Dream Highway was amazing. Only one or two rocks at the very bottom and perfect packed powder surface. With the trail empty, I was able to make some high-speed GS turns around the bends. Lower Wildcat was very interesting; tons of new snow with about 25 percent of the surface scraped bare to a nasty ice layer. If you hit the good snow, it was sweeeeet! I had some very nice tree shots around Laurel Run and Innsbruck. Laurel Run and Snow Bowl were groomed (prolly due to severe drifting from the winds), but I was able to get some pretty deep freshies at the very edge of the groomed track on Laurel Run.

Fun time and a steal for the price.

Hello out there in ski-land! Anybody attending the Laurel Mountain Spring Carnival this weekend or Timberline
Snowy Luau next weekend? Being at both will be a great way to end the season(I think). If anyone has been to either let me know what to expect.

I've been at the Snowy Luau the last 2 years. Overall I'd say it is pretty low-key compared to Spring ski parties held at other resorts. Still it is one of the events we look forward to every year. If it's not bitter cold, people will be out sliding in Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts. They also have a Polynesian Band and Dancers in the Lodge who are pretty fun (though the flaming torch juggling is a little scary in a crowded old wooden ski lodge. They cap off Saturday night with a torch-lit ski and fireworks on the slopes.

There is also a series of snowsports competitions - Moguls, big air, etc... that are pretty entertaining to watch as well. Trophies are handed out on Sunday.

I can't remember for sure if it was last year or the year before, but we had rain on Saturday night that turned into a decent snowstorm with great conditions for Sunday. All in all, Snowy Luau is a blast - I highly recommend.

Tom

I'll be at T-line both Sat. & Sun. for the Snowy Luau. I understand that you can volunteer to carry a torch in the torch light parade down the slopes, if that interests you.

tgd - Do you know if they're having a bump contest this year during the Snowy Luau weekend?

I checked the Timberline calendar and they are just advertising the Rail Jam, Big Air, and "Big Island" Ultra Cross (not sure what that is). In the past they had the mogul race on the Drop, but that is closed again now so they don't have a suitable bump run to race on this year. They are still listing a bump contest on the Drop for the Locals Cup on the first weekend in April though - but I'd say that is iffy.

Hey, thanks for the info it will come in handy next weekend. Is this a family friendly event or should I not take my 9 Yr old son?

Heather:
Snowy Luau is very much a family event. I have a 3 1/2 year old and she had a blast last year. She loved the Polynesian band and dancers. This year my wife bought grass skirts and leis just for Snowy Luau. My daughter has since been talking about skiing in her grass skirt for the past month. I think they may also have some kid-specific competitions going on as well, but I'm not sure about that.

Tom

Snowy luau is a blast. Kids love it as well as the older kids . Activities for everyone. You need to check out the "anything that slides" competition @ 4pm on Saturday. Children, adults, dogs, cats, bears.. ..(just kidding). They also have big air competition for boarders and skiers in the terrain park. Fun to watch. Sync skiing competition for teams of at least four, "fireman's" hose race through about six gs gates, snow sculpture contest, pig roast, hawaiian drumming, LOTS of people dressed up in Hawaiian garb (or wannabe garb) , costume parade (winner gets a season's pass ), etc...etc... The tourch parade down lightening is to resemble a lava flow. If interested in doing it, you must sign up at the ski school desk. I must warn you, the tourch light is difficult, done in the dark, on ungroomed terrain. Often, those participating are "fortified" for the experience. I highly recommend the weekend to families, singles, retirees, or anybody who wants a great time. And the best thing, ALL fun activities are free. Usually the bumps are done on the drop, but could be done on upper/lower thunderdraft or other bump terrain. They usually will have it on Sunday PM. It'll be our 12th year doing it!

Thanks so much! I realize that I have made a good choice for a family weekend get away! Maybe we'll see you all there!

if it's white, ski it!